Police arrest 2 accused of helping man who allegedly shot Phoenix officer

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -- The Phoenix Police Department says they’ve made two arrests in connection with Nicholas Cody Cowan, the man accused of shooting a Phoenix police officer earlier this month. Police said Thursday that Carolina Coster, 35, and Michael Hankins, 41, are facing charges for allegedly helping Cowan “evade police.”

Court documents say that Cowan stayed at Hankins’ apartment located near I-17 and Northern Avenue where he stayed for two days before Hankins allegedly used his credit card to rent a Scottsdale Airbnb where Cowan was ultimately arrested. Authorities say Hankins told investigators that while he did receive the emergency alerts that a Valley-wide manhunt was underway, he did not “realize it was the same person.” Hankins also admitted buying a cellphone and buying Cowan food during his stay at the short-term rental, court paperwork said. Arizona’s Family is still working to learn more information on Coster.

Cowan, who was wounded in a shootout with police, is back in the hospital after he was released and booked into jail for a short time. During the booking process, jail officials noted that he had to go back to the hospital to be monitored. “He was not officially turned over to (Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office) custody before that occurred,” Phoenix Police Sgt. Andy Williams said on Tuesday morning. Arizona’s Family is still working to learn what prompted the jail to send him back to the hospital.

The new arrests go back to April 14, when a woman went to a gas station near Cave Creek and Beardsley Road and called 911 after getting into a fight with Cowan, whom she had been seeing, police said. While she was talking to officers, Cowan showed up and fired his gun, hitting Officer Denise Bruce-Jones, and shot at another officer, investigators said.

Cowan was the subject of an 80-hour manhunt. Police arrested him at a Scottsdale rental property on April 17. Investigators say Coster and Hankins are not the only ones who helped Cowan. Days after the shooting, Cowan’s ex-girlfriend, Nicole Montalbano, was arrested at her home in Prescott Valley. She was booked on suspicion of hindering prosecution and evidence tampering.

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