Muggings not just a big-city problem
Battered Tucson man paralyzed; suspect sought
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Highway Robberies:
Jan. 1 through July 1
Citywide: 274
Downtown: 39
Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2006
Citywide: 801
Downtown: 76
Plan your routes.
Plan your business.
If you have to be out at night, plan your path.
Let someone know when you'll be back.
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Francisco J. Baires was living his dream when a mugging last month turned his life into a nightmare.
The mugger didn't take any money or jewels, but he nearly took Baires' life.
Baires, 29, and his girlfriend had left a downtown establishment and were walking to a friend's home around 2:30 a.m. June 26 when a white, "boxy" car pulled up beside them, Tucson police Detective Scott Haynes said in an interview Tuesday.
One man got out of the car, which was stopped at North Stone Avenue and Sixth Street, and demanded cash and jewelry from the couple, which they did not have, Haynes said.
"Francisco was trying to de-escalate the situation," Haynes said, "telling him 'Let's call it a night, man. Take it easy.'"
That's when the man hit Baires on the head, Haynes said. Haynes would not say what type of weapon was used, except that it was a blunt object.
"He did not fall to the ground," he said. "It did not break the skin."
The mugger jumped back into the car empty-handed, and the car drove off, he said.
Baires seemed fine, and the couple went home, Haynes said.
A few hours later, he was in emergency surgery at University Medical Center, where doctors were trying to stop the bleeding in his brain.
While muggings are more associated with bigger cities such as New York or Los Angeles, they are unfortunately all too common in Tucson, numbering about five a week, TPD robbery detail Sgt. Marco Borboa said.
Officially called highway robberies, the crimes range from purse snatchings to holdups and usually involve force or the threat of force, he said.
They happen everywhere in the city, Borboa said, and there is no concentration in any particular part of town.
"A large percentage are the result of a crime of opportunity," he said. The opportunities may come up in a quiet grocery store late at night, dark mall parking lots, large gatherings at sporting events, at ATMs late at night or to the lone traveler on a sparsely populated street.
From Jan. 1 through July 1, there were 274 highway robberies citywide, or nearly 2 percent more than last year through the same period, Borboa said. Those committed downtown from Jan. 1 through July 1 come to about 39, or 14 percent of the total, according to the TPD's Web site.
To avoid a mugging, it's best to be aware of your surroundings, Borboa said.
"Plan your routes, plan your business. If you have to be out at night, plan your path," he said. "Let someone know when you'll be back."
A gentle reaction to a robber often does little to defuse the situation, he said, using Baires' attack as an example.
Borboa said a robbery does not need to result in physical injury such as that suffered by Baires to be traumatic to the victim. Those close to the victim also are often severely affected, he said.
"I was devastated," said Baires' mother, Pamela Schultz, 55. "Originally, it didn't look like he was going to make it."
Schultz and Baires' sister, Pamela Ramirez, 35, flew from their homes in Florida and Dallas, respectively, immediately after hearing the news.
Baires' grandfather Max Cody, 76, who flew in from south Texas, and his father, Francisco Baires, 55, from Indiana, soon joined them.
"The blow to his head created a huge hematoma," Schultz said. "They actually had to do surgery to remove a portion of his skull to take the blood clot out."
After several days in a coma and on a respirator, Baires has been recovering slowly but steadily, Schultz said.
Baires, who moved to Tucson last August, was set to start a graduate program in anthropology at the University of Arizona next month. He had first come to Arizona at the end of his undergraduate program at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville to work with Bruce Anderson, a forensic anthropologist in Pima County's Office of the Medical Examiner. He had been a volunteer with Anderson this summer and last.
Baires found his calling measuring skeletons of unidentified border crossers found in the desert.
"His passion was to work in trying to identify (the skeletons) in order to help the families of the loved ones who have died, to bring them closure," Schultz said. "His dream has always been to help the underdog, to help the person who has no chance. That's the kind of person he's always been."
Anderson said Baires is extremely passionate, competent and intelligent, not to mention the only researcher they've had who was not at a Ph.D. level.
"This was his second year of volunteering," Anderson said, "and we will welcome him back."
Baires is able to talk, enough for a 20-minute interview with Detective Haynes on Monday, and has been transferred to a rehabilitation facility. He could not participate in an interview with the Citizen.
The left side of his body is still paralyzed, Schultz said, and he'll undergo physical therapy for months.
After exhausting all internal and agency leads, Tucson police have made public a sketch of the mugging suspect and ask for help to catch him.
The man has crooked, stained teeth and a weathered face, Haynes said, two traits that could not be portrayed in the computer sketch.
The suspect was in the car with another man, who got out but did not participate in the mugging, Haynes said. The car was a late 1980s model vehicle with a big hood. No description of the other man was available.
Borboa said robberies are usually serial crimes, with a person or small group of people hitting a string of people or businesses, but police do not believe the robbers in Baires' case fit that mold.
"We don't think they've done this before," he said.
Borboa said the attacker, when caught, could be charged with highway robbery and aggravated assault.
"I know that people are expecting me to feel revenge, to feel hate," Schultz said. "I don't. I really don't. I just want them to realize what they have done so they don't do that to anyone else."
Schultz and the rest of the immediate family are praying for a full recovery.
She said the family has yet to receive a medical bill for his care, but costs are already high.
Baires had to give up his studio apartment and his job. His family is looking for another place for him to rent, one that may need to be wheelchair-accessible.
Schultz said the family's travel to Tucson is also costing a bundle.
"His income was totally stopped, and he has bills to pay," Schultz said. "We're in the process of pulling our resources together."
To help with the family's bills, contributions may be made to the Bank of America, Francisco J. Baires Medical Fund. They may be made directly at the bank, referencing the last four digits of the account - 5840 - or mailed to 850 E. Elm St., Tucson, AZ 85719.
Tucson Police Department
Now Glenn and I are not friends anymore but I would not hesitate to back him up in a problem if needed and I am sure he would do the same for me. We are very similar in backgrounds, me being older. We both just want to live our lives peacefully without someone trying to take what we earned from us.
I agree with you that people should be able to go anywhere they want in America, but the unfortunate reality is that some areas are more prone to crime than others. Not everyone is Chuck Norris. My mother once went into a shopping mall in Los Angeles which was like some sort of gangland, and she told me she hightailed it out of there. If there was a sign or something to warn people, it would be helpful.
People can still go anywhere they want, but they should be informed as to the risks of entering some areas.