James Michael Lewis was a 30-year-old deputy with the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office when he was killed on July 22, 1974. A decorated U.S. Army Vietnam veteran with a master’s degree in police science, he had been with Mohave County 13 months after a year at the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputy Lewis answered a domestic assault call at Cook’s Corner, a service station on Arizona 95 in Mohave Valley about 20 miles south of Bullhead City. The service station operator met him and, without warning, fired a single close-range shot from a high-powered rifle that killed Lewis instantly; the assailant fled and also wounded a witness.

The shooter was a 53-year-old man with a prior criminal record, including a 1968–69 prison term for stabbing a bartender. After two mistrials, he was convicted on March 10, 1975 of involuntary manslaughter and assault with intent to kill and sentenced to 25 years to life. An appeal was denied June 25, 1986. Deputy Lewis was survived by a wife and child.

If anyone has memories of Cook’s Corner or that response on July 22, 1974, please share what is known.