On December 25, 1980, 26-year-old Amarillo patrolman Berry Joe Mcguire was killed during a traffic stop on the 900 block of South Willow Street. Mcguire had arrested Victor Gutierrez for suspected drunken driving and, while placing him in the cruiser, a struggle erupted. Ernesto Gutierrez seized Mcguire’s revolver and shot him twice; while two men held Mcguire down, a third shot him in the head, killing him.

Three brothers — Victor, 23; Ernesto, 19; and Guadalupe, 17 — were arrested shortly after the shooting and later convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. Investigators recovered Mcguire’s revolver beneath the floorboards of the Dumas residence where Ernesto was arrested. Urbano Flores, also in the vehicle, was initially charged but the charge was dismissed after authorities concluded he had tried to help Mcguire during the struggle.

Mcguire, a Texas Air National Guard veteran, was survived by his wife. Does anyone have memories of Mcguire’s service or information about the case that could add context to what happened that night?