In the early morning hours of January 8, 2012, Maricopa County Sheriff's Deputy William Hauley 'Bill' Coleman, a 50-year-old White male, was fatally shot in Anthem, Arizona. The 20-year veteran of the force was responding to a burglary call at a medical building around 4:15 a.m. with his partner. Upon their arrival at the scene near Anthem Way and Gavilan Peak Parkway, they encountered a man inside a van.
As the deputies attempted to make contact with the individual, he opened fire with
a rifle. Deputy Coleman was struck by the gunfire below his bulletproof vest and was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. The suspect was killed by return fire from other deputies at the scene.
The man who shot Deputy Coleman was later identified as Drew Ryan Maras, a 30-year-old former Marine. Investigators determined that the same rifle used to kill Deputy Coleman was also used in the murders of a New Hampshire couple, James Johnson and Carol Raynsford, near Sedona just two days prior. Following the incident in Anthem, two other men, Michael Allen Pierce, 33, and Shawn Patrick Brannen, 23, were arrested in connection with the burglary at the medical center. However, authorities stated that it was unlikely they were involved in Deputy Coleman's murder.
