Charges against Colorado investigator dismissed

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – A Colorado judge has dismissed charges against a Fort Collins police detective accused of lying in a murder case that ended in the conviction of an innocent man.

Weld District Judge James Hartman dismissed the indictment against Jim Broderick on Monday, saying the statute of limitations had expired.

Broderick was charged with seven counts of perjury stemming from his investigation and testimony in a 1999 murder conviction in Larimer County.

The Fort Collins Coloradoan reported that the dismissed indictment essentially accused Broderick of making up much of the case.

Fort Collins and Larimer County agreed to pay Masters a total of $10 million to settle lawsuits alleging officials ignored, withheld or destroyed evidence pointing to his innocence.

In November, voters ousted two judges who were the prosecutors in the case.