CBS 5 - KPHO Neighbors say accused gunman kept to himself

This weekend, the Valley lost a man who spent years working to keep our community safe. Deputy William Coleman was shot to death while responding to a burglary alarm in Anthem. We're learning more about the man accused of pulling the trigger.

Drew Ryan Maras was killed by MCSO deputies last night after allegedly opening fire on them early Sunday morning. Neighbors at his former Peoria apartment are shocked to hear the allegations.

"That is mind blowing," said John Demarr. "It's insane to figure this out right now because I didn't think that he'd do that."

Demarr and others in the Peoria complex are baffled that someone they called a neighbor is accused of shooting and killing Coleman, an almost 20-year veteran of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.

"I saw him a few times, we just chatted out front, just about his book and stuff, he seemed like a normal kind of guy," Demarr said.

MCSO tells us Maras was inside his van with his pit bull outside a medical complex in Anthem, and when deputies approached him on a potential burglary call, they say he came out shooting, hitting Coleman. Deputies returned fire, hitting Maras.

"I never saw anyone go in or out, he was just kind of like a lonely guy it looked like," Demarr said.

"He was really a quiet person, just kept to himself," Ryan Valdez said.

Maras lived at the complex until just about a week or two ago. Demarr tells us he and Maras hung out a few times in his place, and Maras told him about his book.

"It's about the world ending in 2012 or whatever," Demarr said.

Maras' book is called "Open Your Eyes: To 2012 and Beyond." We found a website belonging to Maras, in which he says he is "bringing you the world through his eyes." He said he's a former U.S. Marine and he posted photos and news headlines of alleged alien sightings and Mayan prophecies.

"He was pretty intelligent about all this 2012 stuff, like he really did take his time and study about that," Demarr said.

Neighbors say Mara recently packed up and left.

"He said he was going to drop his stuff off in Colorado and then move to Hawaii, that's why we thought he moved," Demarr said.

Neighbors recall seeing Maras drive a City of Peoria truck in addition to his brown van. The City of Peoria told CBS 5 News he worked for them as a temporary seasonal employee from March to November of last year.

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