Patricia Baeuerlen |
| Posted 2009-11-27 by Pat Wilson |
| Two 16-year-old boys - a suspected gang member and one who aspired to join a gang - were arrested last night Dec. 10, 1992, in connection with the murder of a woman whose body was found in the desert southeast of Tucson earlier this week, authorities said. Levi Jaimes Jackson, of the 4500 block of East Montecito Street, was arrested at about 9 p.m. by the Pima County Sheriff's Department fugitive unit, said Sgt. Ron Benson, department spokesman. Also arrested was Ray A. Hernandez, of the 3500 block of East 32nd Street. Hernandez was arrested last night without incident at his home, authorities said. Authorities searched for both Hernandez and Jackson for two days, but said they did not make Hernandez's name public until his arrest because they worried he would flee the city, Benson said. The two arrests bring to three the number arrested in connection with the slaying. Jackson was arrested without incident in an apartment where he was staying in the 5000 block of East Fifth Street, Benson said. Jackson was arrested minutes after he telephoned the Sheriff's Department to surrender, Benson said. Both were led from Sheriff's Department headquarters in handcuffs at about 10 p.m. and were expected to be held at the Pima County Juvenile Detention Center. Though they are juveniles, The Arizona Daily Star is publishing Jackson's and Hernandez's names because of the severity of the accusation. Kevin Artice Miles, 24, who was arrested Wednesday in Mesa while driving the woman's stolen car was booked into the Pima County Jail yesterday on charges that include first-degree murder, officials said. The three are being held in the murder of 40-year-old Patricia R. Baeuerlen, who disappeared during her lunch break on Monday. "This is not someone who should be loose on our streets," Benson said of Jackson before the arrest. "This guy is just cold-blooded. He is considered armed and extremely dangerous." Benson said Jackson had "aspirations" to be a gang member, but added that there has been no evidence that the crime was committed as part of a gang initiation. However, Hernandez is known to have gang affiliations, he said. Investigators said that some gangs require prospective members to commit a violent act, which could include assaults and drive-by shootings. All three face charges including first-degree murder, kidnapping, attempted sexual assault and theft by control. Miles, of the 4400 block of East Montecito Street, is being held in jail without bond. Miles was arrested early Wednesday morning after a high-speed chase that stretched from Chandler to Mesa, where he crashed Baeuerlen's 1987 Ford Taurus into a chain-link fence near the Superstition Freeway. A passenger in the car, a 19-year-old Arizona State University student, was released after she was questioned by police. A missing-persons report was filed with Tucson police Dec. 1, after Jackson, a former Rincon High School student, apparently ran away from his home, about one mile north of Baeuerlen's apartment. Pima County Juvenile Court records show that the day Jackson ran away, he had admitted to breaking his probation and was awaiting a disposition hearing scheduled in January. Jackson was sentenced to probation after he admitted breaking into a car in October 1991. As part of his probation, Jackson was ordered to attend all his classes at Rincon High School, complete 50 hours of volunteer service, and stay away from gang members, court records show. A petition to revoke his probation was filed in October after Jackson apparently had missed 35 days of class since the beginning of the school year. A second petition was filed in November, a month after Tucson police accused Jackson of assaulting a 14-year-old girl. On the day he ran away, Jackson admitted in a plea agreement to missing school and threatening the girl, records show. Sgt. Leo Duffner, with the Pima County Sheriff's Department homicide unit, said it appeared Baeuerlen was taken to the desert and killed after her car was stolen at gunpoint - or carjacked. "She was absolutely an innocent victim," Duffner said. "There is nothing to indicate (Baeuerlen) did anything but drive her car." If Baeuerlen's car was carjacked, it would be the first time a victim has been killed in at least three dozen carjackings this year. It is the latest in a series of violent crimes involving young people. Investigators said Baeuerlen was last seen leaving her apartment near East 22nd Street and South Columbus Boulevard at about 1 p.m. Monday to return to work after lunch. Baeuerlen was reported missing by co-workers at ABC Technical & Trade Schools, 3761 E. Technical Drive, who became worried after she failed to return from lunch. Investigators said they are trying to determine whether her car was used in crimes in the Phoenix or Tucson areas after it was stolen. Detectives say young people have been involved in several area killings in an already violent year. So far this year, 67 people have been killed in the Tucson area. It is the deadliest year in the city since 1989, Tucson police say. Pima County figures show that 20 of those victims were killed outside the city limits, two above the average county homicide rate of 18. Young people are suspected in at least 10 Tucson-area slayings this year. A viewing for Baeuerlen is scheduled Sunday, Dec. 13, 1992, at Adair Funeral Home, 1050 N. Dodge Blvd. A rosary will begin at 7 p.m. The funeral is planned for Monday, Dec. 14, 1992, at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Tempe. The family asked that donations be made to a memorial trust fund for Baeuerlen's two sons, Joseph, 8, and Brandon, 16. Checks can be made to the Patricia Baeuerlen Memorial Fund. Arizona Daily Star December 11, 1992 |
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