Man charged in Maryland deputy sheriff’s 1971 killing

GAITHERSBURG, Md. (AP) — Police say a New York man has been arrested and charged with killing a law enforcement officer in Maryland more than 50 years ago. A police department’s news release says 71-year-old Larry David Smith admitted to shooting Montgomery County Special Deputy Sheriff Capt. James Tappen Hall in 1971 when police detectives interviewed him last Thursday. Hall died from a gunshot wound three days after he was found lying face down in a parking lot. Investigators believe Hall had interrupted a burglary. Police say Smith, also known as Larry David Becker, was interviewed by investigators in 1973 but wasn’t labeled a suspect in Hall’s killing back then.