Prosecutors ask judge to dismiss perjury charges

By The AP
Friday, January 11, 2013

GREELEY — The Weld County district attorney is asking a judge to drop all charges against a Fort Collins police detective who was accused of lying during a trial to secure a murder conviction of Timothy Masters in 1999.

Lt. James Broderick was originally charged with nine counts of perjury in the case against Masters, who was convicted in 1999 of the 1987 murder of Fort Collins resident Peggy Hettrick. Masters was exonerated in 2008 after DNA evidence pointed to a different suspect.

In a motion filed in Larimer County District Court, district attorney Ken Buck asked a judge to drop all charges Friday after he lost an appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court over a ruling throwing out several of the charges against Broderick.

Masters declined to comment on the decision.