Troy police release sketch of gas station clerk murder suspect

63-year-old Troy gas station clerk found shot to death Saturday afternoon

TROY, Mich. Troy police have released a composite sketch of the suspect in the murder of a gas station clerk on Saturday afternoon at the corner of South Boulevard and Rochester Road.

The shooting happened about 1:30 p.m. A gas station customer found the 63-year-old clerk, Athir Putres, of Rochester Hills, dead with a gunshot wound to the head. Two shots were fired inside the gas station, but only one struck the store clerk. 

Police were searching for the occupants of a black Buick spotted nearby at the time of the murder. On Friday, police said they found those occupants who they are calling witnesses. The witnesses helped police put together this composite sketch of the suspect.

The suspect is described as a black man between 40 and 50 years old, standing about 5 feet 9 inches with a medium build and a mustache. He was last seen at the rear of the Clark gas station at the time of the shooting and he was wearing a light gray, mid-thigh length winter parka.

Police are asking for tips from anyone who was in the area on Saturday afternoon.

"You don't know that what you may have seen, any vehicle that you could describe that was in the parking lot when you were here could be hugely important to this investigation. It clearly is a homicide, we're not sure if it was a robbery or an argument.  We don't have that yet," says Troy Police Cpt. Bob Redmond.

Anyone with information about this murder is asked to contact the Troy Police Department at 248-524-3477 or the Troy Police Anonymous Tip Line at 248-524-0777.