Woman charged in connection to JoCo chase that led to fatal police shooting

A Tennessee woman was charged Tuesday with four counts related to a high-speed chase and subsequent standoff at a Johnson County gas station Sunday that ended with a Fairway police officer and a second suspect dead.

Andrea Rene Cothran, 32, of Goodlettsville, Tennessee, faces three felony counts: aggravated battery with intent to do great bodily harm, recklessly fleeing from a law enforcement officer and theft of an amount less than $25,000.

She also faces one misdemeanor count of reckless driving.

Cothran made her first court appearance in Johnson County District Court Tuesday afternoon where a judge appointed her a public defender.

She remains in custody at the Johnson County jail in New Century on $1 million bond.

Her next court appearance is set for for Aug. 16.

A memorial fund for fallen officer has been established

Fairway Police on Monday announced Off. Jonah Oswald, 29, had died from wounds sustained in an exchange of gunfire at a Mission QuikTrip Sunday morning.

At the gas station, a suspect Cothran was with — identified as Shannon Wayne Marshall, 40, of Ashland City, Tennessee — was also killed.

In a statement Monday, Fairway Police Chief J.P. Thurlo called Off. Oswald “an integral part of our team.”

“We will remember him as a warm-hearted individual whose hard work and passion touched the lives of many,” he said.

Fairway Police announced the establishment of a memorial fund for which all donations will go to Oswald’s family.

You can make a donation online here.

Checks made payable to “Answering the Call” can be mailed to PO Box 6763, Lee’s Summit, MO, 64064.

Police motorcycles led a procession of dozens of law enforcement vehicles from agencies across the Kansas City metro Monday night in honor of fallen Fairway Police Officer Jonah Oswald. Photo credit Mike Frizzell.

What happened

According to recorded radio traffic, at 7:35 a.m. Sunday, two Lenexa officers were dispatched to the QuikTrip at 12355 W. 95th St., on a report of a Jeep Cherokee stolen from the parking lot.

A few moments later, an officer reported he was following that same Jeep as it circled the parking lot of a nearby hotel.

Officers following the Jeep reported that a white female, later identified as Cothran, was driving around the area of several hotels south of 95th Street.

Andrea Rene Cothran. Photo courtesy Johnson County Sheriff’s Office.

The vehicle then pulled into the Quality Inn & Suites parking lot, 12601 West 96th Terr., where at 7:42, an officer reported Cothran “rammed one of the police cars.”

A man, later identified as Marshall, ran out of the hotel and jumped into the passenger’s side of the stolen Jeep.

A high-speed chase, at times clocking 120 miles per hour, commenced, moving northbound on Interstate 35.

The Jeep ultimately crashed into a guard rail on the Lamar Avenue bridge over Interstate 35 in Mission, and the two suspects made their way to a nearby QuikTrip.

Officers from multiple law enforcement agencies converged on the QuikTrip, where Cothran was quickly taken into custody. Marshall, however, remained barricaded inside the gas station.

Just before 7:58 a.m., a Lenexa officer can be heard over the radio yelling, “Shots fired, shots fired,” with the sounds of gunfire in the background.

The same officer then reported, “Officer down.”

By 8:08 a.m., a Lenexa officer reported that she saw movement inside the bathroom, and officers continued to give the male suspect commands to surrender.

A minute later, a different Lenexa officer reported that the “suspect is down in the bathroom.”

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About the author

Kyle Palmer
Kyle Palmer

Hi! I’m Kyle Palmer, the editor of the Johnson County Post.

Prior to joining the Post in 2020, I served as News Director for KCUR. I got my start in journalism at the University of Missouri, where I worked for KBIA, mid-Missouri’s NPR affiliate. After college, I spent 10 years as a teacher and went on to get a master’s degree in education policy from Stanford University.

Have a story idea or a comment about our coverage you’d like to share? Email me at [email protected].

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