Officer Robert T. Fike, 43, was shot and killed while on duty on the evening of January 8, 1986. He was standing beside his patrol car at 1111 East Indian School Road when two citizens found him after the shooting and used his police radio to summon help. A 10-year veteran of the Phoenix Police Department and a former Officer of the Year, he is survived by his wife and two young sons.

The investigation identified 21-year-old Matthew Milburn as a suspect; police say Milburn had a criminal history and had committed an armed robbery earlier the same day. Seven weeks after the killing Milburn was arrested and charged. Authorities report that a struggle occurred during Milburn’s encounter with Officer Fike, that Milburn gained control of the officer’s gun and shot him at point-blank range, and that Milburn later confessed.

Milburn was convicted of first-degree murder and received a life sentence. Was anyone in the neighborhood or on patrol that night aware of suspicious activity before the shooting?