Charge upgraded in Searcy killing

— Prosecutors have upgraded a charge to capital murder for a former New Orleans resident accused in a slaying in Searcy.

Joseph M. Bienemy, 27, is to be tried Jan. 15 in the Nov. 26 killing of Carlos Deadmon, 24, of Little Rock. Bienemy originally had been charged with first-degree murder.

Deadmon was shot in his car on a Sunday morning. Police say Bienemy fled to New Orleans, where he was arrested in June. A capital-murder conviction carries a penalty of execution or life in prison without parole.

A witness to the Deadmon slaying was killed on March 26 in Searcy. Quentin Jerome Dew pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for killing Antonio Barrow and was sentenced in August to a 30-year prison term.

Arkansas, Pages 21 on 10/07/2007

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