An Ohio police officer was killed in an alleged ambush Sunday night, not long after the suspected killer's ex-girlfriend warned 911.
"Yes, I'm in danger," the woman told a 911 dispatcher at 11:20 p.m.,
The Columbus Dispatch reported. "But the cops in Danville are in danger, too. My ex-boyfriend's out in camo looking to kill a cop."
At about 11:47 p.m., the Knox County village sheriff's office found the body of Officer Thomas Cottrell, 34, of the Danville Police Department behind the Danville Municipal Building.
Cottrell's gun and vehicle were missing when his body was found.
After midnight, around 1:36 a.m. Monday, a man was seen running from a house. A foot chase by officers ensued, and Herschel Ray Jones III was caught and arrested near the Danville High School football field.
Cottrell worked primarily on the weekends as an auxiliary police officer, and drove a cement mixer as his full-time job. He has three daughters, and was engaged to a local school nurse.
"He always had a huge toothy grin," said Chief Clifford Bigler of the Utica Police Department, where Cottrell worked from 2013 until this past August. "He enjoyed community policing."
"People brought in envelopes, cash," said Jim McFadden, the co-owner of McFadden's Hotspot Pizza, where a fund was set up to help Cottrell's family.
"Why did he do this to this man? Why did you shoot this man? He was a young man with a young family. It's all gone. For what reason?"
Records show that Jones has been to state prison at least three times. He has previously been charged with breaking and entering, burglary, weapons, and intimidation charges.
According to the Associated Press, Knox County Prosecutor Chip McConville said he expects a murder charge to be filed against Jones.
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