Hattiesburg American
By Cathi Carr
Officer’s killer claims shooting unintentional
ASHVILLE, Ala. - It could take years for convicted cop killer Mario Centobie to pay the price for killing a Moody, Ala., police officer last year.The price is to die in the state’s electric chair, as ordered Thursday by St. Clair County Circuit Court Judge Robert Austin.
Death was the sentence recommended in May by the same jury that convicted Centobie of capital murder in the slaying of Keith Turner, who pulled over Mississippi prison escapees Centobie, 33, and Jeremy Granberry, 20, in a stolen car the night he was shot.
“I’m ecstatic,” said Brandy Turner, Keith Turner’s widow. Her father, who has been at Brandy Turner’s side every time Centobie appeared in court, echoed her feelings.
“I’m just glad it’s over,” said Jeffrey McGill, tears ringing his eyes.
When Centobie entered the courtroom for his sentencing, Brandy Turner closed her eyes. She is suing the state of Mississippi and Jones County officials for her husband’s wrongful death.
Centobie, shackled at his ankles, waist and wrists, stared at the eight armed St. Clair County sheriff’s deputies who stood around the defense table before he sat down.
He told Judge Austin that he was innocent of intentionally shooting Keith Turner and the crimes – kidnapping, aggravated assault and burglary – he was convicted of in Mississippi.
“I was judged guilty, but not found guilty,” Centobie said to the judge. “To me, it’s irrelevant as to the death of Keith Turner. I got on the stand and told the truth. I’ll leave it up to ya’ll.”
When he took the stand in his capital murder trial against his lawyers’ advice, Centobie re-enacted shooting Keith Turner. Gesturing wildly, he claimed he never intended to kill Turner, and was running away when he fired the fatal shot to the back of the officer’s head.
“That’s a lie on his part to make people believe what he wants,” said St. Clair County District Attorney Van Davis. “It really amazes me because we know he stood in one spot and fired all those shots, as evidenced by the shell casings which were found in the same place.”
“If anybody ever deserved the death penalty, it is Mario Centobie,” Davis said. “He’s a violent, vicious, manipulating person who would kill anyone who got in his way to freedom.”
Overpowered sheriff
Centobie and Granberry escaped from Jones County Sheriff Maurice Hooks on June 25, 1998, while they were being transported from the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman to Jones County. There Granberry was scheduled to go on trial and Centobie was to be a witness. Because they were not handcuffed and the sheriff’s vehicle was not equipped with a state-mandated Biddle cage – a protective screen between the front and back seats – the pair was able to capture Hooks, steal his car and escape.
Granberry was captured near a lake in Moody shortly after Turner was shot. Centobie eluded 400 law enforcement officers before he was caught on Interstate 10 in Harrison County on July 10.
Centobie and Granberry next will face charges of attempted murder in Tuscaloosa County for shooting Tuscaloosa Police Capt. Cecil Lancaster the same day they escaped from Hooks. No trial date has been set.
In weighing his decision to sentence Centobie to death, Judge Austin ruled that all four aggravating circumstances, which prosecutors argued for, were proven beyond a reasonable doubt during the trial.
Those included the fact that Centobie: Committed the murder while he was under another criminal sentence, for the charges in Mississippi, Had previous felony convictions that involved the use of threat or violence, Committed the murder while engaged in or in flight from a kidnapping or robbery, after escaping from Hooks, Committed the murder to avoid lawful apprehension.
Judge Austin ruled that those factors outweighed any mitigating circumstances presented by the defense.
Upset by attorney’s words
Centobie had asked his defense attorneys not to present evidence that would sway the jury or judge from imposing the death penalty on him.
When Tommie Wilson, Centobie’s attorney, argued to spare his life, he shook his head in defiance at her words.
“We ask that the court take into consideration Mr. Centobie’s previous service to the community in the form of his heroic efforts as a firefighter in Mississippi and his lack of a stable home life while growing up,” she said. “We rely on his statement that the killing of Keith Turner was unintentional, his previous employment as a firefighter and his upbringing, specifically his lack of a father figure.”
His attorneys were not surprised at the death sentence.
“He expected it the whole time,” Stan Brown said.
Davis said that when Centobie was informed at an extradition hearing to face the Alabama charges that he could face electrocution, he was not pleased.
“He asked what method was used in Alabama, but I can’t repeat what he said on camera when he found out it was not lethal injection,” Davis told reporters.
Now that he has been sentenced to death, Centobie receives an automatic appeal in the Alabama judicial system, a process that could take years to resolve, Davis said.
“I feel that justice has been served,” Moody Police Chief Bobby Clements said. “Maybe we can finally get some closure now.”
