Man accused of killing Meridian cop charged with capital murder

MERIDIAN, Miss. (WLBT) - The man accused of killing Meridian Police Officer Kennis Croom is now charged with capital murder.

Officials say Dante Bender shot and killed his fiance Brittany Jones and Officer Kennis Croom last Thursday in Meridian.

Croom was responding to a domestic call and was the first to arrive on the scene.

“He advised that he had one at gunpoint. Shortly afterward, he advised shots were being fired,” according to Meridian Police Chief Deborah Young.

The second officer on the scene reported that Croom had been shot.

Bender left the scene after the deadly shooting but was found the next day in Ackerman after a multi-state manhunt.

Police later discovered Brittany Jones inside the home. She was pronounced dead on the scene.

Jones, who was pregnant, was Bender’s fiance, according to WTOK.

Officer Kennis Croom was supposed to be off the day he was killed, Young said.

“He chose to come in and serve, which is what he was known to do regularly,” she said. “He was the definition of a true hero, and his legacy will go on.”

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