A Maine man shot a sheriff’s corporal in the neck during an arrest and sparked a four-day manhunt, police said.
John Williams, 32, is from Madison, Maine.
On April 25, 2018, Somerset County Sheriff’s Corporal Eugene Cole attempted to arrest Williams on a drug charge in Norridgewock, Maine, police said.
Williams shot Cole in the neck during the encounter, killing him, according to authorities.
Cole was the first Maine law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty in nearly three decades, officials said.
The 32-year-old suspect immediately fled into the woods following the shooting, police said.
Hundreds of law enforcement officers spent the next four days searching Somerset County for him, authorities said.
Authorities eventually captured the fugitive after the four-day search through the woods, police said.
A photo that emerged following the capture showed Williams with a noticeable black eye, court records state.
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Williams was photographed dirt-streaked and held down on the ground, becoming the defining image of the manhunt, records show.
His defense attorney later claimed that Williams had been beaten during the arrest, court documents show. Police disputed the claim, saying the injury occurred during the capture itself.
At his trial, Williams never denied pulling the trigger against the deputy, court records show.
The defendant admitted to firing the shot and argued only over his state of mind at the time, records show.
His defense argued that his drug use left him unable to form the intent required for murder, court records state. Williams maintained that he should be convicted of manslaughter instead.
Prosecutors argued the opposite case to jurors, maintaining that the killing was intentional, according to court documents.
In June 2019, a jury sided with the prosecution and convicted Williams of murder, records state.
Williams was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole under Maine law, court records show.
Williams appealed the murder conviction to Maine’s highest court twice to argue for a new trial, court records show. The high court denied both appeals, upholding the original verdict.
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