Two police officers
were shot
and killed during a traffic stop, and three suspects were arrested
hours later, authorities said Sunday. Two of the suspects
were charged Sunday with capital murder in the death 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.
Lamar County
authorities arrested Marvin Banks at a motel shortly before 1 a.m. Sunday.
Curtis Banks was arrested around 3 a.m. at an apartment complex.
"No sir, I didn't
do it," Curtis Banks told reporters gathered at the State Police barracks
when Banks was brought in.
Strain said one officer
stopped a 2000 Gold Cadillac Escalade in an industrial corridor about 8:30 p.m.
Saturday. A second officer arrived as backup. 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 New
Year's Eve in 1984.
Tate, 25, was a recent
graduate from the police academy. He posted on his Facebook page that he
graduated June 11.Tate graduated South
Pike High School and attended Southwest Mississippi Community College before
joining the Hattiesburg Police Department.
Deen, 34, was a K-9
officer. He was named HPD Officer of the Year in 2012.
"People who
believe in prayer, who believe in the power of prayer, I'd ask them to pray for
the family members," Mayor Johnny DuPree said.
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