Citizen Staff Writer

DAVID L. TEIBEL

dteibel@tucsoncitizen.com

Two prisoners serving life sentences at the Arizona State Prison Complex-Tucson tried to escape Thursday but were caught on the grounds, a state Department of Corrections news release said.

Inmates Joshua Aston, 22, and John Wells, 48, have been transferred to maximum security at the Arizona State Prison Complex-Eyman in Florence, according to the release.

The pair set off an alarm near a perimeter fence about 9 p.m. Wednesday, according to DOC. By 3 a.m. Thursday, both had been caught.

Arizona Department of Corrections investigators are trying to piece together how Aston and Wells got as far as they did in the escape attempt, said Bill Lamoreaux, a Corrections spokesman.

Aston is serving a life sentence for murder.

Wells has been imprisoned here for 11 years after being transferred from a Maryland prison, where he was serving time for three armed robberies and three escapes.

Aston was admitted to the Department of Corrections in May 2007, the statement said. He was found guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder by a Maricopa Superior Court jury in March 2007 for the killing of Pedro Corzo.

Corzo, 35, a manager for Del Monte Fresh Produce, was killed in January 2004 while visiting remote farms in the western part of the county.

He was driving on a road between Dateland and Harquahala Valley when he encountered a roadblock of boulders, according to sheriff’s deputies.

When he got out of his car to clear the rocks away, he was shot by Justin Harrison. Aston, Harrison’s cousin, also was accused of shooting Corzo.

Investigators believed the shooting was part of a bizarre odyssey in which Aston, accompanied by Harrison and a younger brother, left their homes near St. Louis and drove to Arizona with an apparent intent to engage in crime. They were arrested near Billings, Mont., a few days after the killing.

In May 2005, Harrison, 26, was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree murder in a deal to sidestep the death penalty.

Aston, who was 16 when Corzo was killed, escaped the death penalty in 2005 when the U.S. Supreme Court banned death sentences for people who commit murder while juveniles.

Details of Wells’ crimes were not available, said Mark Vernarelli, a spokesman for the Maryland prison system.

Vernarelli said he did not have information on why Wells was transferred here, but Vernarelli said Wells had been in prison on and off in Maryland, serving time on a variety of convictions since he was 19 years old.

Maryland routinely transfers prisoners to other states for various reasons under what are called interstate compacts, Vernarelli said.

The Arizona Republic contributed to this article.

Citizen Staff Writer

DAVID L. TEIBEL

dteibel@tucsoncitizen.com

A woman was injured Thursday morning in a house fire, but a firefighter was unscathed by debris from the home’s collapsing roof.

Four dogs found in the backyard of the East Side home escaped serious injury, Tucson fire Capt. Tricia Tracy said. A fifth dog that had been missing was found unharmed late Thursday morning running around the yard.

The pets may have saved themselves by fleeing through a “doggy door” leading to the backyard. Tracy could not tell whether the dogs were singed or just sooty from the fire’s smoke and debris.

Tracy couldn’t provide more information on the injured 64-year-old resident because of a federal patient confidentiality law.

The fire, reported at 8:29 a.m., spread from the home in the 2800 block of South Palm Springs Drive to a neighboring house, Tracy said. The cause is under investigation.

Tracy said the firefighter appeared to be unharmed, but he was sent to a hospital for a precautionary exam. None of the other roughly 50 firefighters sustained injuries.

The fire gutted the first home, causing an estimated $300,000 damage, she said. A sprinkler system in the second home halted the progress of the blaze, which caused about $50,000 of damage there.

East Side fire injures woman; five dogs rescued

Citizen Staff Writer

DAVID L. TEIBEL

dteibel@tucsoncitizen.com

Sheriff’s deputies arrested three men in connection with a predawn home invasion Wednesday on the Northwest Side.

The arrests came after deputies traced the suspects to an apartment in the 7500 block of North Mona Lisa Drive on the Northwest Side.

After obtaining a search warrant, deputies searched the apartment and found some of the victim’s property, said Deputy Dawn Barkman, a sheriff’s spokeswoman.

Deputies arrested Spenser E. Andrews, 20; Gerardo Monteverde, 22; and his 19-year-old brother, Xavier Monteverde, Barkman said.

The Monteverde brothers were each booked into jail later Wednesday on single counts of aggravated robbery, armed robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and kidnapping charges.

The burglary accusation is in connection with entering a building with the intent to commit a felony, Barkman said.

When they were booked, the brothers listed addresses on North Jensen Drive, Gerardo Monteverde in the 7800 block and his brother in the 7600 block, a jail records clerk said.

But, she said, they also each listed a previous address in the 7500 block of North Mona Lisa Road.

Andrews, who also listed an address in the 7500 block of North Mona Lisa, was booked into jail about 2:30 p.m. on suspicion of crimes similar to those on which the Monteverdes were being held, a jail clerk said.

According to Barkman, a resident of a complex in the 2600 block of West Ina Road was awakened shortly before 4 a.m. by the noise of someone breaking into his apartment.

One of the three intruders hit the resident with a pistol, and then the assailant and his companions made off with a television, a safe, computer equipment and weapons, Barkman said.

No shots were fired, Barkman said.

Citizen Staff Writer

DAVID L. TEIBEL

dteibel@tucsoncitizen.com

A sex offender, on probation for exploitation of a minor, has been arrested again on child-sex charges, Tucson police said Tuesday.

Jacob T. Osterkamp, 28, of the 11400 block of West Green Desert Road was being held in the Pima County Jail on $25,000 bond on a charge of attempting to lure a minor for sexual exploitation, jail officials said.

He also was being held without bail on probation violation charges based on earlier convictions in Tucson for sexual conduct and sexual exploitation of a minor, a jail clerk said.

Osterkamp is listed on the state Department of Public Safety’s sex offender Web site.

Police began their investigation May 1 when a woman reported unsolicited, obscene text messages, police spokesman Sgt. Fabian Pacheco said.

The woman told police the man sent a text message that he was looking for a friend and asked if the recipient was a man or a woman.

The woman, who has teenage children, replied that she was a minor. Soon, she began getting messages of a sexual nature, Pacheco said in a news statement. The man gave his age and asked the recipient to meet him.

Detectives used the woman’s cell phone to text message the suspect. Detectives also got a subpoena for the man’s cell phone and identified him as Osterkamp.

Wednesday, Osterkamp was arrested at his home and booked into jail, Pacheco said.

Citizen Staff Writer
IN BRIEF

DAVID L. TEIBEL

dteibel@tucsoncitizen.com

The county attorney’s 88-CRIME anonymous tipster program is seeking volunteers to show a movie to school children and other community members.

The nine-minute, locally produced film examines a middle school pupil’s dilemma when she overhears a classmate boasting that he will bring a gun to school.

Following the film the volunteer will lead a group discussion.

For more information people may contact Susie Slagle Dupnik, 88-CRIME executive director, at 740-5742.

Citizen Staff Writer
LAW AND ORDER REPORT

DAVID L. TEIBEL

dteibel@tucsoncitizen.com

Pima County Sheriff’s Department detectives are waiting for autopsy results to learn how a man died while being restrained by his father and brother, a department spokeswoman said.

Arthur Huerta Nabor, 30, was found dead Saturday at his family’s home in the 5700 block of South Bryant Stravenue, near East Drexel Road and South Alvernon Way, Deputy Dawn Barkman said.

Barkman said deputies were called to the home about 3 a.m. regarding a domestic disturbance at the home Nabor shared with his father, mother and brother. She would not name any of the other family members.

When deputies arrived they found Nabor dead, and detectives were called in to continue the investigation, Barkman said.

Family members said Nabor had become violent. “He was throwing things and hitting people,” Barkman said.

While his father and brother tried to restrain Nabor on the family sofa, he became unresponsive, Barkman said.

Deputies are investigating the possibility drugs were a factor, and toxicology tests will be done as part of an autopsy. Such tests typically take six to eight weeks to complete.

Barkman said no arrests were made.

Citizen Staff Writer
IN BRIEF

DAVID L. TEIBEL

dteibel@tucsoncitizen.com

The Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation will hold a local candlelight memorial Sunday as part of the worldwide 26th International AIDS Candlelight Memorial.

The event will be at Himmel Park, near East Speedway and North Tucson Boulevards. It will start at 5:30 p.m. with music and performances, and the candles will be lit at 7:30 p.m.

The memorial is aimed at reducing stigma and discrimination associated with AIDS; ensuring access to treatment; increasing resources to HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis; and promoting greater involvement by affected communities, SAAF said in a news statement.

Similar candlelight memorials will be held in more than 1,200 communities worldwide.

Citizen Staff Writer

DAVID L. TEIBEL

dteibel@tucsoncitizen.com

Sheriff Clarence W. Dupnik, said he would not apologize for saying last week as many as 40 percent of Sunnyside Unified School District students are illegally in the United States and that much South Side crime is linked to illegal immigration.

The statements led to a letter from 10 politicians, all Democrats, as is Dupnik, demanding the sheriff apologize for his remarks.

Dupnik said his remarks were an effort to point out “reality.”

As far as apologizing for his remarks, Dupnik said, “No. Who am I supposed to apologize to, illegal aliens?”

Dupnik’s remarks hurt many Hispanic U.S. citizens who live on the South, Southwest and West sides of Tucson, said Eva Dong, a member of the board of the Sunnyside School District.

After being told Dupnik would not apologize, Dong said she was not sure an apology would mean anything.

“I think that unless he understands how we felt as legal citizens, living in the community, then I don’t know what the apology would mean,” she said.

Dong would like an apology from the sheriff, “but only if he understands how his words affected us.”

Dong drew comfort from Dupnik’s remarks that deputies’ priority isn’t enforcing immigration laws..

“As a community, we have always felt we need to work with police, with deputies,” Dong said.

Regarding illegal immigrants in Sunnyside schools, Dupnik said he was given the 40 percent figure by “a number of people, including teachers and others” in the school district.

As for crime on the South, Southwest and West sides of the city, Dupnik would not say how he knows much of it stems from illegal immigration, saying only, “You know that’s true.”

Dupnik said a number of “magnets” bring illegal immigrants to the United States, including citizenship for children born here, free medical services, social services and a free education.

“We need to mitigate as many of those magnets as we can,” he said.

Dupnik said he first made the immigration remarks last month at a hearing on border violence held by the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Last week’s news conference, he said, was an attempt to clarify those remarks.

Dupnik said his remarks were not intended to be anti-Hispanic or to show any prejudice against Hispanics.

The sheriff long has said his deputies would not enforce immigration laws, which he said is a federal responsibility.

He has said the Pima County Sheriff’s Department has neither the resources nor the interest to enforce federal law.

Dupnik also has said it’s more important to foster trust in the immigrant community so it’s more likely they will report crimes as opposed to a community reluctant to call law officers out of fear of deportation.

Dupnik last week suggested challenging a U.S. Supreme Court decision that forbid schools from checking the citizenship of students, citing improved border security if the ruling were overturned.

Citizen Staff Writer

DAVID L. TEIBEL

dteibel@tucsoncitizen.com

About 350 people honored the 41 law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty in Pima County since 1878.

They gathered Thursday morning for the second annual Pima County Regional Law Enforcement Memorial Service at the Tucson Convention Center.

Representatives of all branches of law enforcement attended.

“A law enforcement officer is assaulted every day” in the United States, said former U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona.

A law officer is killed in the line of duty “nearly every other day,” said Carmona, who served as master of ceremonies for the memorial service.

Keynote speaker Terry Goddard, Arizona’s attorney general, said “today we are here to honor Pima County law enforcement officers who lost their lives” in the line of duty. They are everyday heroes.

“It is for the rest of us, as we do today, to honor those who have fallen,” Goddard said.

Newly selected Tucson police Chief Roberto Villaseñor said “we need to remember the families of the fallen so they will never walk alone.”

Goddard said of the 41 officers “their devotion to duty inspires us all.”

Wednesday evening, a memorial service was held on the front lawn of police headquarters for slain Tucson officers.

Both services noted the death of Tucson police Officer Erik Hite in June.

Hite was shot and killed on the East Side last year as he pursued a shooting suspect.

Hite was the eighth Tucson officer killed in the line of duty since 1892.

“Eric had lived according to his faith and according to his convictions,” Villaseñor said.

David “Nick” Delich, 26, was arrested in Hite’s killing and is facing 10 criminal charges, including first-degree murder.

Hite’s name is to be inscribed on the wall of the National Law Enforcement Memorial in Washington, D.C. His family did not attend Thursday’s memorial.

Villaseñor said Hite’s widow, Nohemy Hite, was exhausted and emotionally drained after attending two other memorials this week for her husband. Erik Hite also is survived by his son, Roy David Hite, who is in the Air Force, and a baby daughter, Samantha Hite

Villaseñor said he and a contingent of officers will accompany Nohemy Hite to Washington next week for a ceremony in which Erik Hite’s inscribed name will be unveiled.

The cost of the trip will be covered by the Tucson Police Foundation, a nonprofit police support organization, Villaseñor said.

Citizen Staff Writer

DAVID L. TEIBEL

dteibel@tucsoncitizen.com

Summer is still six weeks away, but the heat is already here.

The National Weather Service is predicting temperatures will hit 100 Thursday, which would tie for the sixth earliest date on record for Tucson’s first 100-degree day. The last time it was 100 on May 7 was in 1895

Tucson’s earliest 100-degree day was April 19, 1989. The latest came on June 22, 1905. The average is May 26.

“I think we’ve got a really good shot at hitting it. I want to say about a 95 percent chance,” said Steven Reedy, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “Usually at this time of year, temperatures average about 86 degrees in the first week of May.”

But, Reedy said, “We’re running about 10 degrees above average now.”

A high-pressure ridge stretching across the western United States has brought the heat, said meteorologist Mic Sherwood of the National Weather Service.

Now that we know it’s getting hot – what do people do?

“I stay in air conditioning,” Reedy said.

That’s good news for Louise Ayers’ business, A & D Air Conditioning & Refrigeration.

“It (hot weather) speeds it (business) up a little bit,” said Ayers who co-owns the business with her husband and son.

Despite the grim economy, Ayers said her business already has started to pick up because of the heat.

While many customers call for seasonal service as early as March, others don’t call until it gets hot, they turn on their air conditioner and find that it doesn’t work right, Ayers said.

Ayers agrees with Reedy – when it gets hot, stay indoors.

“I stay in the house. We have air conditioning and . . . I stay where it’s nice and cool,” she said.

It’s also expensive.

As air conditioners kick on across the city, homeowners’ electrical use jumps from an average of about 600 kilowatt hours in March to about 1,400 kilowatt hours in July, at a cost of some $140 a month for the average Tucson homeowner, said Joe Salkowski, a Tucson Electric Power Co. spokesman.

Water bills also increase.

In January, Tucsonans pay an average $17.04 for water, said Vikki Hibberd, a Tucson Water spokeswoman.

But in July, the average home water bill rises to $24.72 she said.

And if you own a pool. . .

“Pool business picks up,” said Tim Fellhauer, owner of Presidio Pool & Spa. “It (higher temperatures) does help my business.”

Jose Herrera, owner of Umbrella Roofing, definitely is not looking forward to, if it occurs, 100 degrees in Tucson on Thursday.

“When it’s real warm, for roofers, it’s real warm, real hot. It’s terrible,” said Herrera, who has been in the roofing business 23 years. “We have to have a lot of water. I know how it feels to be up on that roof.”

As the run-up to 100 degrees inched along, Mike Botkin, a groundskeeper with the city’s Parks & Recreation Department, cleared leaves and branches from Sunset Park in front of City Hall on Wednesday.

When the temperature reaches 100, Botkin said, “You stay cool as much as you can, drink plenty of water, take your breaks.”

Botkin, 47, was working in the sun at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at the tiny park. He wore blue denim shorts, a light blue T-shirt and a wide-brimmed straw hat. The high Wednesday was 98, according to the National Weather Service.

“I don’t mind it, you get used to it,” Botkin said. But “I prefer for it to be back in the 80s.”

After work, Botkin said he will go home, “jump in the pool and turn the air conditioner on.”

Timothy Pease, an unemployed tool maker, said 100-degree weather is ” a fact of life here in Tucson.”

As Pease, 58, sat and read a book in the shade of a downtown bus stop, he said that when the temperature hits 100, he will avoid being outside as much as possible.

“It’s a little brutal” when it gets that hot, Pease said. “I find the shade, stay in air conditioning.”

Because he’s unemployed, Pease said, he uses his air conditioner less than he used to so as he can save money.

George Ballesteros, 49, a clerk at the Pima County Public Defenders Office, said of the predicted heat for Thursday,”It just makes it seem that summer drags on and on.

Ballesteros said that on Thursday he will avoid doing yard work after 10 or 11 a.m.

And take cold showers “for sure,” he said.

Saving energy

Tucson Electric Power’s tips on how to save energy and money:

• Use ceiling or oscillating fans to keep air moving, so you feel cooler without increasing air conditioner use.

• Caulking around door frames and installing weatherstripping around door openings are inexpensive and highly effective means of saving energy.

• Replace traditional incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) that carry the Energy Star label. Energy Star-qualified CFLs use about 75 percent less energy than standard incandescent bulbs and last up to 10 times longer. They also generate about 75 percent less heat, so they can cut energy costs associated with home cooling.

• Don’t block vents or ducts inside the house. Maintaining clear air paths allows your cooling and heating systems to work more efficiently.

• About 80 to 85 percent of the energy involved in washing clothes is used to heat the water. There are two good ways to reduce the amount of energy used for washing clothes – use less water and lower the temperature. Switching your temperature setting from hot to warm can cut energy use in half.

• The U.S. Department of Energy recommends thermostat settings of 78 degrees in the summer and 68 degrees in the winter.

Water-saving tips

• Use gray water from your washer, bathtubs, showers and bath sinks to irrigate your landscape.

• Put new washers in faucets to stop drips and save up to 50 gallons a day.

• Replace the faulty flapper on the toilet. A running toilet can waste up to 100 gallons of water a day.

• A little soil can make the rain work for you. Build a berm or dig a shallow channel to direct rainwater to your plants. Also, a tree well helps keep water where the tree can use it.

• Gutters, downspouts and cisterns can help store rainwater for use over a longer period of time.

• Water yards early in the morning or in the late evening when it is cooler and more water will soak into the ground instead of evaporating.

EARLIEST DATES TO HIT 100 DEGREES

1. April 19, 1989

2. April 27, 1992

April 27, 1910

4. April 30, 1943

5. May 2, 1947

6.* May 7, 1895

7. May 8, 2001

8. May 9, 1984

May 9, 1934

May 9, 1923

May 9, 1900

* The National Weather Service predicts the 100 mark could be hit Thursday, tying for sixth-earliest on record.

LATEST DATES TO HIT 100 DEGREES

1. June 22, 1905

2. June 19, 1962

3 June 17, 1967

4. June 16, 1972

5. June 15, 1971

6. June 14, 1931

7. June 13, 1945

8. June 12, 1979

9. June 11, 1953

10. June 10, 1982

June 10 1961

June 10, 1950

Average first occurrence of 100 degrees in Tucson from 1895-2008 is May 26.

Citizen Staff Writer

DAVID L. TEIBEL

dteibel@tucsoncitizen.com

A memorial service for Tucson police officers killed in the line of duty is slated for Wednesday evening.

The commemoration will be at 6:30 p.m. on the front lawn of police headquarters, 270 S. Stone Ave., police spokesman Sgt. Mark Robinson said Tuesday.

Police Chief Roberto Villaseñor is expected to speak at the service.

The annual memorial will mark the death of Officer Erik Hite in June.

Hite was shot and killed on the East Side last year as he pursued a crosstown shooting spree suspect.

Hite was the eighth Tucson officer killed in the line of duty since 1892.

David “Nick” Delich, 26, was arrested in Hite’s killing and is facing 10 criminal charges, including first-degree murder.

Thursday, another service for fallen law enforcers will also honor Hite. The second annual Pima County Regional Law Enforcement Service will be at 9 a.m. in the Grand Ballroom of the Tucson Convention Center, 260 S. Church Ave.

Citizen Staff Writer
LAW AND ORDER REPORT

DAVID L. TEIBEL

dteibel@tucsoncitizen.com

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling this week could result in dismissals of identity theft cases against illegal immigrant workers, a local defense attorney and open border advocate said.

In a unanimous ruling, the Supreme Court said that undocumented workers who use phony IDs can’t be considered identity thieves without proof they knew they were stealing real people’s Social Security numbers and other numbers.

The high court’s decision limits federal authorities’ use of a 2004 law – intended to get tough on identity thieves – against immigrants who are picked up in workplace raids and found to be using false Social Security and alien registration numbers.

Pima County Legal Defender Isabel Garcia said the ruling could affect federal prosecutions in which identity theft is charged as a way to pressure illegal immigrants to volunteer to be quickly deported in exchange for dismissal of the identity theft charge. Conviction for identity theft carries a two-year mandatory prison term.

Saying she has not yet read the ruling, handed down Monday, Garcia said it also might stop local authorities from charging identity theft in certain cases.

Garcia said state and county prosecutors used a state identity theft law to “criminalize” undocumented immigrant workers.

Such workers, Garcia said, typically buy fake identification, including Social Security cards, to get jobs, not to raid bank accounts or run up credit card debt they would not have to repay.

Garcia represented one of 11 suspects picked up by state Department of Public Safety officers last spring in a raid on the Panda Express, 2485 N. Swan Road.

The raid followed a three-month investigation into suspected identity theft by workers at the restaurant, authorities said at the time. Law officers said the restaurant was not suspected of wrongdoing in the case.

The 11 were charged under a state law making it a felony to steal someone’s identity.

But the charges were reduced to misdemeanors and the 11 were sentenced to time served in jail while awaiting court disposition of their cases.

Monday’s Supreme Court ruling will not affect the Panda Express case because it already is settled, Garcia said.

Federal and Pima County prosecutors could not be reached for comment on the Supreme Court’s decision.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Citizen Staff Writer
IN BRIEF

DAVID L. TEIBEL

dteibel@tucsoncitizen.com

Local law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty will be honored Thursday at the second annual Pima County Regional Law Enforcement Memorial Service.

Members of more than 30 federal, state, tribal and local law enforcement agencies are expected to attend.

Included in the memorial will be Tucson police officer Erik Hite, who was shot and killed in June as he pursued a man suspected of a cross-town shooting spree.

Hite will be added to the roll of 41 other Tucson area officers killed in the performance of their jobs since the 1800s.

The service, open to the public, will begin at 9 a.m. in the Grand Ballroom of the Tucson Convention Center, 260 S. Church Ave.

Former Surgeon General Richard Carmona will be master of ceremonies. Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard will be the keynote speaker.

Citizen Staff Writer
LAW AND ORDER REPORT

DAVID L. TEIBEL

dteibel@tucsoncitizen.com

An anonymous tipster to 88-CRIME has led to the arrest of a man on a bank robbery charge, Tucson police said.

The robbery was at the Chase Bank branch, 6161 E. 22nd St. on Wednesday, said Officer Linda Galindo, a police spokeswoman.

Galindo said a man walked into the bank, handed a teller a note demanding money and left with an undisclosed amount.

No injuries were reported.

On Friday, Galindo said, detectives got an 88-CRIME tip on the name of a suspect in the robbery.

Police arrested Kristopher T. Huffman, 29 that day at a home in the 6500 block of East Calle Alkaid, five blocks from where Huffman told jail corrections officers he lived in the 6000 block of East Calle Alkaid.

During an initial court appearance later Friday, Huffman was ordered released without bail to the supervision of the Superior Court’s Pretrial Services program, a jail records clerk said.

Citizen Staff Writer
LAW AND ORDER REPORT

DAVID L. TEIBEL

dteibel@tucsoncitizen.com

Detectives are continuing an investigation into the fatal police shooting of a reportedly suicidal woman who allegedly pulled a revolver on officers.

Joanna Lee Smith, 57, pulled the gun and pointed it at officers who had been trying to get her to come out of her Southwest Side home, said Sgt. Mark Robinson, a Tucson police spokesman.

Events leading to Smith’s shooting began at about 9:50 p.m. Saturday when police got a call from one of Smith’s family members.

Smith had text-messaged relatives to tell them “goodbye,” Robinson said, adding there were additional reasons Smith’s family thought she might be suicidal.

Robinson would not say what those were “out of respect for the family.”

When officers arrived at Smith’s house, in the 3000 block of South Lands End Road, near South Mission Road and West 36th Street, they heard loud music coming from the home.

Officers knocked on Smith’s door. She told them, “Just go away,” and would not open the door.

Officers then heard a shot from inside the home and tried knocking on Smith’s door again, tried calling her on a telephone and then tried calling to her on a patrol car loud speaker, Robinson said.

When none of those efforts worked, officers started breaking windows in the home to find Smith, Robinson said.

As officers broke a front window, Robinson said, Smith showed herself and pointed a .38-caliber revolver at police.

Officer Daniel Spencer, an eight-year Tucson Police Department veteran, fired at least one shot from his departmental issue .223-caliber rifle, Robinson said.

Smith was wounded and taken to a hospital where she died at 11:27 p.m. Saturday, Robinson said.

Smith was the home’s sole occupant when she was shot, Robinson said.

Spencer has been offered leave with pay for his well being, standard procedure in an officer- involved shooting, Robinson said. He did not know if Spencer opted to take leave.

Homicide detectives and internal affairs investigators have been assigned to investigate the shooting, also standard in such cases, and a board of inquiry will review the results of the investigation, Robinson said.