Prosecution seeking death penalty in case of accused Florence police shooter

Solicitor Ed Clements is seeking the death penalty against Frederick Hopkins Jr., the man accused of killing two Florence police officers and shooting five others.

At a Thursday hearing, Clements, the 12th Circuit solicitor, told the court that the prosecution will seek to have Hopkins executed, which was first reported on by the Associated Press.

Hopkins is accused of ambushing three Florence County police officers when they came to search his house in October 2018. The police were investigating allegations that Hopkin's son, Seth Hopkins, had sexually abused minors in the home.

In an hours-long standoff, Fred Hopkins shot and killed Florence County Sheriff's Office deputy Farrah "Maxine" Turner and Florence Police Department officer Terrance Carraway and wounded five other officers, according to authorities.

The shooting shook the state, with the governor calling for flags to be flown at half staff the next day. It became a national story as one of the worst police shootings of the decade.

To seek the death penalty in South Carolina, a murder charge has to entail one of 12 "aggravating circumstances." One of the aggravating circumstances is that a police officer is killed.

Hopkins is jailed in the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center in Richland County while he awaits court proceedings. He is represented by Columbia criminal defense attorney Aimee Zmorczek.

Hopkins son, Seth Hopkins, pleaded guilty to criminal sexual conduct with a minor in December and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

___

(c)2020 The State (Columbia, S.C.)

Visit The State (Columbia, S.C.) at www.thestate.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.