Two charged in murder of Twinsburg police officer 4 years later

TWINSBURG, Ohio - The girlfriend and sister of a man convicted of murdering a Twinsburg police officer were arrested in the case, U.S. Marshal Peter Elliott said.

The Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force arrested Bridget Robinson, 36, of Bedford Heights, and Danielle Roberson, 27, of Akron, on Tuesday -- nearly four years after the death of Officer Joshua Miktarian.

"One we arrested in Akron; the other in Solon. We started this task force, the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force, nine years ago in memory of a police officer killed in the line of duty. So this is our highest priority on the task force is whenever a police officer is shot especially killed and or assaulted. We are going to go out very quickly in teams and make the arrests of anybody involved in that," said Elliott.

They were arraigned Wednesday morning on multiple felony charges, including obstruction justice and tampering with evidence. They're being held in the Cuyahoga County Jail.

Ashford Thompson was stopped by Miktarian in July of 2008 for loud music in front of Thompson's home. The officer radioed for backup before he was shot.

Fellow officers found him dead, shot multiple times in the head. Thompson received a sentence of death following his capital murder trial in June 2010. He's currently on death row at the Chillicothe Correctional Institution and has exhausted one mandatory appeal.

Roberson was a passenger in Thompson's vehicle that night. Police found both of them, hours later, at Robinson's home with the murder weapon.

On Wednesday, Roberson and Robinson pleaded not guilty in court.

"Ashford Thompson has made me the mother of a hero. He has made his mother the mother of a murderer, a cop killer. Happy Mother's Day to both of us," said Minda Miktarian Barlow, the officer's mother.