SLAIN COP CONFRONTED SUSPECT BEFORE
Deputy arrested girlfriend days prior to death
SKOWHEGAN, Maine — Court documents say the Maine man accused of fatally shooting a county sheriff’s deputy was present for his girlfriend’s arrest by the same deputy just days before the shooting.
John Williams, 29, of Madison was a passenger in his own car driven by his girlfriend when Cpl. Eugene Cole pulled them over on the afternoon of April 21.
The traffic stop led to Williams’ car being towed because he didn’t have insurance on it, the discovery of cocaine in the vehicle and the arrest of Williams’ girlfriend on drug charges.
The affidavit was made public this week after being previously sealed.
The Morning Sentinel reports Williams has pleaded not guilty to a charge of murder in the April 25 death of Cole, and is undergoing mental health examinations.
According to an affidavit written by a detective after his arrest, Williams waived his right to remain silent and provided details of the killing.
Williams acknowledged he was angry that Cole had arrested his girlfriend days earlier, but said he did not have a vendetta. He simply did not want to go to jail, the detective wrote.
The shooting happened when Cole discovered Williams and attempted to arrest him outside a home in Norridgewock. Williams said he pulled a handgun from the waistband of his pants and shot Cole in the head while he was on the ground holding his hands in front of his face. Williams was due in court in Massachusetts the day of the shooting. After the killing, Williams stole the deputy’s pickup truck and robbed a convenience store before abandoning the vehicle, police said.
Cole, 61, was the first police officer to be killed in the line of duty in nearly 30 years in Maine. His death sparked a four-day manhunt and his funeral on May 7 drew thousands of people including hundreds of law enforcement officials.
The attorney general’s office has said it intends to seek a life sentence if Williams is convicted of murder.