"Serial Shooter" Suspects Arrested

[Bastastic]

Finally got these bastards. Now there's only the "Baselline Killer" to deal with.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14180059/


PHOENIX - Two men have been arrested in connection with dozens of shootings, six of them fatal, that have terrorized Phoenix area residents over the last two years in what's become known as the "Serial Shooter" case, police said Friday.
“We do have two suspects in custody,” Sgt. Andy Hill told reporters Friday morning. “They’re at Phoenix police headquarters in the Serial Shooter case.”
A law enforcement official with knowledge of the case told The Associated Press that the arrests were made at an apartment complex in Mesa.

NBC affiliate KPNX reported that one person was being held as the alleged shooter and the other as the alleged driver.
Phoenix police were to provide details at a press conference at 1 p.m. ET.
Earlier Friday, authorities searched a Mesa apartment building for evidence. Investigators were seen walking out with several firearms.
Resident Loraine Salyers said she lives near where police came in. "I came out and there were like a hundred cops," Salyers said. "I was so scared. My heart's pounding."

(Sentence redacted)

Authorities say the so-called “Serial Shooter” is responsible for three dozen shootings of people, dogs and horses. The shootings have generally happened late at night, with no witnesses. Six people were killed and 17 — mostly pedestrians and bicyclists — have been wounded since May 2005.

Woman killed Sunday
On Thursday, authorities said they had linked the death of a woman who was gunned down while walking to the serial shootings.

The shooting was linked to earlier cases because of similarities and forensic evidence, said Mesa police spokesman Sgt. Chuck Trapani.
Robin Blasnek, 22, was walking to her boyfriend’s home in Mesa, a suburb east of Phoenix, at about 11:15 p.m. Sunday when she was gunned down. Neighbors heard a shot and ran to help the young woman, but she soon lost consciousness and died at a hospital.

Her father told the East Valley Tribune that Blasnek grew up as a special needs child and lived part time with her parents in Mesa and a group home in Tempe.

“She was just a great kid. Very, very naive, and pure as far as not understanding the dangers of the world,” Steve Blasnek said. “I guess my only regret is that I didn’t give her a big hug.”

Second serial case
About 200 officers have been working to try to solve the case, plus another case involving a serial criminal dubbed the Baseline Killer after the road on which the first crimes took place.

The Baseline Killer is believed responsible for killing seven women and one man and sexually assaulting 11 women and girls during the past year. Police think his most recent killing was the shooting death of 37-year-old woman at a Phoenix car wash June 29.

A $100,000 reward is being offered for any information leading to the capture of either killer.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[Bastastic]

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articl...hooter-ON.html

2 arrested in 'Serial Shooter' case

William Hermann and Senta Scarborough
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 4, 2006 08:11 AM

Investigators from an interagency police task force arrested two suspects in the "Serial Shooter" case, police said Friday.

The series of shootings has held the Valley in a grip of fear for more than a year, with six people killed and 18 wounded. The shootings began in May 2005. The latest incident was Sunday night when a 22-year-old woman was shot to death while walking on Gilbert Road near Grandview Street in Mesa.

Early Friday, Mesa, Phoenix, and Scottsdale police along with FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents were at Windscape Apartments on McKellips Road near Mesa Drive searching at least one apartment. Police took various items from the apartment during the course of the morning, including what appeared to be rifles in clear plastic cases.

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Phoenix Police Sgt. Andy Hill said that a search warrant has been served in Mesa by members of the task force, including the Maricopa County Attorney's Office.

Phoenix police said the task force would hold a news conference about the latest developments at 10 a.m. at Phoenix City Hall.

A tow truck appeared at the apartments about 4 a.m., and about a half hour later a silver, later-model Toyota Camry was towed away.

The Serial Shooter case is one of two serial attacker cases being investigated in the Valley. The "Baseline Killer" has shot to death eight people and been involved in sexual assaults and robberies since last August. Police still are asking for the help of the public in that case.

Early Friday, the two suspects in the Serial Shooter case were being questioned at the Phoenix Police Department by investigators. Video of the suspects provided by Phoenix Police, though blurred, indicate the men are white, though not much else could be gleaned.

The suspects were expected to be taken to a Maricopa County jail later in the morning, officials said.

Raul Castillo, who lives in the Mesa apartment complex, could only say, "I hope they catch him.

A woman who lives in the complex said it "freaked her out'' that the killers might live near her. Jessica Lilienthel said, "it's scary if they were living here. It could have been any one of us.''

[Bastastic]

http://www.620ktar.com/?nid=6&sid=204439


News Break: Two Arrested in Serial Shooter Case
August 4th, 2006 @ 7:25am
by Jim Cross, Jayme West and Tammy Rose/KTAR, Wire reports


Two men being called suspects in the Serial Shooter cases in the Phoenix area have been arrested.

Two men were taken into custody at Mesa apartment complex at McKellips and Mesa Drive early this morning where police served a search warrant.

A source tells KTAR the arrests stem from a tip.

Several guns believed to be rifles, two dumpsters and a silver Toyota Camry were hauled away by Mesa police investigators.
Phoenix police will hold a press conference at City Hall at 10 a.m. to discuss the latest developments.

Video of one of the two men shows a white male, short in stature, medium build, blond hair with scruffy beard. He was only wearing shorts and atheletic shoes. The other suspect is a white male, with dark hair. He was wearing a dark t-shirt when taken into custody.

Bus driver Raul Castillo lives in the apartment complex where two men were taken into custody.

"Well it looks calm, but people are taking pictures all over the place. So, I don't what to say. I couldn't ask them no questions. So, I don't know what's going on to tell you the truth."

Castro says he doesn't know the men who may be in custody.
Jessica Lilienthal lives in the apartment complex. "It's sick. No, it's like seriously sick because I mean I live alone and it's really scary to think that if they were like living here, you know, that could have been any one of us."

She says she's rarely at home and doesn't know the two men taken into custody. She says the complex is normally very quiet.

The owner of the house next to the apartment complex says she saw police officers pulling items out of a garbage bin.

About 200 officers have been working the case. And a $100,000 reward has been posted for information on the killers.
The break stems from the search of an apartment building in Mesa early this morning.

[American Patriot]

Hope they got the right guys.