Fugitive sought in Maine deputy’s death captured after manhunt
A dayslong manhunt for a fugitive accused of gunning down a Maine deputy earlier this week concluded with an arrest Saturday afternoon.
John Williams, who had been on the run since early Wednesday morning, was captured alive after officers made contact with him shortly before 1 p.m. local time, WGME reported.
He appeared gaunt and shirtless as officers marched him out of a wooded area in Norridgewock in handcuffs.
Authorities believe the 29-year-old Madison resident shot and killed 62-year-old Eugene Cole, a corporal with the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office, before fleeing in the officer’s police cruiser and committing a theft at a nearby Cumberland
Farms.
Cole, a 13-year veteran of the force, was found dead around 7 a.m. Wednesday morning, just hours after his vehicle was discovered abandoned around 5 a.m.
Williams was arrested March 22 on suspicion of having a gun without a license. Officers discovered the weapon after he drove his car into a ditch alongside Interstate 495.
The alleged gunman had been out on bail when his deadly confrontation with Cole unfolded. Officers have not said what sparked the shooting, nor how they came to suspect Williams.
State and local law enforcement flooded the region this week, with a particularly massive police presence in Norridgewock, where the shooting occurred.