CULPEPER, VA- A Culpeper
police officer is behind bars, charged with murder after he fatally shot a
woman in February.
Daniel Harmon-Wright, 32, of Gainesville, was indicted
by a special investigative grand jury Tuesday in connection with the February 9
shooting death of 54-year-old Patricia Ann Cook.
Harmon-Wright has been charged
with one count of murder, malicious shooting into an occupied vehicle,
malicious shooting into an occupied vehicle resulting in a death and use of a
firearm in the commission of a felony.
The officer's mother, Bethany
Sullivan, 55, of Orange,
was charged with three counts of forgery of public documents for attempting to
purge the records in his police personnel file while she was an administrative
secretary to the police chief. Sullivan left the police department in 2010.
Police said the shooting occurred
when Harmon-Wright responded to a report of a suspicious woman in a vehicle in
a church parking lot.
The driver closed the vehicle's
window, trapping the officer's arm inside and attempted to drive away,
according to police. Harmon-Wright then shot the woman, and the car crashed, according
to authorities.
Harmon-Wright was taken into
custody Tuesday and is being held without bond at the Fauquier County
Adult Detention
Center. Harmon-Wright's
next hearing is scheduled for June 8. His mother was released on bond.
Harmon-Wright was hired by the
Culpeper County Police Department in August of 2006. He has been suspended without
pay.
The family of Patricia Ann
Cook released the following statement to 8News on Wednesday:
"We were pleased to learn of
the Special Grand Jury's actions last night, which we hope will lead to answers
and justice. This indictment is an important early step in obtaining the
answers we so desperately seek to help understand why Patty was taken from us.
The efforts of the Special Grand Jury in investigating Officer Harmon-Wright's
actions and, in the process, delivering additional related indictments against
his mother, are a perfect example of the power of the citizens of Culpepper to
deliver unbiased, reasoned and deliberative justice. We are forever grateful to
those eleven citizens for putting their lives on hold to so doggedly pursue the
truth. We also thank Special Prosecutor Jim Fisher, the Virginia State Police,
and other law enforcement and investigative personnel, whose tireless efforts
provided the Special Grand Jury the tools necessary to do its work. Finally, we
want to make clear that we do not view the actions of Officer Harmon-Wright, or
those alleged of his mother, as being reflective of police or law enforcement
generally. The vast majority of those who serve our community do so honorably,
and the actions of the few should not taint the dignity of the many. We are
eager for the system to get to the bottom of Officer Harmon-Wright's choices
and actions on the morning of February 9th that resulted in our loss, and we
look forward to obtaining answers and justice for Patty as the judicial system
takes over."
Copyright 2012 by Young
Broadcasting of Richmond
