Here is the timeline of the shooting deaths in the Phoenix area
Jun 5, 2018, 4:45 AM | Updated: 9:39 am
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
PHOENIX — The suspect who was linked to at least six shooting deaths in the Phoenix area was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound on Monday, bringing an end to a four-day period of murders that terrorized the Valley.
The first shooting death linked to 56-year-old Dwight Lamon Jones occurred on Thursday, when Dr. Steven Pitt was found shot and killed outside of his office building in Phoenix, and the victims in the latest shooting deaths were found dead in a Fountain Hills home on Sunday.
Here is the timeline of those shooting deaths, per Assistant Police Chief Rich Slavin with the Scottsdale Police Department.
Thursday, May 31
Dr. Steven Pitt was found shot to death Thursday outside of his office near Scottsdale and Bell roads in Phoenix.
Phoenix police responded to his office around 5:20 p.m. after witnesses heard a loud argument and gunshots, found his body and started the investigation.
A witness provided a suspect description of a white male with a round face and a dark hat and police released a composite drawing to the public based off that description.
Friday, June 1
Scottsdale police responded to a call of a shooting around 2:15 p.m. Friday in the area of First and 75th streets, where they found 48-year-old Veleria Sharp with an apparent gunshot wound.
Sharp had been observed running from her place of employment, the law offices of Burt, Feldman and Grenier, with blood coming from her face and collapsed after crossing the street. She was transported to a local hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
Police then responded to the law firm, where they found 49-year-old Laura Anderson shot and killed. She was shot in the chest.
The Scottsdale and Phoenix police departments began working together regarding a connection between the two cases.
Ballistic evidence collected at both crime scenes confirmed that the same weapon was used to kill Pitt, Sharp and Anderson.
Saturday, June 2
Dr. Marshall Levine was found shot dead outside his office near Mountain View and Hayden roads in Scottsdale around 12:15 a.m. Saturday.
Levine’s girlfriend, Pamela Ayers, found his body after she went to the office because she did not hear from him.
Ballistic evidence found at the scene matched evidence collected at the shooting deaths of Pitt, Sharp and Anderson. Levine had two gunshot wounds.
Police received a tip on Jones around 9:30 a.m. and started to investigate.
Sunday, June 3
Police determined Jones to be a valid lead around 10 a.m. Sunday and began actively searching for him. He was located around 3:20 p.m. that day.
Investigators witnessed Jones dumping a bag into a trash can in the area of Scottsdale Road and Shea Boulevard. They recovered the bag and located a .22 caliber handgun, which was inconsistent with the previous crime scenes.
Jones was later witnessed dumping a second bag in a trash container in the area, which contained a hat that matched the witness description from Pitt’s shooting death.
Police also believed Jones was at a residence in the area of Golden Eagle Boulevard and Paradox Drive in Fountain Hills between noon and 1:30 p.m. that day.
The DNA sample recovered from the scene of Pitt’s murder also did not match any profiles on record. Police used DNA samples from Jones’ relatives to make the match.
Monday, June 4
Officers went to the Fountain Hills residence around 12:20 Monday morning in an attempt to make contact with the people in the home.
When the residents did not answer the door, police used a ladder to see through one of the windows, where they saw a man who appeared to be shot. At that point, police made their way into the home and found another woman who was shot.
The victims, later identified as 70-year-old Mary Simmons and 72-year-old Bryon Thomas, were both pronounced dead at the scene. Police also determined that the .22 caliber handgun that Jones was seen discarding came from the home.
Officers with the Phoenix Special Assignment Unit started to close in on Jones at an Extended Stay America near 69th Street and Shea Boulevard around 4:15 a.m.
Jones fired about seven or eight rounds from inside his hotel room as police began evacuating the surrounding rooms. No officers were injured and no officers fired their weapons.
Jones was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound around 8 a.m.