Slashing Suspect Apprehended by K9

On February 9, 2021 at 6:05 p.m. Mesa Police Officers responded to The Olive Press, located at 720 S.  Mesa Dr Mesa, AZ reference reports of a resident stabbing people inside.  The Olive Press is “A safe housing program to individuals who may be experiencing abuse through sexual and domestic violence, homelessness, and/ or but not limited to Self-Abuse” according to their website, theolivepress.org.  This facility houses twenty people at any given time.

When police arrived, they encountered a chaotic scene with people running everywhere.  They located two male victims in front of the facility with slash marks to their face and were able to get a third male victim to come outside with a laceration to the nose.  All three victims were relocated to a triage location set up by Mesa Fire Department for treatment and subsequently transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. 

The witness who initially called police remained on scene and described the suspect to the house manager, who identified the man as 56-year-old Theodor (Ted) Bush.  This witness told officers she last saw Theodor moving toward the back of the facility swinging the knife. 

Mesa Police Department’s Street Crimes Units from Fiesta and Red Mountain District responded to the scene and set a perimeter around The Olive Press in conjunction with Mesa Police Department’s SWAT Unit.  The Olive Press consists of three separate residential structures, all of which had to be evacuated by our officers in an intensive manpower task due to the number of residents who remained.  

While MPD SWAT began making announcements at the facility, Mesa Police Department Detectives began putting together photo line ups to show the victims at the hospital.  All three victims selected Ted as the person who cut them. 

Interviews with the victims painted a gruesome picture of what occurred.  They told Detectives that Ted was angry and throwing items around the kitchen.  He then grabbed a butcher style knife and cut the first two victims in the face.  Both victims had no relationship with Ted and did not know why he would do this.  Ted encountered the third victim out front.  He pushed him down, punched him, and then stabbed his face. 

A fourth victim was found at the scene with a cut in their jacket.  This victim told officers that Ted stabbed the knife toward her and demanded her property.  She had no physical injuries from the encounter. 

Mesa Police Detectives wrote a search warrant for the apprehension of Ted, which allowed entry into the facility.  Ted was seen walking in and out of a room but would not comply with officer’s request to surrender.  During this activity, Ted was shot with a less lethal bean bag shotgun, but still did not give in.  Mesa Police Officer McClure and K9 Officer, Rico II, were deployed and succeeded in apprehending Ted.  

Ted suffered injuries from the dog bite as well as the less lethal beanbag round.  He was transported to the hospital, where he remains as of this release.  

During the execution of the search warrant, the fourth victim’s property was found in Ted’s room.  

When Ted is released from the hospital, he will be booked into jail for 4 counts Aggravated Assault and 1 count Armed Robbery.  

Sara Gomez, the Executive Director of The Olive Press, said Ted has been a resident of the program for two years.  “The Olive Press houses people with special needs who might have nowhere else to go,” Sara added, “We love our community and the people, which includes the homeless and forgotten.”