Judge denies motion to throw out death penalty option in trial of MMA fighter Cedric Marks
Share this story
Bell County Sheriff’s Office
Cedric Marks, 46, is due to be tried in court over the 2018 killings of Jenna Scott and Michael Swearingin. Marks, a veteran MMA fighter, is accused of killing his former girlfriend Scott and her friend Swearingin and burying their bodies in shallow graves near Clearview, OK.
Marks is to be tried in Bell County, TX for the crimes.
EverythingLubbock reports that Judge Steve Duskie of the 436th Judicial District Court has ruled that the death penalty can be considered in this case, should Marks be found guilty.
Follow CNN
Body cam video shows police officer s fatal shooting of a Black man during a mental health check
Police body camera video shows Patrick Warren at his residence. (CNN)The chief of police in Killeen, Texas, is defending an officer who shot and killed a Black man during a mental health check earlier this month.
Officer Reynaldo Contreras arrived at the home of Patrick Warren on January 10 after Warren s family called for psychiatric help.
The police department said in a statement that, upon the officer s arrival, Warren was emotionally distressed, and newly released body camera footage shows the tense moments that led to Contreras firing his weapon at Warren three times.
Family of man fatally shot by Texas officer call for arrest
January 15, 2021 GMT
BELTON Texas (AP) Family members of a Black man fatally shot by a Killeen, Texas, police officer who was responding to a mental health call are calling for the officer to be arrested and charged for the shooting.
Patrick Lynn Warren, 52, was shot Sunday by Officer Reynaldo Contreras, who was responding to what has been termed a psychiatric call, police said.
Lee Merritt, an attorney for Warren’s family, said Thursday that Warren was in the midst of a “mental health crisis” and that the man had voluntarily gone to a hospital with a different Killeen officer the day before the shooting. He returned home and later developed manic symptoms, which prompted Sunday’s call.
Family members of a Black man fatally shot by a Killeen, Texas, police officer who was responding to a mental health call are calling for the officer to be arrested and charged for the shooting.