Month: July 2026

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

No-excuse absentee voting opened Tuesday, giving all registered Boone County voters the chance to cast their ballots early in person.

The Boone County Clerk’s Office says on its website that no-excuse absentee voting allows any registered voter in the county to cast a ballot in person just like on Election Day.

No-excuse absentee voting will be available every weekday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and every Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Boone County Government Center.

For additional weekend hours, the Clerk’s Office will hold no-excuse absentee voting on:

When voting with an absentee ballot in person, you must show an acceptable form of photo ID. Acceptable forms are:

Early voter Abel Richardson, who cast a ballot Tuesday at the Boone County Government Center, said voting is vital to democracy.

“I think an important feature of our democracy is making sure that everybody’s voices get heard, no matter what the circumstances are, and early voting allows for that,” Richardson said. “Because there are a lot of things at stake. There are simple civil liberties that are at stake. Your taxes are at stake.”

Another early voter, Dan Vinson, has used this option before. ” Yeah. I don’t remember which election, but we were going to be out of town, so we just voted early.”

Regarding the benefits of early voting, Vinson shared his thoughts: “I think voting is an opportunity as well as a responsibility.”

“There are a couple of issues on the ballot as well for every voter in Boone,” he said.

No-excuse absentee voting will end on Aug. 3, and Election Day is on Aug. 4.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Jefferson City inmate was charged with first-degree murder and other charges after authorities claim he killed another inmate on June 4.

Brandon Cole Smith, 43, of Licking, was charged on Tuesday in Cole County with first-degree murder, violence to an inmate and armed criminal action after a grand jury indictment was filed. Department of Corrections records show he is being held at Jefferson City Correctional Center.

The indictment claims Smith killed the victim, SK, after “striking” him. A probable cause statement was not filed in the case on Tuesday.

Smith is already serving a more-than-1,000-year sentence after he was found guilty in 2018 in Wester County for 11 counts of first-degree assault, one count of child abuse and six counts of armed criminal action.

Cole County Prosecutor Locke Thompson told ABC 17 News the victim’s name is Stanley Kenaga.

A June 5 press release from the DOC says Kenaga was pronounced dead at Jefferson City Correctional Center at 6:30 p.m. June 4. He was 36 years old.

The release says Kenaga was serving a life sentence for first-degree murder, along with sentences for first-degree burglary, stealing, second-degree arson and abandoning a corpse from Jasper County. He was received by the DOC on Aug. 30, 2023, the release says.  

Check back for updates.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Cole County Prosecutor’s Office has dropped charges against a man who was accused of driving under the influence in a fatal crash after his blood sample came back clean.

Jervontaye I. Warmack was charged in November with involuntary manslaughter, child endangerment and driving while intoxicated. Police said he hit a person riding an electric scooter in the 3600 block of westbound Highway 50 on Oct. 31.

The victim died and was identified as 15-year-old Antony Reyes.

Police had allegedly smelled marijuana on Warmack and said his speech was slurred, court documents in previous reporting say. Officers also described him as “giggly” when they spoke to him after the crash. The probable cause statement said Warmack failed a field sobriety test. A blood sample was taken when he was arrested.

Prosecutor Locke Thompson said the blood sample was to have more-accurate results on Warmack’s state.

“Generally those [field tests] are pretty reliable, but they’re not always 100% accurate,” Thompson said. “With us also having a deceased victim, we went ahead and asked for the blood draw as well.”

Warmack allegedly told officers he had not smoked marijuana and that he didn’t see the victim before the crash, the statement said.

Thompson said evidence an back up in the testing lab caused a delay in getting the results sooner. Nearly nine months after the incident, the results revealed Warmack was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash.

A crash reconstruction by Jefferson City Police also played into the decision. Thompson said police found the scooter rider cut across the divided median and across oncoming traffic.

“It is clear from the crash investigation that he was not at fault for the accident,” Thompson said.

Thompson said the case is closed. ABC 17 News requested a copy of the crash recronstruction.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The defense in a child murder case out of Benton County claims a woman accused in the case should be held by the Department of Mental Health.

Kourtney Aumen, 26, of Lincoln, Missouri, is charged with first-degree murder, child abuse, two counts of armed criminal action, two counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child and one count of first-degree assault. Her case was moved to Webster County last year.

She and others were accused in the beating and killing of 4-year-old Jessica Mast in December 2020, previous reporting shows.

A court filing from Monday by the defense claims Aumen was deemed competent in January 2025, but the defense requested she stay at a hospital because she had 11 medications. She was allegedly ordered to the DMH’s custody on May 14, 2025, but the filing says she was never moved from the jail.

A doctor allegedly determined she was incompetent to stand trial during an evaluation at the jail on July 9, 2026, the filing says.

“It is apparent that if Defendant Aumen is to be restored to competency, those efforts must be administered in a hospital setting,” the filing states. “Additionally, to stem further the deterioration of Defendant’s mental health prior to and during the resolution of this case, her return to a Department of Mental Health facility would be in Ms. Aumen’s best interest as well as the interest of justice.”

Jessica Mast’s parents – Mary Mast and James Mast – previous pleaded guilty to a number of crimes in the case, previous reporting shows.

Aumen is being held at the Benton County Jail without bond, online jail records show. A hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 12.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Republican candidates hoping to represent Jefferson City in the Missouri House say they’re hearing a lot on the campaign trail about one issue — a ballot measure that would phase out state income tax, if approved by voters.

Missouri’s 60th District covers Jefferson City south of the Missouri River. The seat is being left vacant by outgoing Rep. David Griffith, who is running for Cole County Clerk. Republicans Kyerra Johnson, Scott Spencer and Shane Kampeter are vying for the seat.

FULL INTERVIEWS: Kyerra Johnson; Scott Spencer; Shane Kampeter

Suzanne Luther is running unopposed in the Democratic primary.

The tax measure, known as Amendment 5, was put on the ballot by Gov. Mike Kehoe, who is leading an initiative to eliminate income tax and create the legal power to place taxes on more goods and services.

The measure also comes as the state’s budget reserves are predicted to hit new lows. The state is expected to spend more than $1.7 billion for the year, with reserves expected to shrink from around $5.8 billion in fiscal 2023 to around $600 million by the end of fiscal 2027. The fund will be fully depleted by early fiscal 2028, according to the state auditor’s estimates.

Questions linger because of the uncertainty of how sales taxes would be expanded, with no concrete plan in writing from the General Assembly or Kehoe. All three Republican candidates for Missouri’s 60th District have heard voters asking for more clarity.

“Their [voters’] concern is that it’s very open-ended legislation, leaving it up to future legislative bodies to decide what sales taxes are going to be increased,” Spencer said. “The legislature is asking them to trust them, but the legislative body only has a 45% approval rating, so I think there are some real concerns that they’re going to do the right thing.”

Kampeter pointed out that taxes could be expanded to services that are currently sales tax-exempt. For example, the Missouri Realtors are fighting the plan because it could put sales taxes on real estate sales.

“A lot of them [voters] are just worried that, what’s it going to look like?” Kampeter said. “You get rid of one tax, that’s going to have to come somewhere else, and so that’s where, you know, everybody’s worried, what is it going to be on? Is it going to be on that? You know, your haircuts, your lawn care, your food at grocery stores?”

Johnson said the public needs more transparency around the process.

Individually, the candidates vary in their stances towards the measure. Both Kampeter and Spencer said the amendment, as proposed, is not ready for a vote.

“I deal a lot with real estate. That was a promise that they won’t go to real estate, but there’s nothing down in writing. Same thing with agriculture, there’s nothing down in writing,” Kampeter said. “I know in Florida it’s worked, but, you know, they have tourist taxes, they have oil, so it’s worked there.”

Spencer said the ballot issue is neither “well-defined” nor “narrowly focused.”

Johnson voiced support for Kehoe adding the measure; however, she said voters need to be more informed.

“I will say that when it comes to sales tax and removing the income tax, we have to make sure that we’re clear on what the angle is, where the tax is going to be picked up at,” Johnson said. “I want to understand that also, because I, too, my family, were going to be affected by that as well.”

For economic solutions, Kampeter suggested reviewing the state spending and making cuts to unnecessary state programs and looking at other innovative ways of economic development.

Both Johnson and Spencer similarly supported cuts to state programs across the board. However, Johnson also touched on keeping state funding focused on Missouri and its residents.