Video: Collins Rejects Plea Deal

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COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) — A disappointing day in court for a Starkville Family looking for closure, after their loved one was fatally shot on New Year’s Day in 2012.

Tavaris Collins is accused of First Degree Murder in the death of Devin Mitchell.

Prosecutors offered Collins a plea deal that would carry a 40-year prison sentence without the possibility of parole.

Collins rejected the deal, choosing instead to go to trial.

Mitchell’s family tells us they were surprised Collins turned down the deal.

The trial is set to begin in New Albany on May 4th.

If he’s guilty, Collins faces life in prison , and an additional ten years for each felony weapons charge.

Mitchell was 17 when he was killed and a senior at Starkville High School.