TPD Patrol Division East Newsletter - May 2025

Captain Belinda Morales
Operations Division East

May 2025 

Fort Lowell Park Homicide Suspects Captured

On March 19th at approximately 11 p.m., officers from Operations Division East responded to Fort Lowell Park at 2900 North Craycroft Road regarding a vehicle that had driven into a house. When officers arrived, they located a male in the driver's seat with an apparent gunshot wound to his head. He was transported to Saint Joseph's Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.

Through their investigation, TPD Homicide Detectives identified the three suspects involved in the homicide. Investigators obtained arrest warrants for all three suspects and, on April 21st, they were taken into custody with the help of the Ops East and Midtown Community Response Teams, SWAT, and the K9 Unit.

On April 30th, ODE’s Community Response Team (CRT) received an 88-Crime tip of suspected criminal activity in the area of Pantano Road and Speedway Boulevard. The CRT observed a vehicle leaving the target area and initiated surveillance. CRT eventually stopped the vehicle for a traffic violation at Kolb Road and Kenyon Drive.

CRTs made contact with the driver and passenger. The passenger was found to have a misdemeanor warrant for his arrest. Officers conducted a search of the male passenger and located narcotics paraphernalia. While searching for further evidence in the vehicle, more drug paraphernalia was located. A bag that was seen in the passenger’s possession prior to the stop was found to have approximately 270 M30 pills, $290 cash, 1.529 grams of meth, a digital scale, empty bags, and pre-packaged bags of M30 pills.

The driver was cited and released for possession of narcotics paraphernalia, and the passenger was booked into the Pima County Jail for Possession of Dangerous Drug, Possession of Narcotic Drug for Sale, Unlawful Possession of Narcotics Paraphernalia, and his misdemeanor warrant. 

Officer Jonathan Austad has been with the department for seven years, working as a patrol officer for six years, including two as a Lead Patrol Officer, and he has been a  Field Training Officer (FTO) for the last four years.

Officer Austad worked a brief stint as a Zebra officer, addressing quality of life issues throughout the division. He is now the Organized Retail Theft Officer for Operations Division East.

Officer Austad has created partnerships with businesses throughout the Eastside, working regularly with the County Attorney's Office and the Attorney General's Office for prosecution. He also holds the position of FTO Coordinator for ODE, responsible for creating the training schedules for Field Training Officers (FTOs) and new officers in the division. On top of all these responsibilities, he is also an active member of ODE's Bike Unit.

Officer Austad prides himself on his attention to detail. This is regularly shown in the quality of his work product. He holds a master's degree in education from Southwestern Oklahoma State University, as well as a bachelor's degree in fine arts, with a focus in graphic design.

Officer Austad has worked and trained hard to become an invaluable member of our organization and is 100% committed to protecting the community he serves. We are fortunate to have him in ODE!

Summer means vacation and, as we head into the summer months, it's important to remember that thieves can get busy when they think people are away.

National Neighborhood Watch has a list of tips here.

These include:

• Using secondary locks on doors (deadbolts) and windows (window pins, dowels).
• Never hiding spare keys around the property.
• Locking vehicles and removing valuables – especially firearms!

You can also make your property look as though people are home by putting lights and radios or TVs on timers.