Idaho man acknowledged killing Coeur d'Alene police officer
<p>This undated photo provided by the Coeur d’Alene Police Department shows Coeur d’Alene, police officer Greg Moore, who was critically wounded in the line of duty in the early morning of Tuesday, May 5, 2015. The northern Idaho officer is in critical condition after being shot and a suspect is in custody. A northern Idaho police officer shot by a man who stole his patrol car died of his injuries Tuesday evening, a Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, police spokeswoman said. Sgt. Greg Moore died at 5:50 p.m. at Kootenai Health, Sgt. Christie Wood said in a statement.(Coeur d’Alen…
<p>Maya Averill, 9, attends a candlelight vigil for Sgt. Greg Moore, a 16-year veteran of the Coeur d'Alene Police Department who was shot after checking on a suspicious person in a neighborhood, Tuesday, May 5, 2015, in northwest Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. The northern Idaho police officer shot by a man who stole his patrol car died of his injuries Tuesday evening, police said. (Kathy Plonka/The Spokesman-Review via AP) COEUR D'ALENE PRESS OUT</p>
An Idaho man told investigators he used a 9mm Glock handgun hidden in his coat pocket to shoot and kill an Idaho police officer because he feared the officer would find the weapon, according to court documents released Wednesday.
The records said 26-year-old Jonathan Renfro of Rathdrum told authorities he shot Coeur d’Alene police Sgt. Greg Moore early Tuesday, then stole his patrol vehicle.
Renfro said he used methamphetamine the day before the shooting, which was recorded by the officer’s body camera.
Moore was checking on a suspicious person while patrolling a neighborhood when he was gunned down. He died later that evening.
“Renfro is observed shooting Sgt. Moore,” Idaho State Police Senior Detective Michael A. Van Leuven wrote in an affidavit that describes images from the camera worn by Moore. “After being shot, Sgt. Moore falls to the ground, causing his body camera to point skyward. A short time later Renfro’s face comes back into the frame. Renfro is seen using a flashlight while searching Sgt. Moore’s person.”
A Post Falls police officer later spotted the stolen police vehicle and gave chase with speeds reaching 125 mph but found the vehicle abandoned. Law enforcement agencies set up a perimeter and Renfro was apprehended several hours later after a police dog found him hiding under a truck and dragged him out.
“From the information I’ve received so far, it doesn’t look like an ambush-style attack,” Coeur d’Alene Police Chief Lee White said. “This was just a bad guy doing bad guy stuff and our officers doing what they were trained to do — and that’s trying to keep our communities safe.”
The documents say Moore’s service pistol was found near Renfro, and a second 9mm pistol was found in a nearby field with Moore’s flashlight and Renfro’s eyeglasses.
Renfro has been charged with shooting the officer, stealing his patrol car and leading authorities on a high-speed chase. He’s being held in jail on $2 million bail.
Renfro’s attorney, John Adams of the Kootenai County Public Defender’s office, didn’t return a call from The Associated Press.
One of the court documents is a request by Adams for a gag order barring anyone involved in the case from discussing it with news media.
Hundreds of people gathered at a candlelight vigil Tuesday for the veteran police officer, some traveling from out of state and others paying tribute to the sacrifice of a lawman they didn’t know.
“It’s just amazing that people who don’t even know him, they come out and support everything he stood for,” Don Eckles, a close friend of Moore, told The Spokesman-Review newspaper of Spokane, Washington.
“This is not something we see all across the U.S.,” White told the crowd, which included city workers, elected officials, officers from around the region, church leaders and others. “I am truly grateful to be a part of this community.”
Moore was a husband and father of two who was a 16-year veteran of the city police department. He began his career as a deputy sheriff in Asotin County, Washington, in late 1997 and started in Coeur d’Alene in 1999.
Nicholas K. Geranios in Spokane contributed to this report.