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Calloway trial underway; dashcam footage played

Lici Beveridge
Breaking News Reporter

OXFORD - Dashcam footage of the shooting deaths of Hattiesburg police officers Benjamin J. Deen and Liquori Tate was played several times in Lafayette County Courthouse on Tuesday as the trial for 24-year-old Joanie Calloway got underway.

Joanie Calloway sits with one of her attorneys, Alexander Ignatiev, during her trial Tuesday at Lafayette County Courthouse.

Calloway is on trial for her alleged role in the shooting of two Hattiesburg police officers during a traffic stop on Fourth Street near Bouie Street on May 9, 2015.

She is charged with attempted accessory after the fact of capital murder and hindering prosecution in connection to the deaths of officers Benjamin J. Deen and Liquori Tate. If convicted, she faces up to 25 years in prison.

Calloway was pulled over by Deen because she had signaled she was turning left but did not turn, an indication something was not right, Hattiesburg police Capt. Branden McLemore explained as the dashcam footage rolled.

Deen was seen approaching the vehicle and speaking with Calloway. The audio recording at first did not work, so it is unknown what was said. He returned to his patrol car to check some information then returned and asked her again if she had a driver's license. She replied instead, "I'm on my way to work."

Deen said that was not the right way to respond to the question and asked Calloway again for ID. She gave him her Social Security number and a military ID, which turned out to be her husband's. The ID was found later in the patrol car. The Social Security number came back as Joanie Fairley a.k.a. Calloway.

The dashcam footage shows the two people in the front seat — Calloway and Marvin Banks — talking to each other and someone bending over to slip something under one of the seats. Deen mentions this before heading back to the vehicle and asking Calloway to get out of the car.

He also calls for backup and soon after the dashcam footage shows Tate arriving at the scene.

Calloway complies with Deen's request and walks toward the rear of the vehicle. Tate is seen on the passenger side trying to get Banks out of the vehicle. As Deen approaches to help Tate, Banks jumps out of car with his hands up, at first being jovial and talking to Tate like they are friends.

Then very quickly Banks ducks back into the car, pulls out a gun and begins firing. Deen is struck by the first shot, just out of the camera's range. Banks continues firing as Tate tries to run away.

Calloway jumps in the car, starts it up, shouts to Banks, "Marvin! Get in the car! Marvin! Marvin!" She drives off when he doesn't respond. At the intersection of Fourth and Bouie streets, the man in the back seat jumps out and runs to the left. Calloway turns to the right.

Banks fires one more shot at Tate. That was the shot that hit him, McLemore said.

Banks is seen running toward Deen's patrol care and drives off in it. The vehicle is found nearby on Front Street at the railroad tracks. With Deen's dashcam still running, Banks is seen running away from the vehicle.

Members of Deen's and Tate's families were present for most of the testimony, but only Deen's brother, Josh Deen, and Tate's sister, Alonte Tate, stayed in the courtroom while the dashcam video was played.

A still photo was pulled from the footage and used in a BOLO for Banks' arrest.

Former HPD officer LaRon Smith testified he recognized Banks and was able to name him.

Smith was the officer who picked up Calloway. She ran into a blocked street after she fled the scene because a small festival was going on downtown. Instead of turning around, she got her son out of the car and went to the festival seeking help.

She went up to Hattiesburg resident Marcia Goff, who was at the festival with her husband and friends, and began telling Goff a story, but Goff at first did not understand what she was saying, Goff testified.

Calloway told her two men jumped into her car and made her drive them around and then they shot two police officers. Goff called 911 and told the dispatcher Calloway's story.

The 911 call was played in court. After Goff tried to tell the dispatcher about Calloway, she put her on the 911 call. Calloway calmly spelled out her name but did not answer the dispatcher's questions and handed the phone back to Goff. At one point Goff testified she heard Calloway say, "I'm not going to lie to you, we were driving around trying to find weed."

Smith testified Calloway told him a couple versions of what happened, at first denying knowing the men, then saying she only knew them by their street names, Cuz and Loco. She also said she knew they were members of the 74 Hoover Crips because of their tattoos.

She eventually identified Banks in a photo lineup, but still did not admit to knowing him until much later. Smith and McLemore confirmed Calloway and Banks were in a relationship and had spent that day together.

She also told Smith that Banks told her, "I'm f****** going to do this s***," meaning he was going to kill the officers. Calloway told Smith, "I told that mother f***** not to do that s***."

That conversation allegedly took place right before the officers were shot.

First to testify was HPD officer Ricardo Taplin, who was one of the first officers to arrive at the scene. He testified that Deen's weapon was still strapped into its holster and that his vehicle was missing, even though the key fob was in Deen's possession. He said he saw Tate wounded a little further down the street.

Taplin said he knew the person who took Deen's patrol car wouldn't get very far because the engine would quit when the key fob was out of range.

​Calloway was indicted in 2016 by a grand jury for her role in trying to get Banks away from the scene of the officers' shootings.

She also is accused of misleading police on Banks' identity, again to help him evade law enforcement.

Banks died in his jail cell at Forrest County Jail in December 2015 from apparent heart disease. He was 29.

His brother, Curtis Banks, 28, was accused of trying to hide his brother from authorities after the officers' deaths. He pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact of capital murder and is serving a 20-year sentence with the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

Six others also were charged.

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Family members still struggle a year after shootings

Where are suspects in HPD shooting deaths?

Calloway's trial was moved to Lafayette County Circuit Court in Oxford after Calloway sought and was granted a change of venue, citing pretrial publicity.

A jury of six women and seven men were chosen from a pool of 68 potential jurors.

Calloway has been out on $75,000 bond since July 17, 2015. She was arrested in February for DUI-second offense and contempt of court. She is out on $2,000 bond for those charges.

Testimony is scheduled to resume Wednesday with the trial expected to wrap up late Wednesday or early Thursday.