Accused cop killer ordered held without bond

By Mike Morris

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The man charged with killing a Chattahoochee Hills police officer was ordered held without bond Thursday in a brief hearing at the Fulton County Jail.

Robert M. Cook, 44, appeared before Magistrate Judge James Altman, who scheduled a bond hearing March 4 in Fulton County Superior Court. Security for the hearing was extraordinarily tight. Five armed deputies -- clad in body armor and black fatigues -- stood guard outside the jail courtroom.

At the request of Cook's attorney, Altman ordered photographers not to take photos of the suspect in his jail outfit.

Cook said nothing except to confirm to Altman that he understood the charges against him -- murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony.

Cook, of Fairburn, was arrested Wednesday by the Georgia State Patrol SWAT team in connection with the Monday shooting death of police Lt. Mike Vogt, 56.

Investigators said Cook shot Vogt because he didn't want to be arrested again for driving drunk, officials said Wednesday.

Police say Cook fired a "high-powered" weapon, mortally wounding Vogt on a secluded dirt road near Hutcheson Ferry Road after Vogt spotted Cook in his vehicle alongside the south Fulton roadway.

Vogt, officials said Wednesday at a press conference held at the Chattahoochee Hills Police Department, had previously arrested Cook. Earlier charges against Cook include aggravated assault and a DUI conviction, police said.

After he was ambushed, Vogt was able to drive in reverse for about 50 yards and call for help. Officers and deputies from Chattahoochee Hills, Union City and Palmetto, and Fulton and Coweta counties began arriving at the scene within moments. And the Georgia Bureau of Investigation began coordinating the search for a brown Chrysler LeBaron. There were reports two to three people were involved, but officials said Wednesday that Cook is the only suspect.

Tips from the public were "key," said GBI Director Vernon Keenan, in making first murder arrest in the history of the 2-year-old city.

“[Cook] did not want to be arrested for DUI so he shot and killed a cop,” Keenan said, when asked about the motive for the shooting.

Chattahoochee Hills Police Chief Damon Jones said a tipster told authorities Cook owned a fully automatic assault rifle and hundreds of rounds of ammo.

Four SWAT teams, including personnel from the State Patrol, Atlanta, Fulton and the GBI, descended on Cook's Fairburn trailer a few miles from where the shooting happened, and he was taken in custody at about 3:15 p.m. without shots being fired.

“We went in prepared for an armed conflict,” said Keenan, adding that Cook was known to be "very knowledgeable with firearms."

The presumed murder weapon was seized during the raid. Also seized was a vehicle similar to a Chrysler LeBaron.

The GBI Crime Lab determined that the assault rifle found at Cook's residence matched the casings found at the scene of the slaying, GBI spokesman John Bankhead said. He said the rifle had been modified so it had the capability of firing in fully automatic mode as well as semi-automatic mode.

Services for Vogt were announced Thursday.

A viewing will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at Ramah Church, 502 Ramah Drive in Palmetto.

Funeral services will be held at noon Saturday at First Baptist Church of Atlanta, 4400 North Peachtree Road in Dunwoody. Burial will follow at Arlington Cemetery in Sandy Springs.

A prayer vigil was held Wednesday night at Vernon Grove Baptist Church, a white clapboard building with a small steeple half a mile down a dirt road near a field of cows.

At least half of the 15-member Fairburn police force was in attendance along with Mayor Don Hayes and 100 other residents of the shocked community of 2,500.

Vogt's colleague, Lt. Jamie Melton, summed up the mood of the gathering.

“This is rural, the country. It is supposed to be peace and harmony here. But one day comes along and robs us of a life,” Melton said.

-- Ty Tagami, Rhonda Cook and Bill Torpy contributed to this article.