A break in the Phoenix crime wave

FREE VIDEO Crime not over yet Aug. 4: It's taken months of patient investigative work leading up to the arrests of Dale S.Hausner and Samuel John Dieteman. But the Phoenix crime spree isn't over. Dateline NBC

All summer long, as dusk descended on the Phoenix area, so too did  a veil of fear. Mayor Phil Gordon knew it would be difficult for police to catch either of the serial killers terrorizing the area.

Phil Gordon,  Mayor, Phoenix:  We are 500 square miles, we are over 50 miles north to south.  We are a million and a half people in the city itself; and another three million in the valley and again these murders and attacks have not just occurred in Phoenix, but in the surrounding area.

In fact, in the last two weeks, there had also been shootings in the neighboring city of Mesa. And, it now seems, Mesa may have been a key location in the case. Police say the killer or killers known as the “serial shooter” shot and wounded a man riding a bike in mesa on July 22^nd.   Last Sunday night,  police say, the serial shooter killed a 22-year-old Mesa woman walking alone at around 11 pm.

A break in the case
By Monday night, at an overflow town meeting, residents of Mesa looked for answers. Friday, they may have gotten some.

Bill Lewis, Phoenix Police Department (at news conference): At this point, it would be  premature to talk about specific evidence, but I assure you these are the right guys.

In the serial shooter case, the biggest problem that had faced investigators was there had been no eyewitness sightings at all.  46-year-old army veteran Tony Long was a case in point. It was the early morning hours of June 20^th:

Tony Long, serial shooter's victim: I’m like leaning up against the bus stop. It’s got a little cage around it and I’m leaning up against it. And the next thing I know I hear a bang!  And I said ‘I’m shot!’ and I run off the curb of the street and try to get some cover.

Kotb: Was there a point, Tony, where you were looking at that blood and thinking, “Oh my God, this is it for me?”

Long: Yeah, cause all I could think about was mostly the last person I heard was shot, they died.  And “I’m thinking oh Lord, I’m gonna die.”

He never got a glimpse of who shot at him. But in Mesa early Friday, local, state and federal authorities moved in on this apartment complex and arrested the two suspects.  They are identified as Dale Hausner and Samuel Dieteman. They are charged with several counts of murder and aggravated assault.

At the apartment complex, police seized a car and other evidence.

Kevin Robinson, Phoenix Assistant Police Chief: We identified these folks, Monday, late Monday evening, from that point we continued on; we knew about them prior to that.

Authorites also say they are looking into a connection between the suspects and fires at Wal-mart stores.

Bill Newell, ATF Special Agent in Charge: There is a link in that the suspects we developed in that fire are in fact the serial killers.

Hunt still on
Former FBI profiler and now-NBC news analyst Clint Van Zandt developed a theory about a link between the serial shooters and the baseline killer.

Clint Van Zandt, former FBI profiler: Law enforcement has to consider the possibility that there is some level of competition between these killers, that there is some kind of one-upsmanship that could be going on.

Police won’t speculate whether there was a competition, but they say there is no connection between the two sets of crimes.

There is still anxiety about the next few days and that’s because the 'baseline killer,' still on the loose, seems to work in 30-day cycles.

Kotb: So has he been killing and raping about every month? Has that been his pattern?

Sgt. Hill: If you look at the timeline, that’s pretty close.  It’s been pretty similar.  Sometimes there have been more frequent attacks, but when you look at the most recent attacks ... 5 out of the last 6 incidents have been homicides.

For now, authorities’ biggest hope is that more public tips will help them solve the Baseline case.

Commander Kim Humphrey, Phoenix Police Department: Every time that phone rings you never know when you pick it up if that’s going to be that one bit of information that’s going to put our detective on the trail and get this individual off the street.

With at least one killer still on the loose, the Phoenix area remains on high alert. Residents just hope that lightning will strike twice in the form of another break in the case— before anyone else is killed.

SAFETY TIPS FOR PHOENIX RESIDENTS Always be aware — Pay attention to your surroundings and display confidence — Be aware of people around you — Don't be afraid to make a scene to get attention and help Have a plan — Visualize what you would do if confronted (Run away and yell) — Carry a cellphone and have it ready to use — If someone grabs your purse, let it go — Trust your insticts— don't worry about offending someone — Carry pepper spray or a whistle Call the police — Call the police first! Not your mother, husband, friend — Report ANY suspicious behavior. No information is insignificant — Remember safety starts with you. Silentwitness.org

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