Saturday, July 3, 2010
Cop Killer Turns Self In - Awaiting Charges On At Least Three Murders
Just a few hours after the viewing for the two slain Tampa police officers, the suspect, Dontee Rashawn Morris, turned himself into authorites after a massive manhunt failed to locate him. He will be charged with the the two murders of the officers who stopped the vehicle in which he was riding, as well as another which occurred in front of his family's business. He is a suspect in a fourth homicide as well. Unless he cut some kind of deal in order to get him to surrender, which is unlikely, he will almost certainly face the death penalty for the first degree murders of the officers. Prosecutors will be able to allege that he committed a prior violent felony - each homicide is considered a prior for the other - as well as cold, calculated and premeditated and victim a law enforcement officer. There may be a felony murder as well, if it can be shown that he was fleeing from a prior homicide. With aggravating factors like these, it is extremely unlikely that he will not face the death penalty.