More than two years after he was arrested for stabbing a Fort Oglethorpe business owner to death, local officials confirmed they will seek the death penalty against Eric Junior Winston.

Winston, 20, of Chickamauga, is charged with the Nov. 12, 2000, murder and armed robbery of Amratlal Patel at his A&P Handy Shop on LaFayette Road.

Winston’s court-appointed attorney, Robert L. Stultz of Fort Oglethorpe, said that a gag order is in place, prohibiting any parties involved from discussing the case. Fort Oglethorpe attorney Steven Moore is co-counsel for the defense in this case.

“I can tell you that it is my understanding that a trial date of July 28 has been set at this time,” Stultz said. “Of course that is subject to change, given the complexity of the case.”

Representatives for the prosecution and defense conducted a motion hearing Jan. 7 in Catoosa Superior Court.

Chris Arnt, Catoosa County assistant district attorney, said an additional motion hearing is set for March 18.

“We expect that should probably be the last of the motion hearings,” he said.

Arnt confirmed that Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney Herbert E. “Buzz” Franklin’s office would seek the death penalty in the state’s case against Winston.

Fort Oglethorpe authorities, in the days following the incident, received several phone tips on the case, which eventually led them to a dumpster at a Walker County apartment complex, where a 12-inch butcher knife and bloody clothing were discovered.

Winston was apprehended three days after the Patel killing on an unrelated charge in Murray County, authorities said.

Based on evidence obtained by the Fort Oglethorpe Police Department and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, he was charged with Patel’s death and transferred to the Catoosa County jail, where he has been held without bond ever since.

Winston was arrested four times in 1999. With the exception of a simple battery arrest, none of his previous arrests were for violent crimes, authorities said