Soksot Chham, left, is shown Dec. 16 in Eastern Hampshire District Court in Belchertown. An accessory-to-murder charge against Chham in connection with the Oct. 15 shooting death of Jose M. Rodriguez in Amherst was dropped Tuesday.
Soksot Chham, left, is shown Dec. 16 in Eastern Hampshire District Court in Belchertown. An accessory-to-murder charge against Chham in connection with the Oct. 15 shooting death of Jose M. Rodriguez in Amherst was dropped Tuesday. Credit: GAZETTE FILE PHOTO

BELCHERTOWN — The older brother of a man accused of killing an Amherst man in October has had a charge against him dropped.

Soksot Chham, 35, of New Salem was charged in December with accessory to murder after the fact. Chham’s case in Eastern Hampshire District Court was dismissed on the commonwealth’s motion without a hearing, according to Mary Carey, spokeswoman for the Northwestern district attorney’s office.

Chham was not acquitted of the charge. In his motion to dismiss, Assistant District Attorney Matthew Thomas wrote that the state would not be able to win the case because the brothers’ relationship would offer a defense to the charge.

His attorney, Jon Heyman, said his client was pleased with the result. As for his future, Heyman said it was up to his client.

Soknang Chham, 33, also of New Salem, pleaded not guilty in January in Hampshire Superior Court to charges of murder, armed assault with intent to murder, assault and battery with a firearm, assault with a dangerous weapon, carrying a firearm without a license, and a firearm violation with at least two prior violent or drug-related offenses.

Police say Soknang Chham shot and killed Jose “Joselito” Rodriguez, 31, on the night of Oct. 15 at Southpoint Apartments in Amherst. Another man was injured after being shot multiple times, but survived after he underwent surgery at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester.

The Chham brothers were taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service on Oct. 25, near Flagstaff, Arizona, after investigators learned they had left Massachusetts on a Phoenix-bound bus.

According to Massachusetts General Law, the fact that the two are brothers can be used as a “defence to a prosecution.”

“If such a defendant testifies solely as to the existence of such relationship, he shall not be subject to cross examination on any other subject matter, nor shall his criminal record, if any, except for perjury or subornation of perjury, be admissible to impeach his credibility,” the law states.

Emily Cutts can be reached at ecutts@gazettenet.com.