ST. LOUIS (AP) - The St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office has dismissed more than a dozen charges against one of five men indicted in a series of homicides and shootings but plans to refile them later.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Marquise Henderson had been set for trial this week in the 3 1/2 year old case, but prosecutors weren’t ready.
Among the charges that were dismissed when a judge denied the state’s request to postpone the trial were three counts of first-degree murder. Two of the killings happened on Jan. 10, 2016, and the third occurred eight days later.
A spokeswoman for the Circuit Attorney’s Office did not specify when the charges would be refiled.
Henderson’s lawyer, John Washington, hailed the dismissals as a victory, saying the case was “weak” because it relied on a man’s claim that Henderson shot him with a gun that police linked to three other homicides.
Henderson continues to be held without bond. He’s scheduled to be tried March 30 on other charges he’s facing.
Two co-defendants are already in prison. A third suspect, who admitted to an additional Jan. 12, 2016 killing, is scheduled to be sentenced in April.
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