The trial of Former Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Deputy Eddie Duran for the second-degree murder of Hurlburt Field Special Operations Senior Airman Roger Fortson will take place on September 28, 2026.
Defense attorney Michael Flowers, prosecutor Mark Alderman, and Judge William Stone decided in a 30-minute hearing in Fort Walton Beach to schedule three days for the trial this fall – along with another three-day hearing to discuss the admission of expert witnesses, likely to take place in Early August.
RELATED: Slain airman’s mother lays blame at Okaloosa Sheriff’s feet.
Some of those witnesses may discuss the training manuals and standard operating procedures for the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office as a part of their testimony to the court.
“I don’t want to continue this [case] three to four cycles only to hear this [case] hasn’t progressed,” Judge stone warned with severity to the attorneys.
“It makes me feel,” Chantemekki Fortson, the mother of Roger Fortson, said about Monday’s hearing before pausing for a moment, “a little relieved.”
Before the hearing, Mekka Fortson gathered her support network to prepare for the court date. Roughly 20 men, women in children gathered together to talk with one another before going into the courtroom on Lewis Turner Boulevard.
As they spoke, a Sheriff’s deputy approached the group. The deputy, a lieutenant in charge of court security, wanted to know if they were planning a protest after the hearing. He asked them if they planned to block the entrance and exit.
Fortson took the opportunity to ask him what his thoughts were on the case.
“It’s been a constant conversation,” the lieutenant explained, “Nobody likes what happened. It’s…,” he paused and shook his head for a moment, “it’s terrible.”
“Well, you know how they say, one bad apple spoils the bunch,” Fortson replied, “But me, I try not to put everybody in the same basket.”
Duran was present in the courtroom at the hearing but said nothing. He spent the time in the courtroom hunched forward with his eyes focused on Judge Stone.
Fortson’s mother – along with a retinue of supporters – made their way from Atlanta to attend the hearing as well and sat in the gallery opposite Duran and his defense team. Fortson has been consistently adamant about what she wants – for “him to just take accountability,” Fortson said of Duran again, “he made a mistake, he knocked on the wrong door – it should have never happened.”
All of the lawyers present for the case noted that they will need at least 200 potential jurors to select from at the trial. Another lawyer, seated in the gallery, whispered to a colleague about a recent murder trial in which more than 150 jurors were eliminated due to prejudice through knowledge of the case before the trial took place.
Judge Stone made it clear to the prosecution and defense that they were to make significant progress toward trial preparation at the next pre-trial conference on May 11.
“I’m glad it’s moving,” Fortson concluded.
She noted that the killing of her other son, Andre Fortson, in Atlanta had already seen the killers tried and convicted for their roles in the crime – despite the fact that Roger Fortson’s death preceded his brothers by several months.
“I’m not trying to throw nobody away,” Fortson said of Duran, “I just want accountability.”
Pro Communi Bono
St. Francis De Sales, Ora Pro Nobis!
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