Prosecutors: Shooting that killed Hermann officer took just 17 seconds
UNION, Mo. (KMIZ)
The March 2023 shooting that killed a Hermann police officer and injured another happened over just 17 seconds, prosecutors said in opening statements of the trial against the man accused of the killing.
The trial over the Gasconade County shooting began Tuesday morning in Franklin County, where is was moved on a change of venue.
Kenneth Simpson is accused of killing Sgt. Mason Griffith and wounding Officer Adam Sullentrup in March 2023. Simpson faces several charges, including first-degree murder, in the trial that is scheduled to last three weeks. Prosecutors with the Missouri Attorney General's Office are seeking the death penalty.
Simpson allegedly shot Griffith and Sullentrup while they were trying to arrest him on March 12, 2023. The pair was called to the Casey's convenience store on Highway 19 around 9 p.m. for an "irate person," according to a probable cause statement from the Missouri State Highway Patrol. The two suspected the person was Simpson, who had several felony warrants for his arrest in nearby Warren County.
The Attorney General's Office asked the jury to find Simpson guilty of nine crimes, including first-degree murder, during the opening statements.
Prosecutors said in the courtroom that the shooting took place over 17 seconds. They are arguing that the shooting was deliberate.
The state said Simpson planted his feet and steadied the hand holding the gun before shooting. Prosecutors also said he cleared a jam in his gun before firing five times at Griffith.
Lawyers brought up a text message that Simpson sent to a Warren County deputy, indicating he wanted to die "suicide by cop."
The defense is arguing that Simpson was in a "crisis of depression." His lawyers argued the maternal figure in his life died in Jan. 2023.
They claim the shooting was not deliberate but an act of panic after seeing Griffith and Sullentrup in the Casey's convenience store.
His defense asked the jury to find Simpson guilty of second-degree murder instead of the current first-degree murder charge.
As Griffith went to put Simpson in handcuffs, the patrol said Simpson pulled out a gun and shot the two officers. Video footage of the shooting, the trooper wrote, showed that the two did not have their weapons out when they moved to arrest Simpson. Griffith allegedly returned fire while Simpson "maneuvered around the store while shooting at them."
Law enforcement arrested Simpson a day later after an hours-long standoff in Hermann. The highway patrol wrote that Simpson allegedly admitted to the shooting, saying he wanted Griffith and Sullentrup to kill him instead.
Prosecutors have since sought the death penalty against Simpson. Should the jury find him guilty of first-degree murder, the court will go to the next phase of the trial to consider either the death penalty or life in prison without parole. Prosecutors cited several aggravating circumstances to justify the death penalty, including that the alleged crime was committed against police officers.
Both sides spent the last week pooling the jury from Greene County, about three hours southwest of Franklin County.
Judge Craig Hellmann set extensive rules for spectators and media covering the case. No recording devices, including TV cameras, are allowed in the courtroom. Only still photographs will be allowed during breaks in the case. An overflow courtroom in the historic courthouse will have a live stream of the trial, but none of it can be recorded by the public or media. Law enforcement officers spectating the case are not allowed to show up in uniform, and others watching the case cannot wear shirts or buttons supporting or opposing either side of the trial.
