UPDATE: Two teenagers who now face murder charges after killing a Sheriff's Deputy in Kentucky were in a Bell County court today.
The teens are charged with murder after crashing into a Sheriff's Deputy's cruiser killing both Deputy Sean Pursifull and his K-9 partner.
Today's arraignment was closed because the teens have been charged as juveniles.
Police say the 17-year-old driver and his 16-year-old passenger took off without paying for gas.
They led police on a high-speed chase before hitting the parked police cruiser.
PIKEVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Two teens charged with murder after a crash that killed an eastern Kentucky deputy are expected in court.
Kentucky State Police Trooper Walt Meachum says the teens are to appear in Bell County District Court on Friday. The proceedings are closed because the suspects are juveniles.
The names of the 17-year-old driver from Delaware and a 16-year-old passenger from Pennsylvania have not been released.
Bell County Sheriff's Deputy Sean Pursifull and his police dog died when the teens' car rammed into his parked cruiser during a high-speed chase early Thursday.
Funeral services for the deputy are scheduled Sunday at the Bell County High School gymnasium, followed by burial in Pineville.
NEWARK, Del. (AP) - Delaware state police say two youths identified as suspects in a crash Thursday that killed a sheriff's deputy in eastern Kentucky had been stopped and questioned early Sunday by a Delaware trooper.
According to state police, a Delaware trooper on routine patrol saw three men acting suspiciously shortly after midnight.
Authorities identified the three as 17-year-old David Poppiti of
New Castle, 16-year-old Eric Gerren of Lincoln University, Pa., and
an 18-year-old.
Officials say when the trooper approached and questioned the
men, Poppiti threw a bag of marijuana on the ground and ran. Gerren
and the other man were taken into custody but not charged, and
Gerren was turned over to his father.
A prosecutor says two teens charged with murder after a crash that killed an eastern Kentucky deputy could be tried as adults.
Bell County prosecutor Neil Ward says the 17-year-old driver and his 16-year-old passenger should be treated as adult defendants because of their age, the nature of the crime and because a gun was allegedly found in their car.
Ward and Kentucky State Police did not identify the teens because they have been charged as juveniles. However, 17-year-old David Poppiti and 16-year-old Eric J. Gerren were named in a statement Friday from Delaware State Police, who said they had made a traffic stop on the teens Sunday.
A public defender in Bell County says she and her staff are representing Poppiti and Gerren. She confirms they pleaded not guilty during their closed arraignment today and declined to comment further.
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