Prosecutors: Shooting that killed Hermann officer took just 15 seconds

Editor's note, 1/20: The story has been corrected to reflect the amount of time prosecutors claim the shooting took place over.

UNION, Mo. (KMIZ)

The March 2023 shooting that killed a Hermann police officer and injured another happened over just 15 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 it 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.

Opening statements

The Attorney General's Office asked the jury to find Simpson guilty of nine crimes, including first-degree murder, during the opening statements.

Assistant attorney general Gregory Goodwin said in the courtroom that the shooting took place over 15 seconds. He argued the shooting was deliberate, claiming 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."

Defense attorneys want the jury to find Simpson guilty of second-degree murder, rather than first-degree. Attorney Stephen Reynolds said that Simpson was in a "crisis" of depression and drug use. Reynolds said Simpson's grandmother, the maternal figure in his life, died in Jan. 2023, sending him into a depression. Reynolds also said that Simpson had used meth in the afternoon of March 12, 2023, just hours before he shot the two officers.

They claim the shooting was not deliberate but an act of panic after seeing Griffith and Sullentrup in the Casey's convenience store.

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."

Casey's workers testify

Prosecutors spent Monday morning calling four witnesses to the stand. All were in the Casey's convenience store before, during and after the shooting, two of them even recognizing Simpson from their days of doing drugs together.

Jeremiah Johnson was the first to testify. Johnson, a former employee at the Casey's store hanging out there that night, said he recognized Simpson when he came in. Unlike other interactions in the store the two had, though, Johnson said Simpson looked "ready for battle" and acted agitated. Johnson said he left the store and told a police officer down the street, Sullentrup, that Simpson was in the store and may have warrants for his arrest.

Sullentrup eventually called Griffith to just after 9 p.m. to help. The two officers entered the store and began talking to Simpson, witnesses said on the stand. Jason Nettles, a customer in the store, said it sounded like the two officers were acting professionally. Simpson at least once denied being the person they were looking for. Nettles then said he heard gunshots, and he ducked behind a stand.

Surveillance video played in court shows Nettles retreating in the store. Simpson can be seen moving around the coffee machines, then firing his gun several times. A different camera shows Simpson leaving after the barrage, and Griffith slumping to the ground.

Cashier Kassandra Quilario hid when the shots went off and returned to try and help Sullentrup, who had been shot twice. Quilario can be seen on body camera video from Sullentrup shown after the shooting trying to comfort him and promising him that medics were en route.

Nettles and cook Ethan Owens both tried helping Griffith. Both testified that the police sergeant kept asking how Sullentrup was doing. Nettles said Griffith repeated how much he loved his wife.

Owens told the jury that Simpson's order came in under a different name, Kevin Maxey. But Owens recognized Simpson quickly when he entered - the two had hung out years ago to use drugs. Owens said he became nervous and tried to get to work to get Simpson out of the store.

"I didn't trust him at all," Owens said.

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.