Overview

• District Attorney Mark Dupree announced his office will pursue the death penalty against Dennis Edward Mitchell III in the August killing of Officer Hunter Simoncic.
• Mitchell, 31, is charged with capital murder, fleeing or attempting to elude, criminal possession of a firearm by a felon, and two counts of theft.
• Judge Michael Russell ordered the murder case and a related meth case to be heard together and appointed Brandi Studer of the Kansas Death Penalty Defense Unit as counsel.
• Authorities say Mitchell abandoned one vehicle, took another that was also reported stolen, then drove toward Simoncic as the officer tried to deploy stop sticks; Simoncic, 26, later died at KU Medical Center.
• A motion hearing is set for Sept. 25, with a status conference scheduled for Oct. 21.