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(INDIANAPOLIS) – Prosecutors are no longer seeking the death penalty for the man accused of murdering a Southport police officer four years ago.

Police say Jason Brown crashed his car, then opened fire on Lieutenant Aaron Allan when Allan approached the vehicle. Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears’ office has has reached a deal with defense lawyers to drop their death penalty request. In exchange, Brown won’t demand a jury — Marion Superior Judge Mark Stoner will hear the case in February.

Defense attorney Denise Turner says apart from taking the death penalty off the table, the case has been pending for four-and-a-half years, and says both sides are ready for it to be resolved. She anticipates a bench trial will be three or four weeks shorter than if the case went to a jury, and eliminates the possibility of a mistrial.

Brown faces 45 years to life if convicted.

Former Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry announced he’d seek the death penalty in September 2017, two months after Allan was killed. Curry resigned for health reasons in 2019, and passed away earlier this year.

Marion County prosecutors declined comment.