By Caroline Zimmerman
The Kansas City Star
FAIRWAY, Kan. — A Tennessee woman was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole Wednesday for her role in the 2023 fatal shooting of Fairway police officer Jonah Oswald.
A Johnson County jury found Andrea Cothran guilty of first-degree felony murder, aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer and theft and reckless driving on May 14, according to court documents.
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Oswald was fatally shot in August 2023 during an attempted arrest in a QuickTrip bathroom in Mission as officers tracked two suspected vehicle thieves. He died at a hospital the day after the shooting.
Cothran and Shannon Marshall, 40, also of Tennessee, allegedly led officers on a high-speed chase in a Jeep stolen from a Lenexa gas station. Investigators later found the pair at the QuikTrip, where an officer saw Cothran and Marshall heading for the bathrooms.
Cothran was arrested in the hallway of the convenience store, where she told officers Marshall was in the men’s bathroom.
Marshall refused to come out of the restroom stall, and investigators were unaware the man was armed. Oswald, a 29-year-old father of two, entered the restroom to arrest Marshall along with two highway patrol troopers.
As Oswald opened the stall door, Marshall fired a single shot and struck Oswald. Marshall was shot by law enforcement officers and died at the scene.
Idaho State Police Specialist Steve McClain returned fire at the armed gunman who was outside the Twin Falls restaurant
Connecticut State Police troopers questioned the man, and he told them he worked for “Special Forces,” state police said; but when he was asked for credentials, he came up empty
The Kansas City Police officers first asked if the suspect’s phone was ringing, assuming they heard a goat-sounding ringtone, the department stated
“Support specialists” would assist Baton Rouge Police in reviewing cold cases and bodycam video, assisting with public records requests and operating the drone program
The Star’s Nathan Pilling contributed reporting.
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