Author: KMIZ

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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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Power is being restored in a Howard County town sooner than expected.

The City of Glasgow announced on its social media on Monday that the town had lost power and would likely be out for two or three days. Severe storms went through Mid-Missouri on Monday and caused damage around the area.

The city updated its residents on Tuesday with a social media post sayin power is starting to be restored.

“The substation has warmed up, and the electric company has begun restoring power. Circuits will be brought back online one at a time, so not all customers will have service restored at the same time,” the post says. “We appreciate your patience as crews work to safely restore power to the entire community.”

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Jefferson City Police Department is searching for someone who went missing in the eastern part of town.

JCPD wrote on its social media that it is looking for Nathan Spencer, 20. He was last seen walking near Cedar Creek Court and Expressview Drive, an area just north of Highway 50/63.

A news release Tuesday evening said Spencer was one of two drivers involved in a crash in the 2300 block of US 50/63. The crash happened shortly after 9:30 a.m. when Spencer’s vehicle rear-ended the other vehicle, according to police, at which point Spencer apparently left the scene on foot.

The other driver reported some discomfort after the crash but declined medical treatment.

While investigating the crash, police set up a perimeter to try and find Spencer, even deploying a drone to search from the air, but didn’t find him.

At around 2:30 p.m. police returned to the area to look for Spencer, but after more than half an hour did not find any sign of him.

After a missing person report was completed for Spencer just before 5 p.m., officers went back out to the scene to look again, but called it off shortly after 6 p.m. after finding no indication Spencer was in the area.

The post says Spencer is 6-feet tall and weighs 230 pounds. He has a red beard and red “collar-length” hair. He was last seen wearing a black shirt, black jacket with two white stripes down the sleeves, jeans and black shoes.

Police are focusing their search efforts in the eastern part of the city and into the county. They ask anyone with information or who sees Spencer to contact them, as he may need medical attention.

JCPD can be contacted at 573-634-6400 or by calling 911.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

An Eldon business is considered a total loss after it caught fire on Sunday, according to a Tuesday press release from the Eldon Fire Department.

The release says crews were called to 705 East 5th Street and saw flames coming from a side of the building when they arrived at 2 p.m. Sunday.

The release says crews and equipment were delayed “because of barricades across the road at the end of 5th street.” 

Two people were injured and treated at the scene, the release says. About 300,000 gallons of water was used. Crews cleared the scene at 8:30 p.m.

The company shared images of the damage to its Facebook page on Monday.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A student from Jefferson City High School was removed from the building on Tuesday after they were found with a weapon, according to a letter sent to parents by the Jefferson City School District.

The district wrote that a weapon was in a student’s belongings while officials were searching for vape products.

“This afternoon, school officials were made aware that there were vapes being circulated among several students. During the process of investigating, a weapon was found in a student’s belongings,” the email says. “The student has been removed from school until further notice, and full disciplinary action will be taken, which may include criminal charges.”

The type of weapon found was not described by the school district.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

At least one tornado was confirmed by the National Weather Service to have touched down in Randolph and Monroe counties on Monday.

Information on Tuesday from the NWS shows that the speeds varied from an EF-0 to an EF-1.

Damage was reported in both counties on Monday morning after severe storms went through the area, which included residences and downed trees and powerlines, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives’ outage map is still showing a significant number of people without power in Randolph County.

There are 539 Howard Electric customers without power on Tuesday afternoon. Another 89 Ameren customers were reportedly without power on Tuesday afternoon, according to Ameren’s outage map.

Check back for updates.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man who was originally charged with first-degree murder in a 2024 shooting pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery on Tuesday.

Fernando Hutchinson, 21, of Osage Beach, was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was previously charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action. The case was originally tried in Camden County, but was moved to Laclede County in 2025.

Previous reporting claims that Hutchinson was accused in the death of David Davis, who died from injuries he suffered after getting shot.

Investigators claimed Hutchinson shot Davis while Hutchinson was trying to steal marijuana, though court documents did not say Davis had drugs. A gun was later found in Hutchinson’s apartment, according to previous reporting.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A juvenile had non-life-threatening injuries after they were accidentally shot Saturday in Randolph County, according to a Tuesday press release from the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office.

The release says deputies were called to Moberly Regional Medical Center “in reference to a juvenile who sustained a gunshot wound to the abdomen.” The youth was then brought to University Hospital to be treated, the release says.

The release says the youth was in a vehicle with two other juveniles when they were accidentally shot outside of Moberly city limits.

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Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A local nonprofit is looking to transform Columbia’s Third Ward and the “Clark Lane Corridor” with the Beacon of Light Community Center.

United Community Builders announced the grand opening of the building on Tuesday morning during a ribbon-cutting.

“When I came here in 1998, this was the premier area for college students and for single-family homes to be here,” said Damian Dean, who is the executive director of Unite Community Builders. “This location of our facility is in a resource desert, and we’re trying to recapture the glory of what it was, but also build for the future generations.”

The 22,500-square-foot center is located at the corner of Sylvan Lane and Towne Drive and features a gymnasium with an indoor basketball court, conference room, industrial kitchen, outdoor playground and several offices and classrooms for UCB Academy Students and staff.

Groups will be able to rent out spaces and a plan for UCB-hosted events. UCB also currently runs a “Transformation” program that helps low-income and minority adults with career education. This includes classes on resume building, career planning and workplace training.

“We will have some open gym to some extent, but everything is going to be geared towards being strategic and intentional,” Dean said. “We’re helping young people and families get the things that they need.”

According to UCB, the two schools in the area, Blue Ridge Elementary and Alpha Hart Lewis Elementary, rank in the bottom 50% of all Missouri schools, with a large majority of students qualifying for free and reduced lunch.

Donors, ARPA funds and state and county governments helped fund the project. According to prior reporting, UCB raised at least $7.9 million for the center. Boone County and City of Columbia Documents report both governments gave the project $750,000 in ARPA funds.

UCB later confirmed with ABC 17 News that the project cost around $8 million to complete.

According to City of Columbia documents, the total costs for HVAC and elevator construction came to around $3.87 million.

“This is huge, people can see and dream and think about raising our community enrichment with property value,” D’Markus Thomas-Brown, City of Columbia’s administrator of the Office of Violence Prevention said.

“It was it was a blessing for us at the local level that the Congress, federal government and trusted local leaders to make decisions like the one” Boone County Commissioner Kip Kendrick said. “It’s a big lift for local governments but it also, local governments, I think, are sometimes well positioned to know what projects have been discussed for years, what projects are probably ready to move forward and have momentum behind them and this is this is a wonderful example.

Northeast Columbia residents John and Elvira Maxwell called the center a ‘miracle.’

“Many of our young people have gone astray, no guidance in their home, no male figure and they hit the streets. So United Community is doing an awesome job,” Elvira Maxwell said. “When we work together, we see what can happen.”

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

More than 1,100 electricity customers in Camden County were without power after a storm with hail went through the Lake of the Ozarks area on Tuesday afternoon.

The Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives’ map shows 1,056 Co-Mo Electric Cooperative customers without power and another 89 Laclede Electric customers had no electricity. Most of the residents without power appeared to be near Sunrise Beach, according to Co-Mo Electric’s outage map.

Co-Mo Electric spokesman Patrick Wood told ABC 17 News in an email that customers in Morgan County were also without power and that crews have been dispatched to fix the outage. That outage appeared to be resolved around 2:40 p.m.

This comes after multiple days of storms. Up in Randolph County, there’s still nearly 800 electric customers without power, with 251 being Ameren customers and 539 coming from Howard Electric Cooperative.

The City of Glasgow in Howard County lost power on Monday and had told its residents on social media that power could be restored as soon as Wednesday or Thursday.

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