Local law enforcement officials investigate the scene of a shooting late Saturday, May 9, 2015, in Hattiesburg. Miss.(Photo: Jason Munz, AP)
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Three suspects were arrested Sunday after two police officers were
shot and killed during a traffic stop, authorities said.
Two of the suspects were charged with capital murder of officers Benjamin Deen, 34, and Liquori Tate, 25.
Warren Strain, a spokesman for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, said Marvin Banks, 29, and Joanie Calloway, 22, were each charged with two counts of capital murder. Banks was also charged with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was also charged with grand theft for fleeing in the police cruiser after the shooting, Strain said.
"He absconded with a Hattiesburg police cruiser. He didn't get very far, three or four blocks and then he ditched that vehicle," Strain said.
Banks' brother, Curtis Banks, 26, was charged with two counts of accessory after the fact of capital murder.
"The men and women who go out every day to protect us, the men and women who go out every day to make sure that we're safe, they were turned on (Saturday) night," Mayor Johnny DuPree said during a brief news conference outside the hospital before the arrests. "But the person or persons who did this are not safe in the City of Hattiesburg."
Hattiesburg residents Tamika Mills and Pearnell Roberts drove past the scene of the shooting, discovered the two officers and called 911.
"Never in my life have I experienced or seen anything like this except on TV. And to be in the midst of it, it's shocking and heartbreaking," Mills said. "As we were coming down Fourth Street, we noticed a bunch of lights. As we came on through, (Roberts) told me to turn around because she saw somebody laying on the ground.
"So I backed up. That's when we noticed the officer was down. We just saw that one, but in the course of me being on the phone with 911, I turned and I saw another officer across the street rolling on the ground. (Roberts) ran across the street to check on him. He wasn't all the way alert but he asked her, 'Am I dying? I know I'm dying. Just hand me my walkie-talkie.' "
It marked the first time a Hattiesburg police officer had been killed in the line of duty since Jackie Dole Sherrill was shot on New Year's Eve in 1984.
"Thirty years ago was the last time that this has happened in Hattiesburg, and we've had a lot to happen over the past 15 years with tornadoes and storms," DuPree said. "But you never want this to happen."
Maj. Hardy Sims said two cars had been at the scene, with one unit making the stop and another coming to back the first unit.
At his news conference shortly after 10 p.m., DuPree confirmed that one officer had died and that a second was in serious condition. About 15 minutes later, Benedict confirmed that the second officer had passed away.
"People who believe in prayer, who believe in the power of prayer, I'd ask them to pray for the family members," DuPree said.
Contributing: The (Jackson, Miss.) Clarion Ledger
At a glance
Hattiesburg police killed in the line of duty
•Officer Jessie James Everett, killed by gunfire March 9, 1952, while investigating a burglary at Ace Weathers Motor Co.
•Officer M.W. Vinson Jr., killed by gunfire March 9, 1952, while investigating a burglary at Ace Weathers Motor Co.
•Sgt. David Anthony, killed by gunfire May 23, 1973, while responding to an alarm call at Citizens National Bank on Broadway Drive
•Sgt. Jackie Dole Sherrill, killed by gunfire Dec. 31, 1984, while serving a warrant on Eastside Avenue
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