DANVILLE -– Folks in this Knox County village know their police officers by first name.
And Officer Tom, with his infectious smile, easygoing manner and willingness to volunteer, seemed the perfect addition when he was hired by the Danville Police Department a few months ago.
And so Officer Thomas Cottrell’s death Sunday night in an ambush was just that much more shocking.
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The first hint of trouble came in a 911 call just before midnight from a woman warning police that her ex-boyfriend was out hunting an officer to kill.
“Yes, I’m in danger,” the woman told a 911 dispatcher at 11:20 p.m. “But the cops in Danville are in danger, too. My ex-boyfriend’s out in camo looking to kill a cop.”
Herschel Ray Jones III had already threatened to kill her. And he was armed, she said.
Deputies with the county sheriff’s office began a search of the village, about 20 miles east of Mount Vernon. And at about 11:47 p.m., they found Cottrell, 34, dead on the ground behind the Danville Municipal Building. His gun had been taken and his police cruiser was missing.
Jones was captured shortly after Cottrell’s body was found and will porobably be charged with murder, according to Knox County Prosecutor Chip McConville.
Jones, 32, was being held for violating the conditions set when he was released from prison last year and that’s enough to hold him until charges are filed, McConville said.
McConville says the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation was still gathering evidence, and Cottrell’s autopsy is expected to happen today. He says it’s likely Jones will be charged initially in municipal court, until the case can be taken to a grand jury.