WARREN COUNTY, Mo. — Kenneth Lee Simpson has a criminal history dating to 2004, and it seems the walls were closing in on him when he allegedly opened fire on two deputies in Hermann, Missouri, killing one of them Sunday.
The 35-year-old Eureka man had multiple warrants out for his arrest after he failed to appear in court on a variety of charges and judges had revoked thousands of dollars in bonds he had posted on other charges in recent months.
He also had orders of protection dating to 2006 and 2010 and a stalking charge in 2010.
The I-Team filed records requests for court documents and here’s what we found:
2004: Vehicle tampering charges
2006: Driving on a revoked driver’s license
2013: Possession of a synthetic cannabinoid
2016: Trespassing
2017: Unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia, firearm and synthetic cannabinoid.
Court documents show the Missouri State Highway Patrol Bomb Squad responded to a home in the 16000 block of Shetland Lane to talk to Simpson about complaints from neighbors about “large explosions occurring over the last few months.” Police then found several pieces of metal that appeared to be Improvised Explosive Devices, several gunpowder containers and several carbon dioxide containers. Simpson told police he made several IEDs out of CO2 containers. He told police he would drill holes into the canisters, fill them with gun powder, add a fuse and light them. Police also found a handgun hidden in a box in the basement of the home along with a pipe with meth residue in it.
Court documents also show police stopped Simpson near the Flying J parking lot in Warren County and found a glass pipe with methamphetamine residue inside it along with two guns.
2017: Misdemeanor assault. Court documents show Simpson’s father told police his son punched him in the face after he told his son to “stop being a little baby,” and told him he “gets everything he wants from his mother. Simpson’s father had a bloody lip and was taken to a hospital for treatment of several cuts to the inside of his mouth and bruising around his jaw and backside.
2018: Property damage
2019: Third-degree assault felony. In October, a judge revoked the $5,000 bond Simpson posted for this offense. Court documents show he assaulted a man who was laying in a bunk inside the Warren County Jail, striking him three to four times in the face and slamming him against the concrete.
2020: Felony drug possession of synthetic cannabinoid. In August, a judge issued a warrant for his arrest after he failed to appear in court.
2021: Child support violation and driving while his license was revoked/suspended. A judge issued a warrant for his arrest in April 2022 after he failed to appear in court to face charges related to driver’s license violations.