SKOWHEGAN — Kristina A. Pomerleau, the woman said to be the girlfriend of police-slaying suspect John D. Williams, has been indicted by a Somerset County grand jury on two felony drug charges.
Kristina A. Pomerleau
Pomerleau, 32, who lived at 357 Water St. in Skowhegan, according to court documents, is charged by the grand jury with unlawful possession of cocaine base, or crack, and with unlawful furnishing of cocaine, both on April 21 in Norridgewock, according to the indictment. Both charges are class C felonies, punishable by up to five years in prison if she is convicted.
Pomerleau has a previous conviction for possession of scheduled drugs, in December 2008, according to the court document.
She also is charged with operating a motor vehicle after license suspension on the same day, a misdemeanor crime. Pomerleau has a previous conviction for operating after suspension, in December 2009.
An indictment is not a finding of guilt, but is an indication that enough evidence is present in a case to proceed to trial.
The indictment was handed up April 26 in Skowhegan one day after Williams, 29, of Madison, is alleged to have shot and killed Cpl. Eugene Cole, of the Somerset County Sheriff’s office and stolen his marked cruiser.
Williams was on the run for four days, prompting a massive police manhunt, before being captured Saturday off Route 139 in Fairfield.
Cole was 61 and a 13-year veteran of the sheriff’s office.
Williams made his initial court appearance Monday at the Capital Judicial Centerin Augusta. He is ordered held without bail, pending a Harnish hearing to determine if he is eligible for bail.
A psychological examination also has been ordered for Williams, who did not enter a plea Monday before Justice Robert Mullen on a charge of knowing or intentional murder. Williams is being held at the Maine Correctional Center in Windham and any further court appearances will be conducted in Cumberland County court. Proceedings were moved because of massive pre-trial publicity about the shooting.
Authorities last week confirmed that Pomerleau was in a relationship with Williams.
Williams was arrested in Massachusetts in March on firearm and driving-related charges during a traffic stop, and he had been scheduled to appear April 25 — the day Cole was shot and killed — in a Massachusetts courtroom for a probable cause hearing, according to the Essex District Attorney’s Office. Pomerleau was a passenger in the vehicle during that traffic stop and was issued a summons for possession of the narcotic Percocet.
Williams was arraigned March 22 in Haverhill District Court. He was charged with improper storage of a firearm, carrying a firearm without a license, unattended ammunition, possession of a large capacity firearm — a 9 mm Smith & Wesson with a 16 round magazine — marked lanes violation and negligent operation of a motor vehicle.
Carrie Kimball Monahan, director of communications at the Essex County, Massachusetts, District Attorney’s Office, said the commonwealth requested $10,000 bail for Williams. Judge Michael Patten imposed $7,500 bail instead.
Williams went for a bail review March 27 in Essex County Superior Court, where Judge Timothy Feeley reduced his bail to $5,000. According to the Essex County Sheriff’s Department, Williams posted bail at 5:10 a.m. March 31.
Inquiries by the Morning Sentinel about who posted bail for Williams were rejected this week.
William Raynard, public information officer at the Essex County Sheriff’s Department in Middleton, Massachusetts, said Wednesday that information on who posted Williams’ bail is not subject to disclosure under that state’s Criminal Offender Record Information rules.
Pomerleau was arrested on the drug charges for which she was indicted on April 21. She was booked at 4:22 p.m. at the Somerset County Jail in East Madison and remains there this week, said Maj. Cory Swope, correctional administrator at the jail. Pomerleau’s bail is set at $5,000, with an added $60 bail commissioner fee. She does not have an attorney listed in her file, Swope said.
Pomerleau is scheduled to appear in court June 27 in Skowhegan.
Pomerleau’s arrest came during a traffic stop at 3:13 p.m. April 21 on Skowhegan Road in Norridgewock, in which Cpl. Eugene Cole is listed as a responding officer in a sheriff’s office police log. Other responding officers were Deputy Isaac Wacome and Detective Lt. Carl Gottardi.
A police affidavit detailing what happened during Pomerleau’s arrest was unavailable because a judge impounded it April 26 — the same day the indictments were released — at the request of the Somerset County District Attorney’s Office. Other documents in the case file that had not been impounded in court alleged Pomerleau had possessed cocaine and said the arresting officer was Wacome. The Morning Sentinel appealed the impounding of the document, but a judge ruled on April 27 to keep the document sealed from public view.
A reporter filled out paperwork to interview Pomerleau, Capt. Sean P. Maguire, assistant jail administrator, said in an email last week. The paperwork was presented to her and “at the current time she does not want to be interviewed by any agency,” Maguire said. “She was also advised that she can change her mind at any time.”
Williams’ friend Chris Shulenski, 31, of Skowhegan, said in an interview April 27 that he doesn’t think Pomerleau’s recent arrest had anything to do with what Williams allegedly did.
“The whole story that’s going around about he shot (Cole) because of the arrest of his girlfriend, I don’t believe that at all,” Shulenski said. “I think it was over paranoia. When that cop drove by, he was really worried. He didn’t even want me to leave the driveway.”
Cole was talking with a Somerset County sheriff’s deputy on his cellphone when, at 1 a.m., the “call was abruptly ended and appeared to have lost service or connection,” according to the affidavit.
Cole’s marked police truck was found at 5:08 a.m. at 508 Martin Stream Road, near the Norridgewock/Fairfield town line.
Cole’s body was found about 7:30 a.m. that day at the home of Kimberly Sirois at 16 Mercer Road, Norridgewock, where Williams reportedly had lived until Christmas 2017.
Doug Harlow — 612-2367
Twitter:@Doug_Harlow
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