HATTIESBURG, Miss., May 14 (UPI) -- The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday announced the arrest of a fifth suspect in connection to the deaths of two police officers last weekend, authorities said.
Officers arrested Abram Wade Franklin and charged him with obstruction of justice. Officials said the information that led to Franklin's capture came about during the investigation.
Hattiesburg, Miss., police officers Benjamin Deen and Liquori Tate were shot to death May 9 as they made a traffic stop, investigators said. They were the first deaths of a Hattiesburg police officer in 30 years.
Authorities had arrested four suspects in this case -- Curtis Banks, 26, Marvin Banks, 29, Cornelius Clark, 28, and Joanie Calloway, 22 -- the following day.
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Calloway and Marvin Banks have been charged with two counts of capital murder. Officials have charged Clark with obstruction and Curtis Banks with being an accessory after the fact.
Franklin, 29, was booked into jail on the obstruction charge, police said.
Tate, 24, became a police officer in Hattiesburg just last year, and Deen, 34, joined the force in 2012.
"No parent wants to bury their child before them... and here we are on Mother's Day. It's a tragedy for all America. It's a tragedy for our community," Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny DuPree said Sunday.
Authorities have not yet speculated as to a motive for the officers' shootings, but did say the suspected gunman, Marvin Banks, had a criminal record that included gun charges.
Investigators said Deen pulled a vehicle over Saturday for a speeding violation. When he approached the vehicle, he spotted something that gave him probable cause for a search, Mississippi Bureau of Investigation spokesperson Warren Strain said.
Deen called for backup and Tate was the first to arrive, according to police. Autopsies on the officers revealed that one had been shot in the back and one in the face.
"There are theories, but we'll wait on the forensics to come back," Strain said earlier this week.
