Dixon's Boone County case delayed again

Michael R. Dixon, left, stands with his attorney Grant Boyd at Dixon's arraignment on Monday, May 2, 2016, at the Boone County Courthouse in Columbia, Mo.
Michael R. Dixon, left, stands with his attorney Grant Boyd at Dixon's arraignment on Monday, May 2, 2016, at the Boone County Courthouse in Columbia, Mo.

COLUMBIA, Mo. - For the fifth time, a court hearing for former Osage County Sheriff Michael Dixon was continued so Dixon's attorneys and the Boone County prosecutor's office can "continue negotiations."

Boone County Associate Circuit Judge Deborah Daniels approved a two-week delay, "considering the age of the case," scheduling the next hearing for 9:30 a.m. Dec. 20.

Dixon was charged last April with a Class D felony for unlawful use of a weapon while he was intoxicated - a crime that carries a possible prison sentence of up to four years.

However, prosecutors last month reduced that charge to a misdemeanor, continuing the complaint that on March 5 in Hartsburg Dixon "knowingly had on his person a firearm and handled such firearm in a negligent manner in that defendant pointed the firearm at another person during a time when the defendant was intoxicated."

Dixon pleaded not guilty to the original charge and has not yet entered a plea on the reduced charge.

Neither Dixon nor his attorney, Travis Noble Jr., of Clayton, attended Tuesday morning's hearing.

Instead, Columbia attorney Bogdan Susan appeared on Noble's behalf and asked for the new extension.

Scheduled hearings in August and November also were continued with requests for "further negotiation."

Dixon was Osage County's sheriff when the incident at Hartsburg's Hitchin' Post reportedly occurred.

He resigned his job at the end of May and admitted July 15 to St. Louis County Circuit Judge Ellen Ribaudo his being in the Hartsburg bar last March violated his probation in a 2013 case, where he had pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor harassment charge in 2014.

Ribaudo fined him $1,000 for the probation violation and closed the books on the older case.

This summer, Dixon surrendered his state peace officer's license and cannot get it back.