OXFORD — A Mississippi woman has been convicted for helping a man who was accused of killing two police officers in 2015.
The trial of Joanie Calloway, 24, was moved from Hattiesburg, where officers Benjamin Deen and Liquori Tate were killed, to Oxford, about 250 miles (402 kilometers) away.
The trial started Tuesday, and jurors deliberated less than an hour Wednesday before finding Calloway guilty of attempted accessory after the fact to capital murder and hindering prosecution, news outlets reported. She was sentenced to the maximum of 20 years for the accessory charge and five years for hindering prosecution.
The officers were killed May 9, 2015. Hattiesburg police Capt. Branden McLemore testified that Deen pulled over a car driven by Calloway after she signaled to make a turn but kept going straight. A passenger named Marvin Banks was in the car with her.
The Hattiesburg American reported that during Calloway’s trial, jurors were shown police dashcam video of Deen approaching the car and speaking to Calloway. After the officer asked Calloway for ID, she told him she was on her way to work. She then gave him a Social Security number and a military identification card that turned out to be her husband’s.
After Deen called for help, Tate arrived as backup.
The video showed Calloway getting out of the car at Deen’s request, and Tate trying to get Banks out of the car. Banks got out with his hands up, then reached back in the car, grabbed a gun and began firing.
Deen was shot in the face; Tate, in the lower back. Both officers were wearing bullet-resistant vests that couldn’t protect them against the gunshots.
The video showed Calloway getting back in the car and yelling, ”Marvin! Get in the car! Marvin! Marvin!” She drove away when he didn’t respond. The footage showed Banks getting into the police car and driving away.
Calloway was charged with helping Banks flee and with misleading police about Banks’ identity. Banks died of heart disease in 2015 while jailed. He was 29.
Marvin Banks’ brother, Curtis Banks, 28, was accused of trying to hide him from authorities. Curtis Banks pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact of capital murder and is serving a 20-year sentence.
Calloway was the first person to go on trial in the killings. Six others were also charged.
Four arrested for murders of two Hattiesburg officers
Two more arrests in the murders of two Hattiesburg police officers
