The man suspected of shooting and killing a Hermann police detective and seriously wounding anther Hermann officer has been captured, after a 14-hour standoff.
Our news partner ABC-17 reports the officers had gone to the Casey’s in Hermann to arrest Kenneth Lee Simpson on warrants from Franklin and Warren counties. Simpson is jailed this morning in Crawford County. He’s accused of killing Hermann police detective Mason Griffith. The second officer, Adam Sullentrup, is in critical but stable condition at a St. Louis-area hospital.
ABC-17’s Geisler reports Kenneth Lee Simpson has a long history of criminal charges and convictions for drugs and weapons. There were at least two warrants for his arrest at the time of Sunday’s shooting, for failure to appear in court.
Meantime, a mid-Missouri man who knew fallen Hermann police detective Mason Griffith says he had a strong sense of dedication to his community and county. Chris Beyer of Jefferson City is a marketing consultant here at Zimmer Communications.
“I know that he had been involved in not just the police force but all aspects of the city of Rosebud. And he helped with the county and the city of Hermann, and (he was) very bright guy with a great sense of humor,” Beyer says.
He tells 939 the Eagle that Detective Griffith leaves behind a wife and young son. Missouri State Highway Patrol Corporal Kyle Green says the 34-year-old Griffith lived in Rosebud, a small town about 30 minutes south of Hermann.
Beyer says the incident was horrific.
“When they (Missouri State Highway Patrol) put out the blue alert last night for Hermann, he and then there’s another deputy out that way that my wife and I know well and that was kind of what our first fear was. And unfortunately kind of our worst fear came true,” says Beyer.
Maries County Sheriff Chris Heitman describes the suspect as a coward and expresses his appreciation to the law enforcement who battled cold weather and made the arrest.
