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BILOXI, Miss. (WJTV) — The teen accused of killing a Biloxi police officer in May 2019 will go to trial before a Rankin County jury, event though the trial will be held in Biloxi, Miss.

According to the Sun Herald, Judge Christopher Schmidt also ruled the death penalty will remain an option at sentencing should a jury convict Darian Atkinson of capital murder. The other option at sentencing in a capital murder case is life without parole.

Atkinson has been charged in the death Officer Robert “Mac” McKeithen, which happened on May 5, 2019.

Officer Robert McKeithen

Atkinson was indicted on the capital murder charge by a grand jury. His trial has been set for September 27, 2021. Public defender Angela Blackwell intends to ask for a trial delay due to the surge of COVID-19 cases in Mississippi.