THERESA, N.Y. (AP) – A U.S. Army soldier was charged Monday with murder in the fatal shooting of a New York State Police trooper who was responding to a domestic dispute.
The suspect, identified as Justin Walters, 32, surrendered without incident after the trooper and Walters’ wife were killed Sunday night at a home in the town of Theresa, near the Canadian border, New York State Police Superintendent George P. Beach II said.
Trooper Joel Davis, 36, responded to a call of shots fired shortly after 8 p.m. He was approaching the home when he was shot, Beach said. Walters’ wife, 27-year-old Nichole Walters, also was found dead at the scene.
State police said Walters is an active duty U.S. Army infantryman who is stationed at nearby Fort Drum, home of the 10th Mountain Division. Information on Walters’ military service wasn’t available.
WWNY-TV in Watertown reported Justin Walters was clad only in shorts when he was brought to a town court around 4 a.m. Monday to be charged with first- and second-degree murder. He was ordered held in the Jefferson County Jail without bail. Walters didn’t have a lawyer at the arraignment.