9th arrest made in deaths of 2 Mississippi police officers

Police-Officers-ShotHATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) – Authorities say a ninth person has been arrested in connection with the shooting deaths of two Mississippi police officers who were killed during a traffic stop.

Spokesman Warren Strain with the Mississippi Department of Public Safety said in a statement Wednesday night that 25-year-old Brodrick Kendell Varnado of Hattiesburg was arrested and charged with accessory after the fact of capital murder.

No further details about the allegations against Varnado were immediately available.

Strain says Varnado is being held in Forrest County jail. It wasn’t clear if Varnado has a lawyer who could comment on the charge.

Police say 29-year-old Marvin Banks shot Hattiesburg Police Department patrolmen Benjamin Deen and Liquori Tate on May 9 after Deen pulled over a speeding car driven by Banks’ girlfriend. The officers died at a hospital.