JACKSON– A Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics agent says in a sworn statement that a state trooper was acting in an official capacity when he was shot to death last month in the middle of a night in a rural area.
The trooper, 32-year-old Kenneth Joshlin “Josh” Smith, was killed and his brother-in-law, 38-year-old Rickie Dale Vick, was shot early Sept. 30. A man with them, 43-year-old Troy Anthony Eaton, is charged with capital murder and aggravated assault.
Eaton remains jailed without bond. He told WTVA-TV the shootings were in “self-defense.”
The district attorney’s office has released two affidavits taken Oct. 1 from a narcotics agent. One says Eaton killed Smith while knowing Smith was working as a trooper.
The Department of Public Safety would not answer questions about the affidavits Wednesday.
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