4 charged in killings of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, policemen to appear in court

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http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/11/us/mississippi-police-officers-shot-dead/index.html

(CNN)Four suspects accused of involvement in the weekend deaths of two Hattiesburg, Mississippi, police officers are scheduled to appear in court Monday, the same day the community will hold a vigil in honor of the slain lawmen.

"We're a community. We're family," Mayor Johnny DuPree said. "And we're going to grieve together through this."

Officers Benjamin Deen, 34, and Liquori Tate, 24, were making a traffic stop Saturday evening when they were shot, DuPree said. They were taken to a hospital but did not survive.

Authorities accuse the suspects of fleeing the crime scene, stealing a police cruiser and using it as a getaway car.

Joanie Calloway, 22, was charged with two counts of capital murder, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation said Sunday.

Marvin Banks, 29, also faces two counts of capital murder, along with counts of grand theft auto and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Police charged his brother, Curtis Banks, with two counts of accessory after the fact of capital murder, the agency said. And a fourth suspect, Cornelius Clark, was charged with obstruction of justice Sunday, the mayor's office said.

As deputies escorted him into a police station Sunday, Curtis Banks wailed and repeated "I didn't do it."

Speaking to CNN on Monday, DuPree declined to say if investigators know what prompted the officers' killers to open fire. He said investigators are trying to keep what they know close to the vest to avoid tainting efforts to prosecute the suspects.

"I can only tell you so much, and that's not one of the things I can divulge," he said.