JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is highlighting a 28-year-old murder of JSO detective Lonnie Miller, hoping someone in the community leads them to find the killer.
Detective Miller was killed while responding to a burglary call on May 6, 1995.
The burglary call was at Miller’s friend’s business on 302 Basswood Street, which is not there anymore, only a fence surrounding an empty lot remains.
Miller decided to respond to this call himself that night because he was familiar with the area and knew the owner of the business.
When on-duty officers showed up to respond, Miller told them he could handle it alone because this was most likely a false alarm.
One of the homicide detectives with the cold case units, Travis Oliver, said there also would have been noticeable signs that the business was burglarized.
“At the time the business owner had guard dogs, so if someone burglarized the business, the dogs would have attacked them,” Oliver said.
About 10 to 15 minutes after Miller sent the officers home, he was killed.
While Miller and the owner of the business, who was also his friend, were talking, they were approached by someone who attempted to rob them and then shot them.
Detective Miller died at the scene, but his friend drove himself to the hospital and continues to help with the investigation to this day.
“He gave a description but of course, if you’re being shot at the same time you’re getting a description, it’s not going to be accurate,” Oliver said.
Some leads have come and gone, but nothing has led detectives to the killer.
“One of the problems we’ve had is the lack of physical evidence and witnesses that come forward,” Oliver said.
If you know anything about this case, you can call JSO or Crimestoppers.