20-year-old killed in 1975 gas station robbery, CO cops say. Suspect now ID’d

A 20-year-old gas station clerk was found dead in 1975 following a robbery, Colorado deputies said.

Now, nearly 50 years later, a suspect has been identified in the fatal stabbing of John Curtis Patterson, according to a May 7 news release by the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office.

Patterson was found dead in the Boulder gas station with a stab wound to his chest, deputies said.

Two unfired .30-caliber cartridges were found near Patterson’s body, and the cash register was open with money missing, indicating there had been a robbery, officers said.

Louis Locicero, 32, was staying in a nearby motel, possessing a shirt that had Patterson’s blood on it and boots with Patterson’s hair on them, deputies said.

He was taken in for questioning and arrested but was released for “unknown reasons” before he could be charged, the sheriff’s office said.

The case eventually went cold until deputies had a “breakthrough,” the release said.

The cartridges found near Patterson’s body matched a gun found in Locicero’s motel room, deputies said.

The evidence was sent to be evaluated and confirmed the link between Locicero’s weapon and the killing, the sheriff’s office said.

A knife found in Locicero’s possession had the same dimensions of Patterson’s chest wound, and fibers of Patterson’s blue shirt were found on the knife, according to an April 21 news release by Assistant District Attorney Kenneth E. Kupfner.

Locicero died in 2024, but deputies said although there are still unconfirmed parts of the case, there would be enough probable cause to arrest him on murder charges if he were alive.

This story was originally published May 8, 2025 at 1:27 PM with the headline "20-year-old killed in 1975 gas station robbery, CO cops say. Suspect now ID’d."