MIDLAND, Texas — 2009 may not seem that long ago… but believe it or not, 2009 was 14 years ago.
It was also the year one of Midland’s strangest cold cases happened. And it happened to a man known on the streets of Midland… as “Sidewalk”.
Sometimes all it takes is a new set of eyes to bust a case wide open. That’s where Midland Police Department Detective Tommy Arguijo comes in.
"I was recently assigned this investigation as a different set of eyes to look at," Arguijo said. "I wasn't working with Midland Police Department when this case happened. So I'm able to come in and look at it from a completely different perspective."
Arguijo is good at what he does.
"I've worked homicide investigations," Arguijo said. "I've worked robberies and sexual assaults and crimes against children."
But right now, he's working the case of James Jimmy Thomas, who was murdered nearly 15 years ago.
"On the morning of October 6," Arguijo said. "Officers were dispatched to the area of Midland and Wall (Street). The victim in this case was found deceased in a vehicle in that area."
According to the Midland Crime Stoppers website, Thomas’s vehicle was found on a cement embankment in that area. He was found slumped over the steering wheel with multiple stab wounds… his body covered in blood.
"So an autopsy was requested," Arguijo said. "All of that information is being reviewed to determine if there's one or multiple suspects involved."
Thomas frequented various motels on West Wall Street and was known by his distinctive nickname.
"People knew him by his nickname," Arguijo explained. "His nickname was 'Sidewalk'."
The good thing about Sidewalk's case is that there’s plenty of information and evidence, including the crime scene.
Midland Police took us to the Dodge Ram 2500 that Sidewalk was found in.
They keep their evidence handy just in case, even something as huge as a heavy-duty truck.
"The evidence for a cold case investigation still stays with us," Arguijo said. "We have several different locations based on what type of evidence it is. The evidence is just as important now as it was back then, so that’s why we still keep evidence we have."
The big red truck wasn’t the only evidence found at the crime scene.
"There's evidence that was collected at the time, there's witnesses, there's photographs, so there's a lot to go through," Arguijo said.
With Tommy’s new set of eyes, there’s hope that he can be the one to find that one piece of evidence that kicks the case of “Sidewalk” to the curb.
"The evidence in the case still needs to be reviewed to see if there is anything new that we can use as far as tools relating to evidence," Arguijo said. "Otherwise, it's just going back and looking over what everybody did and seeing how we can put that together now and if there is anything that will change with it."
Maybe you have the information Tommy needs to solve this mystery. It’s not too late to call in that tip.
If you think you might have information on who killed Sidewalk, you can contact Crimestoppers or call the MPD non-emergency line 432-685-7108 and ask to speak to Detective Arguijo.
And if there’s potentially any guilt you’ve been holding on to from 14 years ago, maybe it’s time to let it out.
"I think that there's individuals that may have been carrying this type of burden of having the guilt of knowing that you have information about a homicide and you haven't come forward with it," Arguijo said. "So anyone that has something like that I would encourage them to come forward and be able to let that out."
Perhaps with the combination of Arguijo’s fresh eyes and new tips, James Jimmy Thomas’s cold case can be solved, and the cold case of the man they call “Sidewalk” can end its journey.