2 deputies killed serving warrant

Authorities charged a man with murder in the killing of two sheriff ’s deputies serving an arrest warrant on another person outside a suburban home near Atlanta.

Cobb County Police Chief Stuart VanHoozer said the deputies were attempting to arrest a man wanted on theft charges in the driveway of his home Thursday night when another man inside confronted them with a gun.

A shootout ensued when the armed man refused commands to drop his weapon, VanHoozer said, and both deputies were fatally wounded. The shooting suspect and the man with the outstanding warrant were both arrested after a standoff with officers who swarmed the neighborhood.

The two slain deputies were identified as Jonathan Koleski, 42, and Marshall Ervin, 38.

“They were outstanding men, men of character and integrity, family men loved by their families and their kids,” said Cobb County Sheriff Craig Owens.

Both men arrested at the scene made initial court appearances Friday. Christopher Golden, 30, was charged with two counts of felony murder and two counts of aggravated assault against law enforcement officers. Christopher Cook, 32, wasn’t charged in the killings. But he was booked on six outstanding theft charges. Both were denied bond.