HERMANN — The death last month of Hermann Police Det. Sgt. Mason Griffith is now being felt in the courtrooms.

Gasconade County Prosecuting Attorney Mary E. Weston Thursday morning told the County Commission that her office has been forced to dismiss 11 cases that were filed as a result of work by Griffith. The dismissals took place because Griffith would have been the key prosecution witness against the defendants.

Griffith died after being shot Sunday, March 12, in a confrontation with a 35-year-old man named in warrants issued by neighboring counties. Kenneth Lee Simpson, whose exact address was unclear at the time of the shooting, is the alleged assailant in the incident that also seriously wounded Hermann Patrolman Adam Sullentrup, who reportedly is showing improvement in his recovery from a gunshot wound to the head. Sullentrup was treated at a St. Louis-area hospital and was released to continue rehabilitation treatment at a Colorado facility.

Simpson is charged with first-degree murder, first-degree assault and three other felonies stemming from the shooting. He is being held in the Crawford County Jail without bond while awaiting a preliminary hearing scheduled for Friday, May 26, at 1 p.m. The hearing is set for the first-floor courtroom in the Gasconade County courthouse with 20th Circuit Associate Judge Matthew Houston presiding. Houston is the third associate judge within the 20th Circuit to have handled this case already, replacing Associate Judge Sonya Brandt of Osage County who had been named to replace Associate Judge Ada Brehe-Krueger. Simpson’s attorney filed a motion to remove Brandt only a couple days after she had been appointed by 20th Circuit Presiding Judge Craig Hellmann to replace Brehe-Krueger, who presided over Simpson’s arraignment.