CHARGES DROPPED AGAINST DEPUTY; PROSECUTOR SAYS HE MAY REFILE IN PERRY CASE

PERRYVILLE -- Charges against Perry County sheriff's deputy Delbert Riehn have been dismissed, but special prosecutor Briney Welborn said he plans to refile in December.

Riehn, a detective with the Perry County Sheriff's Department, was charged with felony stealing and acceding to corruption. The charges stemmed from an incident in August 1995, when Riehn and used-car dealer David Crump allegedly sold a stolen 1978 Porsche recovered by the Perry County Sheriff's Department.

Sheriff Gary Schaaf suspended Riehn the day charges were filed but lifted that suspension on Sept. 15. The deputy is performing his normal duties and declined to talk about the case on the advice of his attorney.

The charges were dropped last week after a judge refused to grant Welborn a third continuance. But they were dropped with prejudice, which means Welborn, the Stoddard County prosecuting attorney, can refile in the future.

"We just ran out of time," Welborn said. "What it boils down to is that you can't keep things on the docket forever. This doesn't mean it's the end of the matter."

Schaaf said he was happy the charges were dropped but declined to comment further, saying he doesn't want to sway the eventual outcome of the case.

A co-defendant is David Crump, a Perryville used-car salesman. Charges against him also were dropped with prejudice.