Mississippi man indicted for shooting, killing sheriff’s deputy
Published 8:42 pm Tuesday, September 7, 2021
A Mississippi man has been indicted on charges of capital murder and other felony counts in the February slaying of a sheriff’s deputy.
A grand jury in Hancock County returned the indictment against 31-year-old Joseph Michael Rohrbacker in the fatal shooting of Hancock County sheriff’s Lt. Michael Boutte, the Sun Herald reported Tuesday. Rohrbacker has been jailed since his arrest in March.
Prosecutors say Boutte was shot while responding to a 911 call placed from Rohrbacker’s home on Feb. 1. A second deputy shot and injured Rohrbacker.
An arraignment hearing for Rohrbacker has been scheduled for Monday.
If convicted of capital murder, Rohrbacker faces a possible death sentence or life in prison without parole. Defense attorney Philip Whitman previously told a judge Rohrbacker suffers from mental illness.
