Judge Dismisses Conviction in Missouri Deputy’s Death

A judge has thrown out the murder conviction against a man who was found guilty in the 2014 killing of a southwest Missouri sheriff's deputy.

A Greene County judge overturned the second-degree murder and hindering prosecution convictions against 30-year-old Joshua Brown, of El Dorado Springs, at a sentencing hearing Monday. The Springfield News-Leader reports that the judge sentenced Brown to 10 years in prison on two other convictions of distribution of a controlled substance and tampering with physical evidence.

Prosecutors said Brown was fleeing an attempted traffic stop when a passenger in his car jumped out and got into a gunfight that killed Cedar County Sheriff's Deputy Matthew Chism. The passenger also died.

Cedar County Prosecutor Ty Gaither say he plans to appeal.