Author: KMIZ

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

One person is dead and others are injured after a crash Wednesday on Highway 63 near Sturgeon.

According to the crash report, the accident happened at 5:39 p.m. Wednesday at the intersection of McComas Road and Highway 63.

A North Village Park van, driven by an 81-year-old Moberly man, made an improper left turn to enter the southbound lanes. A Linn County ambulance attempted to avoid hitting the van by changing lanes, but hit the van’s left side.

The 81-year-old driver was pronounced dead at the scene.

The 56-year-old ambulance driver from Brunswick, the 60-year-old passenger from Bevier and an 85-year-old patient from Marceline in the ambulance suffered moderate to minor injuries and were transported to University Hospital by ambulance.

The Linn County ambulance district confirmed in a Facebook post that one of its vehicles was involved in the crash. North Village Park is an organization based in Moberly that provides services for senior citizens and people with disabilities.

This is MSHP Troop F’s fifth fatality in April and 16th this year.

According to MoDOT, U.S. Route 63 at Route CC/Roy Barnes Road and Crofton Hall Road, both in northern Boone County, near Sturgeon, had experienced 14 crashes over the past five years, resulting in one fatality and four serious injuries.

Plans to add acceleration and deceleration lanes on southbound U.S. 63 to improve safety are currently in the planning and design phase.

Missouri State Highway Patrol spokesman Kyle Green confirmed to ABC 17 News that one person died in the crash. A post on Troop F’s X account said next of kin has been notified.

Boone County Joint Communications sent a notification at 5:46 p.m. stating that a vehicle crash occurred on northbound Highway 63 near East McComas Road.

Boone County Fire Protection District Assistant Chief Gale Blomenkamp told ABC 17 News in a text message that the crash involved a van and a Linn County Ambulance. He said CPR was in process at the scene and that four patients were reported.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man has been charged with three felonies, four misdemeanors and an infraction in a fatal crash that occurred Tuesday in Marshall.

Brent Reynolds, 42, of Marshall, was charged Wednesday in Saline County with first-degree involuntary manslaughter, two counts of armed criminal action, a count of second-degree assault, reckless driving, speeding, not stopping at a crosswalk, not having insurance and an infraction of not having plates.

Reynolds is being held at the Saline County Jail without bond. A court date has not been scheduled.

The probable cause statement says a 2014 Ford Focus that was driven by Reynolds crashed into a Ford Bronco on South Odell Avenue. A 65-year-old Marshall woman was pronounced dead at the scene.

The speed limit was 25 miles per hour and Reynolds allegedly crashed the Ford Focus into the Ford Bronco at 110.6 miles per hour, troopers found from the Ford Focus’ electronic data recorder.

The crash caused the Ford Bronco to hit a retaining wall and a pedestrian, a 32-year-old Marshall man who was flown from the scene to a hospital, according to the statement.

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Olivia Hayes

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

City of Columbia Utilities is proposing an irrigation ordinance to manage water use across the community. The department believes this move would also help to support ongoing commercial and residential growth in the area.

City utilities wrote on its BeHeard page that Columbia’s daily summer peak water demands can exceed 170% of winter water demands, with the highest hourly demand in the summer sitting at around 240% of the peak winter hourly demand. The utility is looking to have two public input meetings before bringing the ordinance to the City Council.

The proposed ordinance would stagger lawn watering to specific days and times, so users can reduce the peak demand on the water system. City officials believe it will also reduce the total amount of water used and allow lawn irrigation systems to operate more effectively within their designed parameters.

Watering schedules are based on physical property address and apply to residential and commercial customers using city water, according to city documents. Irrigation is permitted on the allowed watering day before 10 a.m. and after 7 p.m. for a maximum of 30 minutes per irrigation zone.

Even-numbered addresses would be able to use irrigation systems on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday, odd-numbered addresses on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and common areas, mixed addresses or locations with no address can water Monday, Thursday and Saturday.

Exceptions to the ordinance, according to city documents, include:

Irrigation of land used for commercial agriculture.

Watering by hand using an attended hose.

Low-flow, low-pressure systems designed to distribute small amounts of water on or below the soil surface are allowed at any time necessary to meet needs.

Irrigation of new landscape is allowed at any time for the initial 30 days and every other day for the next 30 days for a total of one 60-day period.

Watering in of chemicals, including insecticides, pesticides, fertilizers, fungicides and herbicides, is allowed within 24 hours of application.

Irrigation systems may run up to 30 minutes at any time of day for irrigation system maintenance and repair purposes.

Watering for new plant material, such as flowers, trees and shrubs, on the day of planting.

Watering to preserve turf subject to heavy public use.

The use of recycled or reclaimed water is allowed anytime.

City of Columbia Utilities may grant a different exception from the required schedule under certain circumstances.

Any customer who purchases and installs an automatic landscape irrigation system shall properly install, maintain, and operate:

A water meter dedicated to landscape irrigation, which shall be separate and apart from the water meter serving non-irrigation needs of the property.

A backflow prevention device, installed at the point of connection between the landscape irrigation system and the city water system.

Technology that inhibits or interrupts operation of the system during periods of sufficient moisture or rainfall.

Consumers with irrigation systems installed prior to the effective date of the ordinance shall be subject to the ordinance requirements upon making neccessary repairs, upgrades or changes.

The first violation comes with a $50 fine, the second violation is $250 and the third violation includes a $350 fine with the customer subject to suspension or disconnection of water utility service for irrigation.

The City of Columbia Water Utility, Office of Neighborhood Services, Columbia Police Department and any other agent of the City authorized to will help enforce the ordinance.

Water pressure issues have been seen particularly in the southwest portion of the city in recent years, with boil advisories having been issued in the Thornbrook area. A water tower was expected to have been built by 2021, but a variety of issues, including discussions of where it could be built, have occurred in the past few years.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A registered sex offender in Pettis County has been charged with child molestation.

Matthew Platt is charged with first-degree child molestation and failing to register as a sex offender. Kristy White is accused of leaving a child in Platt’s care and was charged with first-degree child endangerment. Platt is being held on a $250,000 bond, while White is being held on a $15,000 bond.

A counsel status hearing for Platt is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 5, while White has a hearing set for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 12.

The probable cause statements in the case say that the victim told authorities on April 5 about five separate instances of being sexually abused by Barrett.

White allegedly told authorities that she knew Platt was a sex offender “but stated she trusted him around the children,” and made claims the victim lied “but was unable to provide [law enforcement] with a reason why she would,” court documents say.

Platt allegedly denied the allegations to law enforcement, but then claimed he gave the young child a “hickey” on their arm because the victim “asked him to do it,” court documents say.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Police in Lebanon, Missouri, in Laclede County say a threat that was made to Lebanon High School on Wednesday morning was not credible.

Police wrote in a release that officers were called at 10:50 a.m. for an alleged bomb threat. Students were “relocated to an alternative site” while officers, including K-9 units, searched the campus.

Highway 64 near the school was closed while officers worked, police wrote in a social media post. Police had also told the public to avoid the middle school while it worked.

“Safety always remains the highest priority in situations like this,” Chief Jerry Harrison was quoted in the release. “I want to thank the students, parents, and school staff for their cooperation throughout this incident.”

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Officials are continuing to learn more about Monday’s severe weather.

On Wednesday, the National Weather Service confirmed that a tornado developed near the Bluebird Trail southwest of Slater at 6:52 a.m. Monday. The storm went east into Howard County and eventually made its way to Gilliam and Glasgow in Howard County and south or southeast of Higbee in Randolph County.

Winds peaked in the storm at 115 miles per hours, according to the National Weather Service.

Multiple rounds of storms hit the area on Monday and an EF-1 tornado was confirmed in Randolph and Monroe counties.

Check back for updates.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man from St. Charles, Missouri, accused of sexually abusing two women at a Columbia party in November was booked into the Boone County Jail on Tuesday night.

Hayk Darbinyan, 20, was charged with first-degree sodomy, first-degree sexual abuse and misdemeanor third-degree kidnapping. He is being held at the jail without bond. A hearing was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

Two probable cause statements were filed in the case that described a party occurring the night of Nov. 1 and into Nov. 2 at Grayson Cottages. Darbinyan is accused of abusing two women at the party. He allegedly acted “aggressive” while trying to sodomize both women, but successfully did so with one, court documents allege.

Police noted in one of the statements that a photo was taken at the party that allegedly showed Darbinyan with his hand between one of the women’s legs. Multiple witnesses spoke with police.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The head of the Columbia firefighters’ union waived his arraignment and pleaded not guilty to a felony charge, according to Tuesday court filings.

Zachary Privette is charged with third-degree assault of a special victim. He was arrested last month and had bonded out of jail. An entry of appearance was filed by his attorney on Tuesday. An initial court appearance is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Thursday, May 14.

The probable cause statement says police were called around 9 p.m. March 23 to Truman’s Bar and Grill in western Columbia. The victim – who police had previously stated was considered elderly under Missouri law – went to pick up an order at the bar and noticed a group of people he used to work with at the Columbia Fire Department.

The victim walked up to the table and Privette allegedly started yelling at the victim because he was upset the victim no longer attended union meetings, the statement says. The victim left the table to pick up his order and left the building, but Privette allegedly saw him in the parking lot and started yelling while walking up to him, the statement says.

Privette then assaulted the victim by putting him in a headlock and eventually pushed the victim to the ground, the statement says. Privette then allegedly kicked the victim while the victim was on the ground, the statement says. Privette then allegedly went to the ground and started punching the victim, court documents allege.

A witness saw the end of the assault when both men were on the ground, the statement says. That person told police they saw Privette get up and go back into the restaurant after someone in a vehicle flashed their lights, the statement says.

Police reviewed video footage that allegedly lined up with the victim’s story, the statement says.

Privette’s attorney Jeff Hilbrenner gave no comment on Wednesday.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Osage County Clerk filed a lawsuit in the county’s court on Tuesday to ask for a new election for Linn mayor.

Clerk Brooke Dudenhoeffer filed the petition in Osage County after she claims there were 40 people who received the wrong ballot in the April 7 Election. The lawsuit alleges those 40 voters received a ballot that did not include the mayoral race, but they should have received one with that race included.

The lawsuit alleges that “the property for these forty (40) voters had previously been annexed to the geographic territory of the City of Linn; however, the voter addresses had not been updated in the Missouri Centralized Voter Registration System to be included within the geographic territory of the City of Linn. As a result, these voters received a ballot style that did not, but should have, had the mayoral race included on the ballot style.”

Michael Troesser received 127 votes in the mayoral election and Dustin Flamm had 101. The difference in the number of voters could have resulted in a different outcome of the election.

A hearing in the case is scheduled for 9 a.m. May 7 at the Osage County Courthouse.

ABC 17 News has reached out to the Osage County Clerk.

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Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Boone County judge is still considering whether to certify a juvenile charged in connection with the deadly shooting in a Facebook Market meet-up after hearing testimony on Wednesday morning.

A 17-year-old faces charges including second-degree murder, robbery, stealing and armed criminal action in connection with the death of Michael Ryan Burke in January.

Colleen McMahon, the teen’s attorney, brought in a handful of witnesses to testify on behalf of the youth’s character. After hearing hours of testimony, the judge decided not to issue a decision Wednesday, but to wait until all parties are back in court on Tuesday at 9 a.m.

McMahon is asking the judge to consider her client’s personality and three mental disorders when deciding whether to certify him. She argues he could still utilize the rehabilitation services in the Division of Youth Services.

McMahon also said there isn’t probable cause that points her client as the person who killed Burke.

Matt Puthukulam, an attorney for the juvenile office, argues the crimes the teen is charged with are too dangerous for him to be tried in juvenile court.

Puthukulam also brought up that the teen turns 18-years-old this summer, which could age him out of the juvenile system.

The meeting between Burke and the group was arranged in the 1400 block of Ridgemont Ct. through Facebook Marketplace to sell a phone, according to court documents.

Alexis Baumann, Kobe Aust and Joseph Crane are also facing charges in the case. Baumann’s bond was lowered and she was eventually released from jail.

Court documents state that Baumann allegedly told police the juvenile shot Burke and then sold the phone at a kiosk at the Walmart on Conley Road.

The group had reportedly stolen phones from two other victims two days before the shooting. Security video and information provided by Facebook were used to connect the group to the crimes.

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