A half day man hunt ends with an alleged killer behind bars

Bender allegedly shot and killed his girlfriend and unborn child

ACKERMAN, Miss. (WCBI)-14 and a half hours later Dante Bender was taken into custody. Bender made his way from Newton County to Ackerman early this morning where he was caught and arrested.

Bender allegedly shot and killed his girlfriend and unborn child along with Meridian police officer, Kennis Croom. His phone was pinged in Ackerman after an almost 15 hour state wide man hunt.

Bender’s SUV was spotted behind a Chevron gas station in Ackerman; the owner of the store said he couldn’t believe his ears when he got the call.

“She was like I think the guy is over here and I was like call the police I’m on my way and I live across the street and came right away.. I’m glad they got him cuffed but nobody expected it would be here in Ackerman just a small town,” said store owner Amar Kassim.

U.S. marshals and officers from several state and county agencies were involved in the capture. Choctaw County sheriff Brandon Busby said his deputies responded quickly when they found out Bender was in their area.

“You never know what you’re going to walk up on or what kind of situation you’ll see when you get on scene. Officer safety is a big thing and we encourage our people to follow all guidelines and protocol,” said Busby.

Ackerman police chief Tim Cook said having a bird’s eye view helped officers safely get the suspect in custody.

“When you get the drone up in the air which can cover several miles it helps with officer safety, and us having to make direct contact at the time that way we can sit back and make a game plan to see how we should go in,” said Cook

Bender was taken back to Lauderdale County.