Gunman In Fatal Tulsa Shooting Suspected In Other Robberies

Lacie Lowry, News On 6

TULSA, Oklahoma -- Police believe the gunman in Tuesday's deadly crime spree that ended in midtown Tulsa may be connected with several other robberies.

Police say Billy Joe Hamons, 31, and another suspect impersonated utility men to force two men inside a home in Prue.

Police are now looking at several similar crimes that involved the suspect impersonating someone else. They think Hamons may be responsible for those crimes, too.

One of those crimes was robbery inside a Tulsa home near 28th and Garnett on May 3, 2011. Jim Steele called 911 after two men pretending to be cops robbed him and two women at gunpoint. The men were wearing police gear.

5/4/2011 Related Story: Gunmen Posing As Police Officers Rob Three Tulsa Residents

"The only thing I was thinking was keep them calm. Give them what they want, just be cool," Steele told News On 6 after the incident.

The robbers stole cash, phones and guns from Steele's safe.

"He had a gun pointed to my face. He said turn around, don't look at me, get down on the floor," Lisa Morris, Steele's girlfriend, said.

In another crime, a woman was in the parking lot of Best Buy when a man walked up and said he was an undercover cop. Then he took her purse and ran off.

And on May 17, 2011, an armed man tried to rob two people in the same day, starting in a neighborhood near 91st and Mingo. The gunman was reportedly wearing a silver badge and forced a man getting into his truck to drive to an ATM to get money.

A picture was taken at that ATM, but the victim couldn't get any cash, so they drove to another bank at 67th and Memorial. The victim went inside to get money, but instead told people he was being robbed.

That's when the suspect bailed out on the victim, but took the victim's truck across the street to Gold's Gym.

The suspect approached another man, said his relative was a cop and forced the guy into his own car.  They drove off and, in the 7700 block of 91st Street, the victim somehow disabled his car and took off.

The suspect also took off running in the direction of a nearby strip shopping center.

The suspect descriptions in all of these crimes match Billy Hamons.

Police say there are more crimes with similarities than these four and they're sorting through those details now.

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