OLATHE, Kan. — The Johnson County District Attorney’s office Wednesday added a first-degree murder charge to the list of criminal charges facing a female suspect who was part of a crime spree that ended in a deadly police encounter that claimed the life of Fairway Police Ofc. Jonah Oswald.
Andrea Cothran, 32, of Goodlettsville, Tennessee, was previously charged with felony aggravated battery/great bodily harm, felony reckless fleeing a law enforcement officer, felony theft for allegedly stealing a Jeep SUV and misdemeanor reckless driving.
Prosecutors added the first-degree murder charge through an amended criminal complaint filed Wednesday morning.
The new charges allege that Oswald died as a result of Cothran allegedly committing the three felonies of which she was previously charged.
Cothran was set to appear in a court hearing at 11 a.m. Wednesday in Johnson County District Court.
She was one of two suspects who led authorities in a crime spree that spanned several cities in Johnson County.
Early in the morning on Sunday, Aug. 6, police in Lenexa responded to a QuikTrip near Interstate 35 and 95th Street on a report of two suspects wanted for stealing a Jeep SUV.
As officers responded, the driver of the stolen Jeep reportedly swerved at a police cruiser before getting on northbound I-35.
The suspects led police on a chase north on the interstate before they crashed at the off-ramp from NB I-35 to Lamar Avenue in Mission.
The two suspects then fled to a nearby QuikTrip where gunfire erupted, striking Oswald. Oswald would later pass away from his injuries.
LINK | Community remembers fallen officer in funeral
Responding authorities shot and killed the second suspect, Shannon Wayne Marshall, 40, of Ashland City, Tennessee, inside the QuikTrip.
Cothran was arrested without further incident and booked into the Johnson County Jail, where she has remained since on a $1 million bond.
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