Inmate accused in slaying of 2 police officers found dead

Marvin Banks, was in an isolation cell when officers found him, the Forrest County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

The suspect held for two counts of capital murder in the death of two Hattiesburg Police officers was pronounced dead at Forrest General Hospital Friday.

The sheriff’s office did not say when was the last time any prison staff member had checked on Banks in the cell.

Marvin Banks, 30, faced two counts of capital murder in the shooting deaths of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, police officers Benjamin Deen, 34, and Liquori Tate, 25, who were gunned down in during a routine traffic stop on May 9. A fourth person, Cornelius Clark, was charged with obstruction of justice.

Nine people were arrested in connection with the deaths of Deen and Tate.

Both officers were wearing bullet-resistant vests that could not protect them against the gunshots, and they both died in hospital. Banks was charged with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and with grand theft for fleeing in the police cruiser after the shooting. His brother, Curtis Banks, was also charged in the case.