Phoenix Police Officer John A. Robertson was fatally shot on November 17, 1984, while working an off-duty security shift at the Sixpence Inn, 1624 N. Black Canyon Highway. He was 31 and had served with the department for eight years.

Robertson was investigating the robbery of two truck drivers and was questioning a suspect behind the hotel when the individual opened fire. He was taken to a local hospital and died of his wounds two days later. He was survived by his wife and two children. The investigation resulted in three arrests: a 25-year-old man and two women, 18 and 19.

In 1985 the women were convicted of second-degree murder and each received 10-year sentences; in 1986 the man was convicted of murder, armed robbery, and burglary and was sentenced to 66 years in prison.