Jefferson County Jury Convicts Ex-Cop of Murder

Robert Brooks, 43, awaits sentencing after a Jefferson County jury determined, on Friday, that the former Calverton Park police officer killed his girlfriend.

Brooks was convicted of the same crime in 2007 but a Missouri Supeme Court ordered a new trial three years later, the stltoday.com website reports.

In both trials, Brooks said he shot Amanda Cates in self-defense. Police found her dead on Aug. 29, 2006.

On the night of the shooting, Brooks said, to a 911 dispatcher, he shot Cates because he thought she was an intruder.

At the court trials, Brooks said he struggled to get the gun away from Cates after he returned to their apartment and she said he was drinking with another woman.