The gunman, later identified as 67-year-old Viva Leroy Nash, pointed a .357 Colt Trooper at West and fired while West sat behind the counter. West drew a .38-caliber snub-nosed revolver he kept hidden and managed one shot but missed; Nash then fired multiple times at close range, striking West three times. West’s wounds were fatal; coworker Susan McCullough was threatened but not physically harmed.

Nash grabbed about $600 in cash and coins and fled, but a nearby businessman, Jack Owens, intervened and was shot in the hand during a struggle that delayed Nash until police arrived. Officers arrested Nash at the scene; a stolen Ford van with Nash’s fingerprint was found nearby and the .357 had been stolen in an earlier robbery. A Maricopa County grand jury indicted Nash on November 9, 1982, for first-degree murder and related counts.

Does anyone have memories of the Moon Valley area or the shop from that time that could shed light on West’s life or the crime?