Man accused of killing Panola County deputy to receive mental evaluation

PANOLA COUNTY, Texas (KLTV) - A man accused of killing a Panola County deputy appeared in court Monday after being granted a change of venue to Gregg County.

Gregory Newson, 50, of Shreveport, is charged with capital murder. The charge stems from the shooting death of deputy Chris Dickerson in December 2019 during a traffic stop.

After the recusal of the Panola County District Attorney and a judge along with a venue change, Newson appeared Monday in a Gregg County courtroom in front of Judge Christi Kennedy. Judge Kennedy was appointed to preside over the case.

The topic of conversation was over the testimony of the experts who will be evaluating Newson’s mental competency.

The defense argues that if their expert testifies it would give the state a heads up on how they plan on trying the case. The defense also said it would violate Newson’s fifth amendment right, which protects him from self-incrimination.

The state said they will not be asking questions on how Newson answered in the evaluation, but it would just be looking at the scope of the questioning.

Judge Kennedy has ordered the testimony to take place in Gregg County in December.

The state is seeking the death penalty in this case; if the experts deem Newson is not mentally competent, the death penalty would be taken off the table.

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