MEMPHIS — 5:30 p.m. update: The ex-con accused of killing a Memphis police officer has turned himself into federal authorities, ending an intensive two-day manhunt.
Louis Goggans, spokesman for the United States attorney's office in Memphis, said Tremaine Wilbourn turned himself over at the federal building. His family was with him when he arrived.
A warrant was issued Sunday for his arrest on a charge of first-degree murder.
Wilbourn is accused of shooting Officer Sean Bolton Saturday night when the officer interrupted a drug deal.
A news conference is scheduled later this evening.
Earlier:
A manhunt was underway Monday for a suspect in the fatal shooting of a Memphis police officer during a drug deal.
Tremaine Wilbourn, 29, faces a first-degree murder charge in the death of Officer Sean Bolton, 33, Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong said at a Sunday news conference.
"He's a coward," Armstrong said of Wilbourn. "You gunned down, you murdered a police officer, for less than 2 grams of marijuana. You literally destroyed a family."
Armstrong said Wilbourn was a passenger in a 2002 Mercedes Benz that was parked illegally in a southeast Memphis neighborhood Saturday night. Armstrong said Bolton saw the car and shined his squad car's spotlight on the vehicle.
Bolton then got out of his car and walked toward the Mercedes, Armstrong said. Wilbourn got out of the Mercedes, confronted Bolton, and they got into a physical struggle, Armstrong said.
Wilbourn then took out a gun and fired it, striking Bolton multiple times, Armstrong said. The officer died at a hospital.
Wilbourn and the driver then ran away, Armstrong said. The driver later turned himself in to police, and police described him as a person of interest in the case before he was released without being charged.
Armstrong said Bolton interrupted a drug deal in progress. Officers found about 1.7 grams of marijuana inside the car, which likely would have just resulted in a misdemeanor citation and a fine for Wilbourn, Armstrong said.
Armstrong said the U.S. Marshal's office has offered to help in the search for Wilbourn, whom he says is armed and dangerous. He said Wilbourn was on supervised release after serving a federal sentence for robbery of a banking institution.
Earlier Sunday, police officers wearing protective vests descended on an apartment complex in southeast Memphis, about three miles from the scene of the shooting. An armored truck and a mobile command center were among the police vehicles there.
Officers could be seen going in and out of a sliding door and onto a balcony on the second floor of the two-story building.
Bolton is the third Memphis officer to be fatally shot in slightly more than four years. Officer Tim Warren was killed while responding to a shooting at a downtown Memphis hotel in July 2011. In December 2012, Officer Martoiya Lang was killed while serving a warrant.
