Cody Powell, 23, who'd been identified as a person of interest in the case, phoned the authorities from a Loveland Walmart and offered to turn himself in. He's now been booked on suspicion of attempted first-degree murder.
The investigation is ongoing, but here are the latest developments.
As we've reported, Osilka was shot on Sunday evening, March 2, during a traffic stop near the intersection of 17th Street and North Wilson Avenue after making a traffic stop involving a blue or black Jeep Cherokee with temporary plates occupied by two people.
Osilka is said to have been struck in the chest, and while he remains hospitalized, he's expected to survive.Early the next morning, police recovered what they believe to be the vehicle involved in the incident, and that afternoon, SWAT teams raided an apartment associated with the crime, but found no one home.
Obviously, authorities had a target in mind -- and yesterday afternoon, the Larimer County Crime Stoppers Facebook page posted that the suspect, later identified as Powell, had turned himself in from a Loveland Walmart.
At 4:41 p.m., the page notes that Powell was brought to the Loveland Police Department and subsequently booked on suspicion of attempted first-degree murder of a peace officer and first-degree assault. He's expected to be arraigned today, with formal charges likely coming later in the week.
Powell sports a record that includes burglary, theft and driving under the influence -- but nothing on the scale of the current accusation. However, he appears to be a firearms aficionado, reportedly writing in a Facebook post last year, "Guns are like potato chips.... It's hard to have just one."
Given that two people are said to have been in the vehicle that Osilka stopped, the investigation is far from over. But Weld County Sheriff Justin Smith is celebrating the latest development. On Facebook, he writes, "I was able to watch the net tighten today on the 'person of interest' in the shooting of the Loveland Police Officer," adding that, "like you, I am relieved to know he is off the street, but I know that much more work lies ahead as detectives work to piece together that facts of what occurred on Sunday night."In the meantime, the Loveland Lodge 52 Fraternal Order of Police has set up a fund to benefit the Osilka family. Donations can be made to any of 22 Northstar Bank of Colorado locations or sent to Loveland Lodge 52 FOP Benevolent Fund, P.O. Box 229, Loveland, CO, 80539.
Here's a larger look at Powell's mug shots, followed by a 7News report and our previous coverage.
Continue to see our previous coverage of the Garret Osilka shooting, including photos and videos. Update, 5:39 a.m. March 4: Yesterday, we told you about the shooting of Garret Osilka, a former professional baseball player turned Loveland police officer; see our previous coverage below.Since our original post, investigators have found what they believe to be the vehicle associated with the shooter -- and SWAT teams descended on a Loveland-area apartment in a raid that resulted in three schools going on lockdown. At this writing, however, no arrests have been announced. Here's the latest.
At around 7:48 p.m. on March 2, as we've reported, Osilka was shot during a traffic stop near the intersection of 17th Street and North Wilson Avenue.
Osilka, who fired back at the two occupants of the vehicle in question (described as a blue or black Jeep Cherokee with temporary plates) was rushed to the intensive care unit of an area hospital in serious condition.One new bit of information courtesy of the Larimer County Crime Stoppers Facebook page, which has done a fine job of keeping the community abreast of developments in the case: Osilka was accompanied by what's termed an "adult observer," who was not injured in the exchange of gunfire.
A few hours later, at around 1 a.m., members of the Loveland Police Department found what they believe to be the suspect vehicle; it had been abandoned near the intersection of Aspen Drive and Taft Avenue.
What happened next? That afternoon, a search warrant was granted for an apartment at 348 Teri Drive -- unit five, specifically.The Loveland police SWAT team, assisted by a similiar squad from the Fort Collins Police Department, busted in at around 4:10 p.m., prompting the temporary lockdown of Thompson Valley High School. Walt Clark Middle and Milner Elementary schools.
But Larimer County Crime Stoppers notes that the residence was unoccupied at the time.
The bottom line as of now: "No specific suspect(s) have been identified and the investigation in ongoing. The suspect(s) are still at large."
Meanwhile, Osilka continues to make progress. He has been able to communicate with his family and is expected to survive.
Here's a 7News report about the manhunt, followed by our original coverage, including material about Osilka's baseball past and more photos.
Continue for our original coverage about the shooting of Loveland police officer Garret Osilka, including photos and video. Original post, 6:49 a.m. March 3: Loveland Police Officer Garret Osilka has an unusual back story -- he played professional baseball at the minor league level for seven years -- and an absolutely picture-perfect family, as judged by photos on his Facebook page. And right now, he's fighting for his life.Last night, Osilka was reportedly shot during what appeared to be a routine traffic stop. At last report, he was in serious condition.
See photos, videos and details below.
Here's the biographical sketch of Osilka as shared in a past issue of Blue Revue, a Loveland Police Department publication:
Garret was raised in Jacksonville, FL. He went to Edison Community College in Ft. Meyers on a baseball scholarship. He was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers from there and played for seven seasons. He obtained a bachelor's degree from the University of North Florida. He was then hired by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. He worked there for eight years as a patrol officer, a detective in the gang unit and a member of the SWAT Team.According to Osilka's stat page on Baseball-Reference.com, he played on a slew of teams between 1996 and 2003, including the Helena Brewers, the Ogden Raptors and the Beloit Snappers, registering a .255 batting average over that stretch.
He remained active after he moved from baseball to law enforcement, as seen in this Facebook photo:
Also featured on the page are a bunch of family pics, all of which find Osilka beaming. Here's one example: But the incident that took place last night was nothing to smile about. Continue for more about the shooting of Loveland Police Officer Garret Osilka, including photos and a video. At about 7:48 p.m. last night, according to the Loveland Reporter-Herald, Osilka radioed dispatch to reveal that shots had been fired during a traffic stop in the vicinity of 17th Street and Wilson Avenue in Loveland.Thus far, the LPD hasn't revealed why the stop took place. However, Osilka is said to have returned fire. He was subsequently rushed to an area hospital, where he's being treated in the intensive-care ward.
Reporter-Herald staffer Jenny Sparks was on the scene shortly after the incident took place. She shot the following video:
At this writing, no arrests in the case have been confirmed. But police were on the lookout for two suspects who were driving a blue or black Jeep Cherokee with a temporary license plate, and the Reporter-Herald notes that officers made what's described as a "high-risk traffic stop" in the vicinity around 9:30 p.m., and two people were taken into custody.
Anyone with information about the case is encouraged to phone the Loveland Police Department at 970-962-2079.
In the meantime, good news: Osilka is expected to survive.
Send your story tips to the author, Michael Roberts.
More from our Colorado Crimes archive circa February 25: "Photos: Kenneth Hosch, 83, busted in crash that killed Sergeant Dave Baldwin."
