LYNN HAVEN — State Attorney’s Offices in two judicial circuits continue to review evidence gathered against triple-homicide suspect Derrick Thompson.
Neither has ruled out seeking the death penalty against him.
A decision in Bay County’s 14th Judicial Circuit, where Thompson is accused of the July 21 killing of 66-year-old businessman Allen Johnson, is expected “very soon,” spokesman David Angier said.
In the 1st Judicial Circuit, where Thompson faces charges of fatally shooting Milton residents Steven and Debra Zackowski — 60 and 59, respectively — on July 19, the decision won’t come until after State Attorney Bill Eddins secures first-degree murder indictments.
Eddins said a grand jury will be convened to consider the indictments in about two weeks.
“Several weeks after that we will have a committee sit down to determine whether we’ll seek the death penalty,” Eddins said.
Thompson, 41, was considered a person of interest in the Zackowski slayings when Johnson’s body was found July 21 inside his home in Lynn Haven. The truck Thompson was believed to be driving following the first killings was found at the scene.
The suspect, a successful salesman with an apparently serious drug problem, was caught July 22 at a hunting camp near Troy, Ala.
Eddins said Thompson told him shortly after the arrest that he had killed the Zackowskis and Johnson.
Even as decisions are made concerning the death penalty, the two judicial circuits with jurisdiction in Thompson’s case are working out the best strategy for prosecution, Eddins said, including deciding where Thompson will face trial first.
In any scenario, Eddins said, “the evidence in this case is intertwined in such a way that significant issues will have to be litigated before the court over which evidence is admissible in each case.”
Thompson is being held without bond in the Bay County Jail.