On February 27, 2013 at 11:57 a.m., officers from Tucson Police Department responded to a report of an armed robbery at the Bank of the West located at 3175 North Swan Road. Upon arrival, officers determined that the suspect had fled prior to their arrival and no one was injured during the incident.
Responding officers located a vehicle determined to be involved in the armed robbery near East 22nd Street and South Kino Parkway within minutes of the 911 call. A short pursuit was initiated which ended in an alley west of East 27th Street and South Curtis Avenue when the suspect’s vehicle struck a fence. Two males fled on foot from the vehicle.
Officers immediately caught one of the suspects and the other fled through a nearby fenced backyard. Officers chased the second suspect and were involved in a confrontation with him in that backyard. During that confrontation, a pit bull inside the back yard bit one of the officers. The second officer fired his duty weapon at the dog striking it one time. The suspect managed to escape and officers lost sight of him.
Officers contained the area and a K-9 Unit and the Air Support Unit responded to assist in the search. The second suspect was located a short time later hiding in a shed in the 1500 block of East 28th Street. He was bit by a police K-9 and taken into custody with minor injuries. The officer that was bit by the pit bull suffered minor injuries.
The pit bull that was shot by the officer is expected to survive.
A bag containing the stolen money was recovered near the suspect vehicle. The handgun suspected of being used in the robbery was located inside the same bag.
Robbery Detectives determined that the first suspect entered the Bank of the West, displayed a handgun and demanded money from the victim tellers. He fled on foot with an undisclosed amount of money to a nearby vehicle (2007 Chevy Impala). A second suspect waited in the vehicle and drove the first suspect away from the scene.
Detectives identified the suspect that robbed the bank at gunpoint as 20-year old Evan Curtis Hill. He was the suspect located hiding in the shed in the 1500 block of East 28th Street. He was booked into the Pima County Jail for two counts of Armed Robbery, two counts of Aggravated Robbery and three counts of Aggravated Assault.
The suspect that waited in the vehicle as the robbery occurred was identified as 48-year old John Murphy. He was booked into the Pima County Jail for two counts of Armed Robbery, two counts of Aggravated Robbery and one count of Unlawful Flight from Pursuing Law Enforcement.
As is standard practice in all officer-involved shooting incidents, the Homicide Unit is conducting a criminal investigation into the actions of the officer that fired his duty weapon at the pit bull. Personnel from the Office of Internal Affairs are conducting a separate and parallel investigation to examine the actions of department personnel in response to this incident.