Tellis gets June trial date

By Rupert Howell
District Attorney John Champion said Wednesday that a jury for the capital murder trial of Quinton Tellis, 28, charged in the December 2014 death of Jessica Chambers, will be chosen from another county.
“I don’t know where we’ll pick the jury from,” Champion said Thursday following the previous day’s hearing where Tellis was given a June 19, 2017 trial date by Circuit Judge Gerald Chatham Sr. in a Desoto County courtroom in Hernando.
Tellis’ attorney, Alton Peterson, would not comment until he receives discovery evidence from the district attorney’s office.
Most readers are aware of the gruesome death where Tellis is accused of setting Chambers on fire on that December evening almost two years ago. She was found next to her car, also burning, and died later from those injuries.
The murder and following investigation that took over a year and involved local, state and federal agencies continues to draw national attention as it enters the trial stage.
During that investigation law enforcement uncovered other crimes leading to dozens of arrest in the area.
Meanwhile Tellis was being held in jail  in the Ouachita Parish Jail in Monroe, La., on charges connected to the July stabbing death of 34-year-old woman from Taiwan.
He was later indicted on capital murder charges by a special grand jury in Panola County in February and is jailed in Desoto County.