WHYY
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U.S. Attorney William McSwain outside the federal courthouse in Philadelphia. (Kimberly Paytner/WHYY)
Federal prosecutors in Philadelphia have charged four men with murder in connection to the shooting death of Sgt. James O’Connor, who was killed in March while trying to serve a fugitive warrant in Frankford.
Hassan Elliott, the 22-year-old accused of firing the bullets that killed O’Connor that morning, is eligible for the death penalty, according to a seven-count indictment unsealed Thursday. The rare sentence would have to be approved by the U.S. Attorney General and the federal jury empaneled to hear the case at trial.