NEWPORT, Ark. (AP) – An August trial date has been set for a teenager charged
with capital murder in the shooting death of an Arkansas police officer.
Circuit Judge Harold Erwin on Thursday scheduled the trial to being Aug. 6th for
the now 18-year-old, who was 16 at the time of the fatal shooting of Newport
Police Lt. Patrick Weatherford in June 2017.
The teen has pleaded not guilty and defense attorney Ronald Davis said he is
appealing Erwin’s previous ruling to not move the case to juvenile court.
A then-18-year-old was initially charged with capital murder in the shooting,
but the charge was reduced to breaking or entering, theft of property and
furnishing a deadly weapon to a minor.
Police say Weatherford was shot while investigating a vehicle break-in at
Newport, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) northeast of Little Rock.
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