The Latest: Police pay tribute to officer killed in Maine

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NORRIDGEWOCK, Maine (AP) - The Latest on the fatal shooting of a Maine sheriff's deputy (all times local):

2 p.m.

Police are escorting the body of a slain Maine sheriff's deputy to the state medical examiner's office.

State police on Wednesday were also staking out a house in Madison, Maine believed to be the home where the alleged killer lived with his girlfriend.

Residents huddled in the rain, as state police cruisers and federal agents investigated a blue-grey home.

Police are searching for John Williams after they say he killed Somerset County Cpl. Eugene Cole early Wednesday, stole his cruiser and robbed a convenience store.

Cole was described by a relative as a lover of music who was well-known throughout the community for his generous, peaceful and caring personality. His son is also a Somerset County deputy,

Police lined intersections along the route as Cole's body was transported to Augusta.

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12:50 p.m.

A man who authorities believe fatally shot a Maine sheriff's deputy was due in court in Massachusetts following an arrest last month for several firearm charges.

Twenty-nine-year-old Madison, Maine, resident John Williams was arrested by Massachusetts State Police in Haverhill last month and charged with carrying a firearm without a license, possession of a large-capacity firearm and other offenses, said Carrie Kimball-Monahan, spokeswoman for the Essex District Attorney's Office.

Williams posted $5,000 bail and was supposed to return to court Wednesday for a hearing, she said.

Police are searching for Williams for allegedly killing Somerset County Cpl. Eugene Cole early Wednesday. It's believed to be the first killing of a law enforcement officer in Maine in nearly 30 years.

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10:15 a.m.

Maine authorities are searching for a man they say fatally shot a sheriff's deputy, stole his cruiser and robbed a convenience store.

State police said that Somerset County Cpl. Eugene Cole was killed at about 1:45 a.m. Wednesday on U.S. Route 2 in Norridgewock. The cruiser was driven to a Cumberland Farms store, which was robbed.

Police say they are searching for a suspect identified as 29-year-old John Williams, of Madison, Maine. They say he is 5-foot-6, 120 pounds with blue eyes and brown hair worn in a ponytail.

Police said Cole had been a deputy for 13 years and has a son.

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10:10 a.m.

A sheriff in Maine says a deputy investigating a report of a robbery at a convenience store has been fatally shot.

Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster tells the Morning Sentinel the deputy was killed Wednesday morning on U.S. Route 2 in Norridgewock.

Dispatch reports from the sheriff's office said a robbery was reported at a Cumberland Farms store at about 1:40 a.m.

Officers from multiple agencies responded to the scene within minutes.

A message seeking comment was left with the sheriff's office. Further information about the shooting was not immediately available.

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