WHITEVILLE, N.C. — A judge has signed off on a prosecutor's plan to seek the death penalty for a young adult accused in a North Carolina trooper's shooting death.
[ [RELATED: Gov. Cooper orders flags to fly at half-staff to honor slain NC state trooper] ]
Multiple news outlets report Superior Court Judge Douglas Sasser made the decision during Friday's court hearing Friday for 18-year-old Chauncey Askew. He's charged with first-degree murder in the October death of Trooper Kevin Conner. District Attorney Jon David announced earlier his plans to seek capital punishment.
[ [ALSO READ: 2nd arrest made in shooting death of NC state trooper] ]
Authorities say the shooting occurred along U.S. Highway 701, when a pickup truck was stopped for a speeding violation. Conner died at the hospital. Askew was arrested later in South Carolina.
David says Raheem Cole Dashanell Davis is now indicted for accessory after the fact to first-degree murder in Conner's death. Davis' original first-degree murder charge was dropped.
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