(PatriotWise.com)- After an hours-long standoff on Sunday, Phoenix police apprehended Nicholas Cowan, the man wanted in connection with the shooting of a 24-year veteran Phoenix police officer.
According to Sgt. Andy Williams, a tip phoned in Sunday led officers to a Scottsdale, Arizona home where Cowan was believed to be hiding. Williams said police issued four search warrants in the days following the shooting, believing Cowan was moving between multiple locations with the assistance of other people.
After police arrived at the Scottsdale home Sunday afternoon, it took hours of negotiations before Cowan was ultimately taken into custody that night. Williams noted Cowan was apprehended “without significant use of force.”
According to Sgt. Williams, Cowan had to be treated for several gunshot wounds he apparently received during last Thursday’s shooting.
Cowan was quickly identified as the suspect in Thursday’s shooting at a convenience store where two officers were responding to a domestic violence call. According to witnesses at the scene, at least ten shots were fired, including the one that struck the 40-year-old female officer.
The officer remained in intensive care on Sunday listed in stable condition.
In Sunday’s press conference, Chief Jeri Williams described Thursday’s shooting as a “brazen attack of a police officer.”
Cowan’s ex-girlfriend Nicole Montalbano, 33, was also arrested over the weekend for helping him hide from the police and destroying cell phones used by Cowan.
When officers showed up at her Prescott Valley home on Sunday with a search warrant, Montalbano allegedly attempted to destroy the phones by hiding them in a toilet tank. The search of Montalbano’s home also turned up ID cards belonging to Cowan and receipts for the phones.
Blood evidence was also found on the floor mats of Montalbano’s car.
Nicole Montalbano was booked for suspicion of hindering prosecution and evidence tampering, both felonies. Investigators also accuse her of making a false report to the police. Since Montalbano was on a felony release in connection with a 2020 case, she is being held in the Yavapai County Jail without bond.
