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State Supreme Court to hear case of Portsmouth police officer convicted of manslaughter

The Supreme Court of Virginia has agreed to hear an appeal by former police officer Stephen Rankin, who was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for fatally shooting an 18-year-old shoplifting suspect.

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WVEC) — The Supreme Court of Virginia announced Tuesday it will hear the case of former Portsmouth Police Officer Stephen Rankin.

Rankin is seeking a new trial to overturn his conviction of voluntary manslaughter for the 2015 fatal shooting of suspected shoplifter William Chapman in a Walmart parking lot.

Prosecutors said Rankin, who is white, killed the unarmed black teenager "willfully, deliberately and with premeditation."

The Court of Appeals affirmed Rankin's conviction in April. But Rankin said the jury was unfairly made aware of a previous fatal shooting as an officer, a case that did not result in charges.

"The trial court erred and abused its discretion when it permitted, over Mr. Rankin’s objection, the admission of the statement: 'It’s my second one,'" Rankin's attorney James Broccoletti argued in the appeal to the Supreme Court. "This statement was unduly prejudicial to Mr. Rankin and it was irrelevant as it was not probative of any fact before the court."

Rankin had previously shot and killed a burglary suspect in 2011, years before shooting Chapman. A grand jury at the time declined to bring charges against Rankin, and he was eventually cleared of all wrongdoing in the 2011 shooting.

Broccoletti said there are no hearings set before the court yet, but he anticipates the court to hear the case in the next few months. It would take a majority of the seven justices to order a new trial.

Rankin is currently serving a two and a half year sentence in prison.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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