Woman faces new charge in alleged crimes that led to killing of Fairway police officer
A Tennessee woman previously charged in an alleged crime spree connected to the shootout that killed Fairway Officer Jonah Oswald now faces a felony murder charge, according to court records.
The Johnson County District Attorney’s Office filed an amended complaint Wednesday morning charging 32-year-old Andrea Rene Cothran of Goodlettsville, Tennessee, with an additional count of felony first-degree murder.
Cothran previously had been charged with one count each of aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer and theft.
The new charge alleges that Oswald was killed while Cothran allegedly committed the other crimes.
Under the felony murder rule, accomplices are held culpable when someone is killed during the commission of a serious crime even if they were not the killer.
Cothran, who also faces a misdemeanor charge of reckless driving, made her first appearance via Zoom on the new charge before Johnson County Judge Michael P. Joyce Wednesday morning.
Her defense attorney, Joel Rook, waived formal reading of the amended complaint. While he had reviewed it, Rook said he has not been able to go over it with Cothran.
Cothran’s next court appearance is scheduled for 10 a.m. Sept. 20.
On Aug. 6, Oswald and other officers from several police departments responded to reports of a stolen vehicle with two suspects. Lenexa police pursued the vehicle, which allegedly struck a patrol car, until the suspects fled on foot into a Mission QuikTrip at 4700 Lamar Ave.
Oswald was critically wounded in a shootout that ensued and later died from his injuries. His funeral was held Monday.
One of the suspects, Shannon Wayne Marshall, 40, of Ashland City, Tennessee, was killed at the scene.
Cothran remains in custody in the Johnson County jail on $1 million bond.
