Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 18

Thread: Darian Tawan Atkinson Ruled Incompetent for Trial in 2019 MS Slaying of Patrolman Robert McKeithen

  1. #1
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875

    Darian Tawan Atkinson Ruled Incompetent for Trial in 2019 MS Slaying of Patrolman Robert McKeithen







    Suspect captured in killing of Mississippi cop at station

    By Associated Press

    Gulfport Police spokesman Sgt. James Griffin told The Associated Press that Darian Tawan Atkinson was captured Monday evening in Wiggins, about 40 miles (65 kilometres) north of Biloxi. Atkinson is charged with capital murder in the Sunday night shooting death of Patrolman Robert McKeithen, a 23-year veteran of the Biloxi force. McKeithen, 58, had been set to retire this year.

    Law enforcement officials speaking at news conference earlier Monday evening said they have no indication why the officer was gunned down, or whether the officer was targeted or shot at random.

    “I can say that’s probably the saddest thing about this case is we have no motive, we have no reason for him to do this to anybody,” said Sheriff Troy Peterson of Harrison County.

    Authorities have said a gunman approached McKeithen in the station’s parking lot Sunday night after coming inside the station and shot the officer multiple times. Images taken from a surveillance camera inside the station showed a suspect wearing navy blue shorts, a black T-shirt, a red beanie cap and dark high-top sneakers.

    Biloxi Police Chief John Miller said earlier Monday that the suspect, then still unidentified, “seemed a bit nonchalant” as he walked around. Miller has turned the case over to the neighbouring Gulfport Police Department, saying it was better to have an outside agency investigate the death of one of Biloxi’s own officers.

    Griffin said investigators determined Atkinson’s identity through tips and interviews during the day.

    Asked if Atkinson had a criminal record, Gulfport Police Chief Leonard Papania said “there’s nothing that would indicate this,” later describing the shooting as “a sick and deliberate act.”

    Authorities withheld details of the shooting itself, but Miller has said that “with all of Robert’s training, I don’t know that there was anything else he could have done.” Immediately after the shooting, McKeithen was rushed to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

    By Monday afternoon, a reward offer for an arrest in the case rose to $35,000.

    Police responded in force while pursuing leads during the day Monday, at one point searching an apartment complex with rifles drawn. Officials also threatened to file charges against anyone who might be hiding or helping the suspect.

    “Yes, I feel like he’s being helped,” Peterson said. “By who, we don’t know at this time. But we’ll find out when we get him in custody.”

    McKeithen’s relatives said Monday through Biloxi city spokesman Vincent Creel that they weren’t prepared to talk. A memorial service is planned Tuesday night at Biloxi police headquarters. The officer’s funeral and burial are planned for May 13.

    Mississippi’s governor visited the Biloxi police station on Monday, lamenting the killing.

    “This was a senseless murder of a veteran police officer,” Gov. Phil Bryant later wrote on Twitter. “We will find the coward who fired the shots and take him into custody.”

    At a news conference on Monday morning outside Biloxi’s police headquarters, Miller gestured at one point toward the crime scene around McKeithen’s patrol SUV. He said his officer was “murdered last night right here in our parking lot.” Mourners piled floral tributes on the SUV later in the day.

    McKeithen was described as an Air Force veteran with a wife, daughter, two stepsons and a stepdaughter.

    Miller said he and McKeithen had handled calls together earlier in their career. Department records show McKeithen and three other officers were awarded a medal of valour for risking their lives to rescue four special needs children during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

    Said Miller of the slain officer, “He treated people with respect and dignity and we’re going to miss him sorely.”

    https://montrealgazette.com/news/wor...d-a290450a2d0b
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  2. #2
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    The Latest: Investigator: Slain officer was shot from behind

    By Associated Press

    BILOXI, Miss. – The Latest on the killing of a Mississippi police officer (all times local):

    3:30 p.m.

    A man accused of killing a Mississippi police officer walked up behind him in the police station parking lot and shot him several times in the back. That's according to a sworn statement filed by a sheriff's investigator.

    The Sun Herald reports the statement is included in court records in the case of Darian (DEHR-uhn) Atkinson. The 19-year-old from Biloxi is charged with capital murder in the death of 57-year-old Biloxi Police Patrolman Robert McKeithen (muh-KEETH-en) on Sunday.

    The newspaper reports that a video from outside the Biloxi police station showed Atkinson running through the parking lot after the shooting.

    Atkinson told a judge Wednesday that he doesn't know if he needs a public defender because he hasn't been able to call his family. The judge scheduled a Friday hearing.

    10:19 a.m.

    The 19-year-old accused of killing a veteran Mississippi police officer smiled and hummed as he was led into court Wednesday but was wearing a knee-length vest the sheriff said is for inmates considered suicide risks.

    The Sun Herald reports Darian (DEHR-uhn) Atkinson told Justice Court Judge Brandon Ladner he doesn't know if he needs a public defender because he hasn't been able to call his family. The judge scheduled a hearing Friday.

    Atkinson was in a jail courtroom for his initial appearance on a charge of capital murder in the death of 57-year-old Biloxi Police Patrolman Robert McKeithen (muh-KEETH-en) on Sunday.

    Atkinson's 21-year-old brother told the judge he'll hire his own lawyer. The judge said Davian Atkinson is accused of driving his brother out of town and letting him make phone calls.

    https://www.foxnews.com/us/the-lates...ot-from-behind
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  3. #3
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    2 more men arrested after Mississippi police officer slain

    By Associated Press

    BILOXI, Miss. – Two more people have been arrested after a Mississippi police officer was gunned down outside his police station.

    Harrison County Sheriff Troy Peterson tells WLOX-TV both men were arrested Wednesday on charges of accessory after the fact in the capital murder case.

    Twenty-year-old Dalentez Brice and 21-year-old Joshua Kovach are being held without bond. It wasn't immediately known whether they have lawyers who could be reached for comment.

    Veteran Biloxi police Patrolman Robert McKeithen (muh-KEETH-en) was shot several times in the back Sunday in the police station parking lot.

    Nineteen-year-old Darian (DEHR-uhn) Atkinson is accused of killing him.

    Atkinson's 21-year-old brother, Davian Atkinson, is also charged as an accessory after the fact. Authorities say he drove his brother to Wiggins after the killing and let him make phone calls.

    https://www.foxnews.com/us/2-more-me...-officer-slain
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  4. #4
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    Fifth suspect charged in killing of Biloxi police officer

    By Harold Gater
    Jackson Clarion Ledger

    A fifth suspect has been charged in the killing of Biloxi officer Robert McKeithen, who was shot in back outside the police station on Sunday night, WLOX reports.

    Andre Anderson Sullivan, 18, was taken into custody Thursday night. He is charged with accessory after the fact to the capital murder. Sullivan was booked into the Harrison County Jail and held on a $500,000 bond.

    Authorities say Darian Tawan Atkinson, 19, shot McKeithen, 57. Darian Atkinson is charged with the capital murder of a police officer.

    Darian's 21-year-old brother, Davian Lewanika Atkinson, is charged with accessory after the fact. Davian Atkinson is accused of driving Darian to Wiggins and letting him make phone calls, the Sun Herald reported.

    Dalentez Latavian Brice, 20, and Joshua Michael Kovach, 21, were also charged with accessory after the fact to capital murder, according to the Harrison County Jail website. Brice and Kovach were taken into custody Wednesday afternoon, Harrison County Sheriff Troy Peterson told WLOX.

    Authorities accused Sullivan, Kovach and Brice of helping Darian Atkinson change clothes to help disguise his identity after the shooting, the Sun Herald reported.

    On Friday bonds were revoked for Sullivan and Brice, because they were already out on bond for previous cases.

    https://www.clarionledger.com/story/...ed/1162356001/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  5. #5
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    Sixth arrest made in Officer McKeithen’s death investigation

    By Annie Johnson
    WLOX News

    GULFPORT, MS (WLOX) - Gulfport police arrested 20-year-old Wanya Toquest Atkinson of Ocean Springs Wednesday. Atkinson is being charged with accessory after the fact.

    Atkinson is the sixth person charges in relation to this investigation being conducted by the Gulfport Police Department and Harrison County Sheriff’s Office.

    Wanya is the brother of Darian Tawan Atkinson, who was originally arrested for the capital murder of Officer Robert McKeithen. Andre Anderson Sullivan Jr., Joshua Michael Kovach, Dalentez Latavian Brice, and Darion’s Atkinsons’ other brother, Davian Lewanika Atkinson, were also arrested for Accessory After the Fact.

    Investigators confirm officers were sent to an area of Biloxi today near the police station to continue to look for evidence. Those investigators will not say if they found anything that can be tied to Officer McKeithen’s shooting, or to capital murder suspect Darian Atkinson.

    https://www.wlox.com/2019/05/15/sixt...investigation/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  6. #6
    Senior Member CnCP Legend Mike's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Location
    Pennsylvania
    Posts
    4,795
    My Uncle lives right down the street from the shooting and caught the murder on his own security cameras. The police collected the footage as evidence, he told me that it was completely unprovoked.
    Last edited by Mike; 05-28-2019 at 08:18 AM.
    "There is a point in the history of a society when it becomes so pathologically soft and tender that among other things it sides even with those who harm it, criminals, and does this quite seriously and honestly. Punishing somehow seems unfair to it, and it is certain that imagining ‘punishment’ and ‘being supposed to punish’ hurts it, arouses fear in it." Friedrich Nietzsche

  7. #7
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    Third brother linked to Mississippi officer's death

    By Associated Press

    GULFPORT, Miss. – A third brother now faces charges stemming from the slaying of a Mississippi police officer outside his police station.

    Gulfport police tell local news outlets that they arrested 20-year-old Wanya Toquest Atkinson of Ocean Springs on Wednesday, charging him with accessory after the fact.

    Atkinson is the brother of Darian Tawan Atkinson, who's charged with capital murder in the May 5 shooting of Biloxi Patrolman Robert McKeithen.

    Investigators allege Wanya Atkinson is one of five people who aided Darian Atkinson after the killing, including a third brother, Davian Lewanika Atkinson.

    A judge set $500,000 bail for Wanya Atkinson, who's jailed in Harrison County. It's unclear if he has a lawyer.

    Investigators from Gulfport and Biloxi made a fresh search Wednesday of areas outside the Biloxi police station, looking for evidence.

    https://www.foxnews.com/us/third-bro...officers-death
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  8. #8
    Senior Member Member DStafford's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    138
    The names these people were given should be illegal. They carry a stigma of ignorance that will follow them their entire life. Sad, but true.

    -Dawn

  9. #9
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    June 18, 2019

    Teen charged with Biloxi officer's killing giggles, burps during court hearing

    By Margaret Baker
    The Sun Herald

    Darian Atkinson walked eight miles from his mother’s home off Popp’s Ferry Road to the Lopez Quave Public Safety Center in Biloxi with one goal in mind — to kill a police officer, a detective said during the teen's preliminary hearing Tuesday, the Sun Herald reported.

    Atkinson, 19, was smiling as he was led into the Harrison County courthouse. During the hearing, he often looked around the courtroom, giggled and shook his head. At one point, he burped as his attorney, Theressia Lyons, interviewed Gulfport police Det. Samuel Jewell.

    Jewell revealed new details in the “ambush”-style May 5 killing of Biloxi police officer Robert McKeithen.

    Atkinson first walked into the police station dressed in dark clothing, with a red beanie cap on his head and a big smile on his face. He had followed a couple that was there to file a report on a domestic incident but did not know him.

    Atkinson followed the couple back outside when they caught up with McKeithen, a patrolman who was at the police department to fix a flat tire, to discuss their complaint.

    The couple had two young children, ages 2 and younger, with them, Jewell said.

    McKeithen spoke to Atkinson, but he told the police officer he had nothing to do with the domestic incident and told him to “leave him alone.”

    Jewell said Atkinson then hung out by a tree outside the police station before he walked back, pulled out a .40-caliber Glock from his pants pocket and started shooting at McKeithen.

    Atkinson, Jewell said, was within arm’s length of McKeithen when he pulled out a gun and started firing at the officer from behind.

    McKeithen never saw him coming, Jewell said.

    In a matter of seconds, Atkinson fired nine rounds at the veteran police officer who had planned to retire at the end of the year.

    At least three of the bullets hit McKeithen’s bulletproof vest, another grazed his head, and others pierced his body. He was pronounced dead from blood loss at Merit Health hospital in Biloxi.

    After County Prosecutor Herman Cox questioned the detective, Judge Gaston Hewes determined there was enough evidence in the case to bound it over to a Harrison County grand jury for indictment.

    Atkinson is being held on a charge of capital murder, a charge that carries a possible death sentence. Hewes ordered Atkinson be held without bond.

    Finding help

    After the killing, Jewel said, Atkinson walked eight miles back to his mother’s home off Popp’s Ferry Road.

    The teen allegedly got help from two of his brothers, Wanya Toquest Atkinson, 20, and Davian Atkinson, 21, and three others in an attempt to avoid arrest.

    The brothers and the three others — Andre Sullivan, 18, Joshua Michael Kovach, 21, and Dalentez Latavian Brice, 20 — are each being held at the Harrison County jail on charges of accessory after the fact to capital murder.

    All five are accused of helping Atkinson in his attempt to escape capture, mostly by providing clothes to him or giving him a ride or a cellphone for him to use to make calls.

    Caught on camera

    After the killing, Atkinson was caught on a home surveillance camera walking outside his mother’s home with others now accused of trying to help him get away from police.

    The cameras captured images of Atkinson and three others charged as accessories walking around outside Atkinson’s mother’s home before they went out of the camera’s view.

    Atkinson’s brother, Davian Atkinson, picked him in the early-morning hours of May 6 and drove the alleged shooter to Stone County, where Davian Atkinson had a job in a lumber yard.

    Davian Atkinson reportedly allowed his brother to use his cellphone to make some calls.

    Darian Atkinson’s arrest came after an off-duty Biloxi police officer spotted Atkinson walking along a road in Wiggins and called local police.

    The other arrests came after Atkinson was taken into custody.

    Atkinson refused to give a statement to police, instead asking for an attorney.

    Social media

    In his years in high school in Biloxi, Darian Atkinson had also threatened to shoot up the school. The threat came in the aftermath of the deadly Parkland shooting.

    His mother has said he moved to Texas at one point and was a different person when he returned.

    Since the killing, various people have posted their support for Atkinson on his public Facebook page.

    Atkinson will remain jailed without bond pending trial.

    https://www.clarionledger.com/story/...ng/1489368001/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  10. #10
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    Edited:

    Suspect indicted in shooting death of Biloxi Police officer McKeithen

    By WLOX News Staff

    HARRISON COUNTY, Miss. (WLOX) - The suspect accused of killing Biloxi Police officer Robert McKeithen was indicted by a Harrison County grand jury.

    Darian Atkinson, 19, was arrested on a charge of capital murder in the shooting death of McKeithen that took place outside the Biloxi Police Department the night of May 5. Atkinson was arrested in Wiggins the next day when he was spotted by an officer headed home.

    Atkinson first appeared before a judge May 8. Judge Brandon Ladner told him during the hearing that he was being charged because the crime was caught on video. Atkinson was also told the capital murder charge carried a maximum penalty of death.

    https://www.wdam.com/2019/11/21/susp...cer-mckeithen/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •