Cobb sheriff: 'We lost two great deputies'

Two arrested; one suspect charged in slaying of officers.

Deputies Jonathan Randall Koleski and Marshall Samual Ervin Jr. were attempting to serve an arrest warrant in a quiet Cobb County neighborhood Thursday night when they were ambushed and later died from their injuries.

The deputies were attempting to arrest Christopher James Cook Jr. when Christopher Patrick Golden opened fire, authorities said. Cook and Golden were taken into custody late Thursday and denied bond during their first court appearances Friday afternoon.

Golden, 30, was charged with two counts each of felony murder and aggravated assault, Cobb jail records showed. Cook, 32, was being held on six theft charges from arrest warrants dating back to June, records showed. Cook was not charged in connection with the deaths of the deputies.

On Friday, overwhelming grief gripped residents and law enforcement alike as investigators attempted to piece together the string of events.

“We lost two great deputies,” Cobb Sheriff Craig Owens said after the first appearance. “I wanted to see the individuals who committed this heinous act against my deputies and I wanted to look them in the eyes.”

Koleski was 42 and Ervin was 38, Owens said. Both were married and had been employed by the sheriff ’s office for years. Koleski was a member of the Cobb County Sheriff ’s Office since his law enforcement career began in 2007. Ervin, a father of two, had been with the sheriff ’s office since 2012.

“We extend our sincere condolences and prayers to the families of the two sheriff’s deputies killed in the line of duty, the Cobb Sheriff ’s Office, and the Cobb law enforcement community,” Cobb County District Attorney Flynn D. Broady Jr. said in a statement. “This remains an open and active investigation. As such, we have no further comment at this time.”

Records show both suspects lived at the Hampton Glen Court home. Cook has three outstanding warrants from this year, according to court records.

On Feb. 1, Cook allegedly sold several pieces of stolen jewelry, including a ring, bracelet and necklace, to a pawn shop, his arrest war

rant states. An arrest warrant was issued for Cook on April 11 charging him with three counts of theft by receiving stolen property, all felonies, andthreemisdemeanortheft charges.

In June, two additional arrest warrants were issued for Cook, charging him with two additional misdemeanor thefts, records show.

“Said accused conducted a pawn transaction in which he received $350 cash in exchange for a 10 Kt white gold pendant chain which was property reported stolen in Cobb County … in which he was identified as the suspect who stole the property on or about 2/28/2022,” the warrant states.

In 2019, Cook and Golden were co-defendants in a misdemeanor theft case, according to court records. In April of that year, the two were accused of stealing an ipad and tools and selling the items at a pawn shop, arrest warrants state. The case remains open, according to magistrate court records.

On Thursday, only Cook and Golden were at the home, Owens said.

Neighbors in the west Cobb subdivision were still stunned Friday as they strolled past the house where the two deputies were killed.

Several of the home’s upstairs windows appeared to have been shattered and the left garage door was gone. Also missing was a large window in the front of the house, giving neighbors and onlookers a view into the dining room.

“It’s heartbreaking,” said Dana Payne, who has lived in the typically quiet subdivision for 23 years.

She and her husband, a retired Atlanta police officer, were leaving to run a few errands at about 8 p.m. Thursday when they saw police cars speeding into the neighborhood with lights flashing and sirens blaring.

Some officers ran down the street telling people to stay inside their homes, said Payne, who was walking her dog, Rylo, past the damaged home Friday.

”We knew it was something serious,” she said. “It’s really sad. It’s sad for the family of the person who shot them and it’s sad for the deputies’ families. They were just doing their job.”

Payne said she and her husband raised their two children in the neighborhood and that nothing like thishaseverhappenedthere.

“It’s a great place to raise a family,” she said. “It’s a perfect neighborhood, really.”

Doug Cunningham, who runs a trauma remediation business, spent the morning cleaning up the badly damaged home. Cunningham said he is a former FBI agent who lived in the subdivision in the early 1990s. He said his son used to play with an elementary school classmate who lived in the house.

“I feel so bad for the families of those deputies,” said Cunningham, who removed patches of blood-stained grass from the front yard. “It’s just senseless.”

The two deputies were the fourth and fifth Georgia law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty this year.

“Marty,thegirlsandiwere deeply saddened to learn of the killing of these two deputies,” Gov. Brian Kemp posted on social media, referring to his own family. “Men and women like them bravely serve our communities every day, and we owe them a great debt of gratitude. Please join us in praying for their families & fellow law enforcement officers.”

JOHN SPINK/AJC Law enforcement officers gather outside a home in a neighborhood in west Cobb early Friday morning after two sheriff’s deputies were killed in an apparent ambush while attempting to serve a warrant at the home. The deputies had returned to their vehicle after knocking on the door when a car pulled up Thursday night and they were shot to death.

Marshall Samual Ervin Jr. (top), a 38-year-old father of two, had been with the sheriff’s office since 2012. Jonathan Randall Koleski, 42, also married, joined the department in 2007.