Former South Carolina police officer Michael Slager is pleading guilty to violating the civil rights of an unarmed black motorist he shot and killed as he ran from a 2015 traffic stop.
A copy of the plea agreement obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday also shows state prosecutors are dropping a pending murder charge against Slager. The AP obtained the agreement from a lawyer familiar with the case who didn't want to talk publicly before it was finalized.
Slager was scheduled to appear in federal court Tuesday for motions ahead of his federal trial planned for later this month in the shooting death of Walter Scott.
A bystander captured Scott's shooting on cellphone video, viewed millions of times. Slager's first trial on state murder charges ended in a hung jury.
South Carolina's 5th District Holds Special Primary Election
Voters in South Carolina's 5th Congressional District, which stretches from York County down to parts of Sumter County, are heading to the polls for Tuesday's special primary election.
Residents are seeking to fill the seat vacated by Republican Mick Mulvaney, who resigned to become the White House budget director. There are three Democrats andseven Republicans vying for their respective parties' nominations. Runoffs will be held on May 16 if no candidate gets over 50 percent of the vote.
The general election for the seat will be held on June 20. The winner will finish out the remainder of Mulvaney's two-year term.
DA Will Seek Death Penalty Against Two Hickory Men
A district attorney in Catawba County says he will seek the death penalty against two men charged with a triple homicide that took place outside a Hickory pub last month.
Dontray Cumberlander, 23, and Greydon Hansen, 23, are accused of fatally shooting three people -- Justin Aiken, 21; Cody Bouphavong, 21; and Quajuae Kennedy, 21.
Bouphavong and Kennedy died Friday, April 7, and Aiken died the next day. All three were shot outside the J. McCroskey's Irish Pub and Grill early on April 7.
Police say the shooting stemmed from an argument in the parking lot. Both defendants are being held without the bond.
Last Month Was Charlotte's Hottest April On Record
According to the National Weather Service, last month was Charlotte's warmest April on record. The average temperature in April was 65.4 degrees, beating the previous record of 64.9 degrees, set in 1896.
