Early on the morning of January 25, 2013, the Tucson Police Department was notified of an armed robbery incident that occurred at a 7-11 store located at 3501 East Grant Road. The original 911 call came in at approximately 4:42 a.m.
Subsequent to that 911 call, officers from Operations Division Midtown responded to the area in order to both initiate the investigation and begin searching for the suspect. The basic description of the suspect was similar to that of a serial robbery suspect, who committed multiple armed robberies on the early morning of January 24, 2013. As such, responding officers were on the look out for a vehicle that was thought to be associated to the serial armed robbery suspect from the previous day.
At approximately 4:44 a.m., an officer in a neighborhood adjacent to the 7-11 store saw a vehicle that matched the description of the one thought to be associated with the serial armed robbery suspect. That vehicle was described as an older model, dark colored Cadillac sedan. The officer began to follow the vehicle as it drove in the neighborhood.
Shortly thereafter, the suspect vehicle drove into an alleyway that came to a dead end near the 3700 block of East Blacklidge. Both the suspect, Willie Davis and the officer exited their vehicles, and it appeared that Davis was attempting to begin fleeing on foot.
At approximately 4:46 a.m., another officer who was in the vicinity of East Blacklidge and North Dodge advised via the police radio that he heard gunshots coming from the alleyway. Several other officers quickly arrived to the location where the suspect vehicle and original officer had come to a stop in the alleyway. They determined that Davis had been struck by gunfire. He succumbed to his injuries while at the scene and was pronounced deceased. Next of kin have been notified.
It was later learned that Mr. Davis recently began staying with family in the Tucson area after traveling from Arkansas to visit them in November of 2012. Sergeant Anthony Kadous, a 26-year law enforcement veteran (nearly 20 years with the Tucson Police Department and more than 6 years with the Prescott Police Department) was identified as the officer who fired his weapon. No officers or other citizens were struck by gunfire or otherwise injured during the incident.
Detectives from the Robbery Unit responded in order to assist with the investigation of the robbery incident that occurred at the 7-11 store as well as to ascertain whether or not the same suspect was responsible for the various armed robbery incidents that occurred on the early morning of January 24, 2013.
The investigation thus far has revealed that as Mr. Davis was fleeing from the suspect vehicle on foot, he pointed a handgun at Sergeant Kadous. Fearing for his life, Sergeant Kadous fired several gunshots at Mr. Davis. In addition, it has been confirmed that Mr. Davis was the serial armed robber responsible for several robbery incidents at convenience stores throughout the morning of January 24, 2013 and the incident at the 7-11 store located at 3501 East Grant on the early morning of January 25, 2013. Robbery detectives are continuing their investigation to determine if he may have been responsible for other robbery incidents or involved in other criminal activity in the months since his arrival to the Tucson area in November of 2012.
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