On January 10, 2013, deputies with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department responded to 5601 N Oracle Rd, reference a burglary at a business. When deputies arrived they found the business burglarized had a similar method of forced entry as several others in the area.
This began a three month investigation that included detectives from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, Oro Valley Police Department and Marana Police Department. The burglaries appeared to target businesses on the northwest side of town. Combined over five thousand dollars were stolen with additional damages exceeding an estimated five thousand dollars. On April 17th 2013, Oro Valley Police Department responded to the area of Oracle Rd and Pucsh View Ln. reference a report of a suspicious person. Patrol officers simultaneously received notification of an alarm at a nearby business. Officers arrived and found two businesses had been broken into with items removed.
Patrol officers located a man on a bicycle in the area who matched the description given to police of the suspicious person. The man was identified as Richard Thomas Housman, and in the course of the investigation he was found in possession of burglary tools and items taken from the businesses. That night he was booked into the Pima County Adult Detention Center on two counts of Burglary in the 3rd Degree and one count of Possession of Burglary Tools.
The information gathered that night was disseminated to the other agencies and after further investigation, it was determined Mr. Housman was involved in 25 other cases. Through the course of the investigation and confirmation of DNA he was linked to multiple burglaries on the northwest side.