On a summer morning in Detroit, Michigan, the life of a dedicated state trooper was tragically cut short. On July 7, 1991, 30-year-old Kermit Fitzpatrick, a Michigan State Trooper, was conducting a routine traffic stop on the Jeffries Freeway. It was approximately 8:30 a.m. when he pulled over a Ford Mustang near Joy Road. As Trooper Fitzpatrick approached the vehicle, the driver, Steven Darius McGuire, opened fire with a. 22 caliber semi-automatic pistol.
Fitzpatrick was struck multiple times in the jaw, chest, and leg, though his bulletproof vest managed to stop two of the six rounds fired. The gunman, McGuire, immediately fled the scene, leaving the trooper critically wounded. Passersby rushed to aid the fallen officer, and he was quickly transported to Henry Ford Hospital by Detroit police. Despite the swift medical attention, Trooper Fitzpatrick succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at 8:53 a.m.
The investigation into the trooper's murder moved quickly as the Detroit Police Homicide Squad, working in conjunction with State Police detectives, identified Steven Darius McGuire as the prime suspect. Investigators learned that the 20-year-old had taken his mother's car without permission and was in possession of firearms he had stolen from a neighbor's home. After the shooting, McGuire led law enforcement on a desperate flight from justice. He abandoned the Mustang in Hillsdale County, stole another vehicle at gunpoint, and drove to Napoleon, Ohio.
His run from the law came to an end when his stolen vehicle ran out of gas. After being picked up by a motorist while hitchhiking, McGuire attempted another robbery, firing his weapon during a struggle inside the car. Both men fled the vehicle, but McGuire was apprehended shortly after in a nearby field by Henry County sheriff's deputies. He confessed to the murder of Trooper Fitzpatrick, and the weapon used in the shooting was recovered. In December 1991, a Wayne County Circuit Court jury convicted McGuire of first-degree murder and felony firearms violations. The following month, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
