HERMANN — A preliminary hearing has been set for the man charged in the shooting death of one Hermann policeman and the wounding of another.

Kenneth Lee Simpson, 35, will hear some of the evidence against him in the March 12 fatal shooting of Det. Sgt. Mason Griffith and the wounding of Patrolman Adam Sullentrup. Simpson is charged with first-degree murder, first-degree assault and three other felonies.

Associate Circuit Court Judge Matthew W. Houston last Wednesday set the preliminary hearing for Friday, May 26, at 1 p.m. The hearing is scheduled for the first-floor courtroom in the Gasconade County courthouse.

A prosecutor in the Missouri Attorney General’s Office, which approved Gasconade County Prosecuting Attorney Mary E. Weston’s request to take over the case, will present evidence obtained against Simpson. All of the evidence against a defendant doesn’t have to be presented at a preliminary hearing — only an amount the prosecution feels is needed to obtain a court ruling ordering the case bound over to Circuit Court for trial.

Simpson is being represented, according to the latest filings, by 20th Circuit Public Defender Jeff Shellenbarger. If the state pursues the death penalty for Simpson, his defense might be shifted to the Missouri Office of Public Defender, which is accustomed to defending defendants facing the death penalty. That is, unless Simpson retains a private attorney.

In addition to first-degree murder and first-degree assault charges, Simpson faces two felony counts of armed criminal action and a single felony weapons charge for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

Griffith was laid to rest in Rosebud on Sunday, March 19, following a visitation and funeral ceremony in the Owensville High School gymnasium that attracted a large crowd. The Owensville ceremony followed a community vigil held two nights earlier in the Hermann High School gymnasium.

Several fund-raising events are planned in the communities Griffith was associated with to benefit members of his family and the family of Sullentrup, who was released Tuesday from Mercy St. Louis where he was being treated for a gunshot wound to the head.

The Hermann Police Department on Monday issued a statement announcing  “with great joy” that Sullentrup was scheduled to be released Tuesday from Mercy St. Louis and was being flown to Craig Hospital in Englewood, Colorado, for additional treatment. An escort of first responders, police and family was planned as he was transported to Spirit of St. Louis Airport in Chesterfield for the flight to the rehabilitation facility in Colorado.

The Rosebud Community Park Association and the Rosebud Police Department are hosting the first Chief Mason Griffith Easter Parade starting at 5:30 p.m Friday, April 7, and ending at the Rosebud Community Park for children’s games and a fish fry.  A 7 p.m. church service is planned on the ball diamond. Food and drinks will be sold at the concession stand from 4 to 7 p.m. where the Easter Bunny will appear.