John A. Utlak was a 26-year-old Niles Police Department officer who was shot and killed on December 8, 1982, during an undercover narcotics meeting in the Gibraltar Steel Corporation parking lot in Mineral Ridge, Ohio. He was meeting with two suspects, Fred Joseph Jr., 17, and Randy Fellows, 18, when Joseph shot Utlak three times with a .22 caliber handgun. Utlak’s body was discovered the next day in the parking lot.

Fellows and Joseph fled the state but were later captured in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Both were convicted of aggravated murder and received sentences of 30 years to life with parole eligibility after 30 years. Fellows later admitted the killing was premeditated; both men have had parole hearings denied, and Joseph — who was a juvenile at the time — is scheduled for another hearing in 2026 under a state law changing juvenile parole opportunities. Utlak is memorialized locally with a street named near the Niles Safety and Services Building.

If anyone knew Officer Utlak, or has information about the events that led to that night, please share what is known.