93.9 The Eagle – The News and Talk of Columbia, MO
Graphic court documents obtained by 939 the Eagle say the suspect charged with shooting two Hermann police officers Sunday night at a Casey’s had given both officers fake names when questioned.
The shooting killed Detective Mason Griffith and critically injured the second officer, Adam Sullentrup.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol’s probable cause statement says the officers responded to Casey’s to investigate an irate person. The two officers arrived and believed the person was Kenneth Lee Simpson, who had six felony warrants from Warren County. Court documents quote Simpson as telling police his first name was “Justin” and then “Kevin”, before becoming agitated.
The court documents says that as the two officers tried to arrest Simpson, he turned away and pulled a pistol and shot them both. Video footage from Casey’s confirms they didn’t have their weapons out when they tried to detain the suspect, according to court documents.
Meantime, arraignment is set for Wednesday morning for Simpson, who’s charged with first degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action and two other felonies. Simpson is jailed without bond.
The Patrol’s probable cause statement quotes Simpson as saying that when police arrived, he believed he was going to die and planned to “commit suicide by cop.” He’s quoted in court documents as saying he tried to give the officers the chance to shoot him and that he did not intend to kill anyone except himself.
The Patrol’s investigation continues.
