The trial date for a former Jones County reserve deputy charged with murder has been moved to a new location and time.
43-year-old George Ryan Walters was arrested in early April for his involvement in an altercation in which he shot and killed 45-year-old James Corey Donald at the Rock Church in Laurel.
Walters was later charged with second-degree murder in early April but had his charges upgraded to first-degree murder and aggravated assault – manifesting extreme indifference to life. The former deputy pleaded not guilty to the charges.
He was initially scheduled to stand trial on January 29 in Jones County, but will now be facing a judge in Harrison County on June 10, the Laurel Leader-Call reports.
A member of the church who was tasked with serving on its security team at the time, Walters had allegedly struck Donald in the face and kicked him in the head before shooting him.
Donald was taken to South Central Regional Medical Center shortly after before succumbing to his injuries.
Autopsy reports later showed that Donald’s cause of death was a gunshot wound on the right side of his back. Mississippi Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Zachary Summers added during court hearings that Donald also had a subarachnoid hemorrhage and abrasions to his head.
Prior to his arrest, Walters was placed on administrative leave from his position as a reserve deputy with the JCSD, as he was off duty at the time of the incident.
