Prosecutor reviews cases involving questionable evidence room

A central Missouri prosecutor says she's reviewing all cases her office has handled since 2013 involving items that were kept in a sheriff's
department evidence room she believes was improperly secured.

September 14, 2016

LINN (AP) — A central Missouri prosecutor says she's reviewing all cases her office has handled since 2013 involving items that were kept in a sheriff's department evidence room she believes was improperly secured. Osage County Prosecutor Amanda Grellner said Wednesday the survey will dictate whether or how many cases will be dismissed or abandoned. She estimates the affected cases could number "100 or better" and largely involve drug matters, not any homicides. She says the review will date to January 2013, when Michael Dixon took office as sheriff. Dixon resigned in May, several months after he was accused of pointing a loaded gun at a person in a Hartsburg bar. He has pleaded not guilty to a weapons count. Grellner says the evidence room often was left unattended and its door open.