PHOENIX - The first time 12 News viewers heard from Clint Van Zandt back in July 2016, when the former FBI profiler drew a rough sketch of the Serial Serial Shooting suspect.

This week, Phoenix police have arrested Aaron Saucedo, 23, and accused him of 12 shootings and nine killings in the string of violent crimes.

"He may well be playing a waiting game against law enforcement, fully realizing that law enforcement can only be leaning forward in the saddle for so long," Van Zandt said.

That was the time the trail seemed to grow cold for investigators. But in actuality, police were working the patterns identified by profilers, like where the shooter was likely to operate.

"Either someplace very close to their home or their residence," Van Zandt said.

RELATED: Family of Serial Street Shooter's first alleged victim speaks out

He went on to say that it is not unusual to be where they work or sometimes at a distant point and then start working their way back again.

The first shootings in the 2016 string were in central Phoenix a few miles from Saucedo's home. The gunman then ventured farther west to the Maryvale neighborhood near 65th Avenue and Indian School. Then in August 2016, viewers heard Van Zandt caution against premature conclusions about who the killer might be.

"Eyewitness testimony many times is the worst possible testimony we can get," he said.

But he commended Phoenix detectives Monday for wading through more than 3,300 tips and identifying a crucial clue in the case.

"Witnesses knew the car that the shooter might have been driving: the dark-colored or black BMW," Van Zandt said.

With the vehicle information and a sketch of a possible suspect in police hands, Van Zandt says FBI profilers then likely reminded detectives of another serial shooter trait.

"The believed shooter is quickly going to change his physical appearance," he said. "He's going to get rid of a weapon he may have had. He's going to get rid of a car he may have been driving."

 

 That's exactly what Saucedo did after a mid-summer media blitz for information.

"He has told (detectives) that he did, after that ... changed his appearance and stopped driving his BMW," Phoeniix PD spokesperson Sgt Jonathan Howard told a packed Monday afternoon press conference.

And as for the gun used in the crimes, Phoenix police say Saucedo tried to get rid of at least one weapon during his deadly shooting spree by selling it at a pawn shop.

Saucedo has been charged with at least 26 counts in 12 separate shooting incidences, including nine fatalities.

MAP: See the Serial Street Shootings mapped out across Phoenix </s> (UPI) — Phoenix police said they arrested a man suspected in a series of random shootings that killed nine people since August 2015.

Aaron Juan Saucedo, 23, in custody since a separate April 19 shooting, was booked again into Maricopa County Jail on 26 charges, including murder, attempted murder, drive-by shooting and aggravated assault related to the serial attacks, police Chief Jeri Williams said Monday.

Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton said 3,300 tips to an anonymous hotline directed police to Saucedo.

A $75,000 reward will be paid, police spokesman Sgt. Jonathan Howard said.

Saucedo was arrested in April and held on $750,000 bond in the death of Raul Romero, 61, in August 2015. Romero had been dating Saucedo’s mother at the time of his death.

Police connected Saucedo to the actions of the so-called Serial Street Shooter, whose victims seemed to be chosen at random. Police accuse Saucedo of killing nine people, injuring two and firing at three more without causing injuries in 12 shooting incidents between August 2015 and July 2016.

Howard said a motive had not yet been determined, but police have obtained incriminating statements from Saucedo, who has no criminal record other than a traffic offense. Officials indicated there is no evidence he had an accomplice in the shootings.

“Our officers did not rest. They followed the evidence. They had a clear mission: Bring the killer to justice and get it right. This is a good day in the city of Phoenix,” Stanton said. </s> A suspected serial killer wanted in connection with the murders of a prominent forensic psychiatrist and three other people in Arizona was found dead Monday, police said.

The unidentified man killed himself in a Scottsdale hotel room after firing at the SWAT team that entered his room.

"This does appear to be related to the recent homicides in Phoenix and Scottsdale," Sgt. Vince Lewis of the Phoenix Police Department said as dozens of officers sealed off the Extended Stay America hotel.

Lewis did not identify the suspect beyond calling him an "adult male."

"There were multiple shots fired from inside that room," Lewis said, while the adjacent rooms were being evacuated. "No officer fired any shots during today's operation."

The hunt began on Thursday after 59-year-old Steven Pitt, who advised police and prosecutors in high-profile cases like the JonBenét Ramsey murder and the Columbine school massacre, was shot dead outside his Phoenix office.

Witnesses who reported hearing a loud argument and then gunshots provided police a description of the gunman that allowed them to create a sketch.

Then on Friday, paralegals Veleria Sharp, 48, and Laura Anderson, 49, were killed inside a law office in the Phoenix suburb of Scottsdale, and police were able to link their deaths to the Pitt killing.

A fourth shooting victim, Marshall Levine, 72, was discovered dead in his Scottsdale office early Saturday morning. His building houses mostly counselors and therapists, and The Arizona Republic described him as "a psychologist and counselor." </s> A police sketch of the man suspected of killing Steven Pitt on May 31, 2018.

PHOENIX — Arizona police say a man suspected of murdering a prominent forensic psychologist and two paralegals at their offices in Phoenix and neighboring Scottsdale is dead.

A statement issued by Scottsdale police just before 7 a.m. MT on Monday said officers were attempting to make contact with the suspect at an Extended Stay America hotel.

Officials said SWAT teams were evacuating adjacent hotel rooms and they heard shots fired inside the suspect's room. He was later found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, said Sgt. Vince Lewis, a Phoenix police spokesman.

Lewis said police did not fire any shots and no one else was injured.

The series of murders that began Thursday evening have rattled the legal community. Police still have not said how the shootings are connected.

First killed was Steven Pitt, a forensic psychiatrist who consulted on a number of high-profile cases including the Baseline Killer case and the JonBenét Ramsey murder investigation. He was gunned down outside his office.

June 2: Police identify 4th shooting victim in Phoenix suburb connected to deaths of psychiatrist, paralegals

Sgt. Vince Lewis, a spokesman for the Phoenix Police Department, said witnesses overheard a loud argument followed by gunshots at about 5:30 p.m. Thursday. The 59-year-old died at the scene. The shooter fled the area, leaving police with nothing but a sketch of a round-faced man with a dark-colored cap.

Less than 24 hours later, Veleria Sharp, 48, and Laura Anderson, 49, were shot in the downtown Scottsdale law offices of Burt, Feldman and Grenier about 2:15 p.m. Friday. Both women worked as paralegals.

Police said one of the women was shot in the head. She then ran out of the office and flagged down a party bus driver to call for help. She was later pronounced dead.

The second woman was found shot to death inside the office.

All three of those shootings have been linked. Police have yet to say whether a fourth shooting death was related.

Psychologist and counselor Marshall Levine was found dead of an apparent gunshot wound early Saturday inside a Scottsdale office building.

Hoster said an acquaintance discovered Levine's body shortly after midnight.

As of Sunday evening, police said they were still investigating a possible connection between the first three murders and the Friday shooting of Levine in his office.

The lack of answers left many legal and mental-health professionals with a sense of unease as they prepared for the workweek. Multiple lawyers said they had hired additional security or planned to avoid going into the office Monday.

Since police hadn't named a suspect, no one knew who else might be a target. Lawyers met in darkened cafes Sunday, scrambling to figure out which clients the lawyers at Burt, Feldman and Grenier had in common with Pitt.

Stephanie Isherwood, who owns the building where Pitt's office was located, said in an interview Sunday that Pitt was aware of the dangers of his career.

His entire profession focused on the mental health of criminals, frequently delving into unstable territory, Isherwood said. But he didn't let his cases dominate his personal life. Instead, he divided his time between his work and his love for hiking, traveling and spending time with his family.

Isherwood still remembers the first time she met Pitt nearly 15 years ago: He had already made a name for himself as a prominent psychiatrist by consulting on a number of notorious cases, including the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School and the JonBenét Ramsey murder investigation.

Yet he casually welcomed a group of frenzied reporters into his office to discuss an ongoing case while clad in a crisp white dress shirt paired with a pair of hiking shorts and boots. A news conference wasn't going to get in the way of hiking Camelback Mountain.

Pitt's zeal for life made his death even more heartbreaking to Isherwood, she said.

"He was willing to dedicate himself to this, and he put aside the risk to do what he did," she said. "He was trying to triumph over evil and serve justice, and this is what happened."

After Pitt's death, the office turned over security footage and other items to law enforcement. Isherwood said she is positive the answer is hidden somewhere within those materials.

Contributing: Bree Burkitt, The Arizona Republic. Follow The Arizona Republic on Twitter: @azcentral </s> For more than a year, a phantom gunman lurked in Phoenix.

Known as the “Serial Street Shooter” because of where the victims were targeted, the killer gunned down nine people in a dozen separate shootings in 2015 and 2016, according to police.

The gunman struck at night, stalking victims to their homes or cars and opening fire on them under the cover of darkness.

The case confounded investigators, who struggled to square the conflicting descriptions of the suspect and the vehicle used in the crimes.

Most of the slayings took place in West Phoenix, a predominantly Latino neighborhood. As month after month went by without an arrest, volunteers started conducting safety patrols. Parents kept their children inside, away from the windows. When evening fell, streets would clear.

It bore a striking resemblance to the fear in the Washington, D.C., region stoked by a series of sniper attacks in fall 2002 that claimed 10 lives before two men were arrested and ultimately convicted.

On Monday, after running down thousands of tips from the community, Phoenix police said they finally found the person they were looking for.

Aaron Juan Saucedo, 23, of Phoenix, was arrested and charged with 26 felony counts of homicide, aggravated assault and drive-by shooting, Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams announced.

Investigators had initially focused on seven fatal shootings they believed were connected. But police said Monday that Saucedo had killed nine victims in 12 separate shootings. All but one of the victims were strangers to Saucedo, according to police.

“This case plagued our community for more than a year,” Williams said, “and left behind a trail of victims that included mothers, sons, brothers, sisters and families still mourning the loss of their loved ones.”

“We hope that our community will rest a little easier and that our officers will get a little more sleep knowing that the wheels of justice are finally in motion,” she said.

Saucedo has been in police custody since last month, when he was arrested and held on $750,000 bail in connection with the fatal shooting of his mother’s boyfriend, 61-year-old Raul Romero.

Police did not identify a motive, nor did they offer details about what specifically had convinced them that Saucedo was connected to all nine slayings. But Phoenix police spokesman Sgt. Jonathan Howard told the Arizona Republic that a “wide host of evidence” – including ballistics, surveillance and witness testimony – made clear he was the killer.

“It goes on and on,” Howard said.

A defense attorney for Saucedo did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment Monday night.

Saucedo did not have a previous criminal record in Arizona. According to the Republic, he worked briefly as a municipal bus driver and was employed at a temp agency around the time of his arrest in April.

Authorities said Saucedo’s violence began on Aug. 12, 2015. That night, police said, he shot into a stranger’s house. No one was injured.

Four days later, Saucedo gunned down Romero, the only victim he appeared to have known personally, according to police.

Several months passed before another victim was felled by gunfire. Police said in the early hours of Jan. 1, 2016, Saucedo shot and killed Jesse Olivas in a drive-by shooting as the 22-year-old was standing in front of a home.

The rest of the victims were gunned down between March and July 2016, in a four-month rampage that terrorized the city. Among those killed were Stephanie Ellis and her 12-year-old daughter, who were shot to death along with a family friend as they sat listening to music in their car.

Ellis’s mother, Sylbia Ellis, said police told her Monday morning that they had arrested her daughter and granddaughter’s killer. She told the Republic she was still trying to process the news.

“My mind is all over the place. My body is in shock,” Ellis said. “I’m trying to get myself together.”

When the shootings stopped last July, investigators said Saucedo likely changed his appearance and started driving a different car. Earlier reports said he was driving a late-1990 to early 2000 BMW.

“It’s been said that a serial killer is like a chameleon, and that’s what made this case so frustrating,” U.S. Marshal for Arizona David Gonzales told the Phoenix New Times.

Investigators pursued some 3,300 tips, while federal authorities conducted behavioral analyses and ballistics testing.

Police notified all the victims’ families Monday before publicly announcing Saucedo’s arrest.

“Our hearts go out to the surviving families,” Williams, the police chief, said. “Today we are closer to providing them the justice they deserve.”

During the height of Saucedo’s alleged killing spree, in summer of 2016, locals described West Phoenix as a “ghost town.” Residents were clearing out of public spaces around dusk. Some even reported sleeping in back bedrooms to stay safe.

Rosa Pastrana, the head of a neighborhood watch group in the area where most of the shootings took place, told the Associated Press she felt relieved after hearing about Saucedo’s arrest.

“I’m happy my kids are going to be able to walk outside,” she said, “and I won’t have to fear that they’re going to get shot.” </s> PHOENIX - A suspect was killed in a police shooting Monday afternoon in Phoenix near 35th and Dunlap avenues.

Phoenix fire officials said the 38-year-old suspect was taken to a trauma center in extremely critical condition. Police later said the suspect had died.

Police at the scene said officers had stopped a white SUV. The driver had an outstanding warrant and was arrested.

Officers then searched the vehicle and found a shotgun. They began talking to the passenger, who took off on foot. While an officer chased him, the suspect threatened the officer, concealing his hands and saying he had a gun and would shoot him, a police spokesperson said.

The officer chased the suspect past another officer who was in the area on an unrelated matter. After passing the second officer, the suspect turned around to confront the officers, the spokesperson said. Both officers shot at the suspect, who was hit.

Police said no officers were injured and no suspects were outstanding.

The police spokesperson did not say whether a gun was found on the suspect. </s> ABC News(PHOENIX) — The fourth murder in a string of killings that began with the shooting of prominent forensic psychologist Steven Pitt in Phoenix has now been linked to the first three, law enforcement officials told ABC News.

Pitt, who consulted with law enforcement on a handful of prominent cases, including the JonBenet Ramsey murder and the Jodi Arias trial, was shot and killed outside his office in Phoenix on Thursday night. An eyewitness said he heard Pitt loudly arguing with someone followed by gunshots, according to police.

Law enforcement officials told ABC News on Sunday that this person is the only known eyewitness to any of the murders. The suspect was described by police as a white man wearing a black cap with a short brim.

Scottsdale police had already connected the Friday afternoon killings of paralegals Veleria Sharp, 48, and Laura Anderson, 49, to the same suspect.

The murder of Marshall Levine, who was killed just after midnight Saturday in Scottsdale, Arizona, has now been linked to the same gun used in all four murders, law enforcement officials told ABC News.

The sources said the motive in the four killings remains unclear, but this is likely “family related.” The law enforcement officials said they have a bead on a “couple” of possible suspects.

Levine’s ex-wife, Carol Kleinman, told ABC News that Levine was a psychiatrist, but was only licensed to practice in New Jersey.

Since moving to Arizona, Kleinman said Levine worked as a life coach and hypnotherapist and dealt with clients who often “are angry.”

Levine’s body was discovered by an acquaintance inside of his Scottsdale office in a neighborhood known as The Greens at Gainey Ranch — about 17 minutes from where the paralegals were shot.

Law enforcement officials told ABC News on Sunday that one of the two paralegals actually crawled to a limo bus after being shot and alerted the driver, who called police. Police followed the trail of blood left by that woman to find the other, shot to death in the pair’s law office.

“We are confident that both crime scenes are related,” Phoenix Police Department spokesman Sgt. Vince Lewis Lewis said Saturday of the shootings of Pitt and the two paralegals.

Steven Pitt & Associates is headquartered in Phoenix, but Pitt worked on a number of nationally known cases, including Ramsey’s murder. The murder of the 6-year-old beauty pageant competitor who was found dead in the basement of her family’s home in Boulder, Colorado, has never been solved. Pitt was brought on in February 1997 to help develop a psychological profile of Ramsey’s parents, according to multiple reports at the time.

Pitt also consulted on cases including the Columbine High School massacre, Kobe Bryant’s sexual assault case and the Phoenix serial killer known as the “Baseline Killer,” who was sentenced to death for murdering nine people in 2005 and 2006.

No connection has been publicly announced between Pitt and the two paralegals or Levine.

A $21,000 reward was being offered for an arrest and conviction in the four murders. </s> Aaron Saucedo was arrested this week in connection with a fatal shooting in 2015 and is being considered a "person of interest" in the Serial Street Shootings that terrorized the Phoenix area over four months in 2016. Man held in Phoenix 'Serial Street Shooter' case PHOENIX -- Aaron Saucedo was arrested this week in connection with a fatal shooting in 2015 and is being considered a "person of interest" in the Serial Street Shootings that terrorized the Phoenix area over four months in 2016.

Start the conversation, or Read more at The Arizona Republic. </s> High-profile forensic psychiatrist Steven Pitt who was murdered outside his office in Scottsdale, Ariz. on Thursday has a Michigan connection.

Pitt, who was known for working on many prominent cases such as JonBenet Ramsey's murder in 1996 and the 1999 mass shooting at Columbine High School in Colo., was born and raised in Southfield. He graduated from Southfield-Lathrup High School (now Southfield High School for the Arts and Technology).

Pitt also graduated from Michigan State University's College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed his psychiatry residency training at the University of Michigan's Medical Center.

According to his website, Pitt garnered a national reputation for his expertise in psychiatric evaluations and has been consulted on a variety of criminal cases.

The 59-year-old served as a clinical associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Arizona's College of Medicine and has appeared on various national television shows and was often called upon to testify in court about mass murders.

Pitt was gunned down Thursday outside of his office police said. Witnesses said they heard a loud argument followed by gunshots, Phoenix Police Sgt. Vince Lewis said Friday. Pitt was pronounced dead at the scene.

Less than 24 hours later, Veleria Sharp, 48, and Laura Anderson, 49, were shot in the downtown Scottsdale law offices of Burt, Feldman and Grenier about 2:15 p.m. Friday. Both women worked as paralegals.

Then psychologist and counselor Marshall Levine, 72, was found dead of an apparent gunshot wound early Saturday inside a Scottsdale office building. Police said an acquaintance discovered Levine's body shortly after midnight.

On Monday, police said that the man suspected of murdering all four people had died.

Phoenix police said officers tracked the suspect over the past day and a half and were attempting to make contact with him Monday morning at an Extended Stay America hotel.

Shots were fired as the SWAT team went into the suspect's room, but officers did not fire, Phoenix police Sgt. Vince Lewis said, the Associated Press reported.

The suspect was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Lewis said.

Arizona Republic reporters Kelsey Mo and Anne Ryman contributed to this report.
The Phoenix, Arizona police arrest the suspected Maryvale serial shooter.