Inmate accused of starting fire at Jefferson City Correctional Center

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

An inmate at Jefferson City Correctional Center has been charged with a felony after he allegedly started a fire on Aug. 27, 2024.

Robert Roberts, 33, was charged on Tuesday in Cole County with first-degree arson. He is being held at Jefferson City Correctional Center for a five-year sentence related to burglary, property damage and stealing charges, according to information from the Missouri Department of Corrections.

The probable cause statement says Roberts admitted to starting a fire in his cell last year. A witness also was allegedly identified by a witness, court documents say.

Court documents say that prior to this charge, he had a potential release date of June 6.

A court date has not been scheduled.

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Lori Vallow Daybell frustrated with Judge, asks him to recuse himself

Curtis Jackson

PHOENIX (KIFI) – Lori Vallow Daybell gets frustrated with an Arizona judge during a pretrial hearing on Wednesday morning.

Vallow Daybell is accused of attempting to kill her niece’s ex-husband, Brandon Boudreaux.

Several motions were heard during Wednesday’s hearing, including the finalization of the witness list for the trial.

The trial is expected to begin on May 29 with jury selection.  

Judge Justin Beresky inquired about the relevance of the witnesses on Vallow Daybell’s list.

Her witness list includes several witnesses from previous trials, but they are not listed with the state.  They are Detective Jeffrey White, and Detective Moffitt.

“It will come apparent if they have to get up and testify, your honor, I will only call them if I need them,” Vallow-Daybell responded.

“They would have to be precluded if you can’t give me some minimal what relevant information they have, just saying that they’re relevant doesn’t make them relevant,” Judge Beresky responded.

“And this procedure that I have to say what each of my witnesses are relevant ahead of time And give my whole case and chief over to the State?” asked Lori.

“Yeah, that’s how it works, yes,” Judge Beresky said.

Following the review of court dates, Lori requested that Judge Beresky recuse himself from the trial because of bias.

When asked what bias he had, Vallow Daybell said, “Obviously, the personal bias that you’re showing right now and that you’ve shown on the FTR several times during the trial.”

Well, I don’t have any personal bias,” Judge Beresky said. “All right. I’ve overaccommodated you on when you have to disclose things. In fact, your expert should be summarily precluded today. And I haven’t done that.”

“You’ve denied every single one of my motions since for a year and a half they’ve been here. Every single one of my motions has been denied. And have any of those motions not have merit? You’ve denied every single motion,” Vallow Daybell said.

“I think I was here this morning about 15 minutes ago, when I granted your motion to meet with your attorneys over the lunch hour. I have granted other motions of yours,” Judge Beresky said.

“That’s the first motion that you’ve ever granted in my behalf,” said Vallow Daybell.  

Well, file motions that have a legal basis, and I might grant them,” Judge Beresky said.

“So, you’re saying none of my motions have had merit?” Vallow Daybell asked.

“Not, not many, no,” Judge Beresky said.

“And none of the motions that my first team, you’ve denied every one of my first team’s motions, you denied every one of my second teams’ motions. And now you have denied every one of my motions, until today,” Vallow Daybell said.

“I haven’t denied every one of your motions,” Judge Beresky said.

“Every single one of the motions was denied. Every single one of the second team’s emotions was denied. And all mine. So you didn’t come into this with any bias against me in the first place. Again, file a motion that has legal merit.

The discussion continued until Judge Beresky said it was enough discussed and will not recuse himself from the case.

Testimony in the trial is scheduled to begin on June 2 and go through June 13, 2025.

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Pre-evacuation warning issued for ‘B Lazy M Ranch’ subdivision due to fire

Celeste Springer

UPDATE 3:19 P.M.: Teller County Dispatch says the pre-evacuation order has been lifted.

TELLER COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) – The Teller County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO) has issued a pre-evacuation warning for the B Lazy M Ranch subdivision, which is located off Teller County Road 1 near Dog Head Mountain.

Click here to view a “click and zoom” map of the impacted area.

According to Peak Alerts, the fire is near Dome Rock Trail. Teller County Dispatch says the fire started as a controlled burn.

Residents should be prepared to leave. If they need more time or help to evacuate, they should start now. If they feel they are in danger, they should evacuate immediately.

Details are limited at this time, but this article may be updated.

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Repairs for Brown School Road set for Monday

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Boone County Road and Bridge on Monday will repair portions of Brown School Road between Creasy Springs Road and Clearview Road, according to a Wednesday press release from the Boone County Commission.

Brown School Road will be closed beginning at 9 a.m. and will be back at normal traffic by 3 p.m. the same day, the release says.

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Elderly Moniteau County man faces federal gun charges

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

An octogenarian from California, Missouri, was charged in federal court this week with a number of gun charges.

Aubrey Foxworthy, 81, was charged with dealing guns without a license, two counts of having an unregistered gun and one count of having a machine gun, according to the superseding indictment filed Tuesday in the Missouri Western District Court.

A press release from the Department of Justice, Foxworthy had a silencer that wasn’t registered to him as well as an AR-15 conversion device.

The indictment says that he has the devices in September 2024.

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Lane closure, traffic shift for Highway 63 in Columbia announced for next week

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Nightly lane closures on Highway 63 near the Grindstone Parkway interchange will occur near week, according to a Wednesday press release from the Missouri Department of Transportation.

 The release says that northbound traffic will need to shift with a temporary barricade between traffic and work at the median.

Lane closures will occur a mile north and south of Grindstone Parkway from 7 p.m.-6 a.m. beginning Monday, May 19 and will last throughout the week, the release says.

Both lanes will be open during daytime hours.

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National Police Week Memorial Service held to honor officials

Patrick Holleron

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — In recognition of National Police Week, law enforcement agencies held a memorial service to honor and pay respect to personnel who made the ultimate sacrifice.

The service was held at the Northwest Missouri Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Civic Center Park.

Members from the St. Joseph Police Department, Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office, Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop H and other Northwest Missouri legal departments were in attendance. Families, friends and civilians came to show their support for those who have fallen.

“It’s a great time to not only remember the good times and the bad times, but just to reconnect with everyone,” Buchannan County Sheriffs Office captain Michael Hess said. “But more importantly, just to remember that these gentlemen lost their lives in the line of duty and to pay tribute to them, to their families.”

Lexi Dekraai Ussary, the daughter of St. Joseph police officer Dan Dekraai, who died following a training exercise in 2010, spoke at the service.

The memorial will be again next year to honor law enforcement personnel.

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Yuma man sentenced for sexually assaulting a woman in hotel in Michigan

Dillon Fuhrman

(KYMA, KECY) – A Yuma man has been sentenced for sexually assaulting a woman in a Michigan hotel last year.

ABC 7 Detroit reports 37-year-old Joel Delavara was sentenced to at least 22 years in prison on Tuesday. He was convicted of criminal sexual conduct as well as home invasion.

The assault happened at a hotel in the Detroit area last August.

Police say Delavara went to the front desk of the hotel and requested a key to the victim’s room. That’s how he was able to get into the victim’s room and sexually assault her.

A week later, the Auburn Hills Police Department sent the Yuma Police Department a warrant for Delavara’s arrest, where he was then extradited back to Michigan to be charged.

Delavara is eligible for an appeal.

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Palm Springs Aerial Tramway announce summer hours and programs

City News Service

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – Palm Springs Aerial Tramway officials today announced the return of extended summer hours and seasonal programming, beginning Memorial Day weekend.

On Sunday, May 25, the final tram up will depart at 9 p.m., with the last tram down at 10:30 p.m. On Monday, May 26, the last tram up will be at 8 p.m., and the final tram down will be at 9:30 p.m., officials said.  

The summer schedule will run from May 23 through Sept. 1, with extended hours every Friday and Saturday, including a final tram up at 9 p.m. and down at 10 p.m.

In addition to extended hours, summer programs hosted by Mount San Jacinto State Park and the Natural History Association will include topics such as backcountry navigation with map and compass training and tips for minimalist camping.

State park volunteers will also lead guided nature walks on Sundays from May 25 through Sept. 1, offering visitors the chance to explore either the Desert View Trail or the Long Valley Nature Trail, officials said.   

For more information on the program schedule, visit www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=636.

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Former Callaway County sheriff takes on new role with City of Auxvasse

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Former Callaway County Sheriff Clay Chism has started a new role with the City of Auxvasse.

The city on Wednesday shared on its social media that Chism started working as the city’s program administrator in February.

“Please welcome Clay Chism as our newest addition to the City of Auxvasse. Clay started with us in February of this year and primarily serves as the new Program Administrator for the city; researching, completing the application process, and administering state and federal grants to support City operations that will best serve our community,” the post says.

The post also says that Chism assists the city administrator “with various duties across all city departments.”

Chism was removed from his position as the active Callaway County sheriff in June 2023 after his peace officer’s license was suspended after he was drunk both on and off the clock. Chism pleaded guilty to misdemeanor DWI in one of those instances from a 2022 Randolph County case.

He submitted his letter of resignation in April 2024.

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