Tucson police have identified a man they say went on an hours-long crime spree Monday morning in midtown that resulted in the killing of a 69-year-old man and the shutdown of a neighborhood.
The spree began about 6:30 a.m. when Julio Aguirre tried to break into a home in the 3300 block of East 27th Street, south of Reid Park near South Country Club Road, Tucson police said Wednesday in a news release.
The homeowner told police the intruder pulled a gun on him before running away, the release said.
About 15 minutes later, officers were called to a shooting at an apartment complex in the 2100 block of South Winstel Avenue, about four blocks away.
There, police say Ricky Miller, 69, was shot while sitting in his vehicle.
Police said Miller was shot during an argument with a gunman trying to steal his vehicle. Two witnesses told police the gunman pointed a weapon at them before running away.
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Miller died a short time later at the hospital.
Officers quickly connected the shooting to the earlier break-in attempt. An extensive search of the neighborhood using a helicopter, SWAT officers and police dogs was launched.
About 7:15 a.m., a gunman confronted a homeowner in the backyard of a house in the 3700 block of E. 33rd Street, a few blocks away from the apartment complex shooting.
The gunman forced the homeowner into the house, which was occupied by several other family members, the release said.
“During the encounter inside the home, the suspect was acting erratically and pointed a gun at several of the family members,†the release said.
Three of the residents escaped.
The gunman had fled by the time officers were able to search the house. No one in the family was wounded, police said.
The crime spree came to an end about 9:20 a.m. That’s when police say officers found Aguirre hiding inside a shed at a house in the 2100 block of S. Richey Boulevard.
Aguirre was taken to a hospital for treatment of injuries sustained during the neighborhood search, including a dog bite from a police dog.
Aguirre had been deported in 2013 after serving time in prison for drug trafficking in the Phoenix area, the release said.
Aguirre is set to be booked into the Pima County jail on suspicion of first-degree murder and multiple counts of aggravated assault once he is released from the hospital, the release said.
Anyone with additional information about the case is asked to call 911 or 88-CRIME, the anonymous tip line.
