Man wants murder charge dropped in Iowa killing

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A man accused of killing an Iowa City landlord who was granted a mistrial wants a judge to dismiss a first-degree murder charge.

Charles Thompson is charged in the October 2009 death of John Versypt of Cordova, Ill. Police say he was doing maintenance at one of his properties when he was shot to death during a robbery.

Thompson’s trial ended in a mistrial last week after Johnson County prosecutors mistakenly showed part of a videotaped police interview regarding Thompson’s prior acts that was in violation of a judge’s ruling.

Prosecutors have formally filed to retry Thompson, with a trial set for December.

His attorney on Tuesday asked that the murder charge be dismissed based on double jeopardy. A hearing wasn’t immediately set.