Author: KMIZ

Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Rolla police shot a man early Wednesday while responding to a “disturbance.”

The Rolla Police Department said in a news release that officers were sent to the 2000 block of Forum Drive at about 4 a.m. for a disturbance call. Police encountered a man armed with a gun and shot him, according to the release.

Officers gave first aid at the scene, and the man was taken to a hospital by ambulance. The suspect was stable Wednesday morning, police say.

No officers were hurt.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol Division of Drug and Crime Control is investigating the shooting.

Rolla Police did not release the names of the officers involved or the suspect.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

EDITOR’S NOTE: A misspelled name has been corrected.

Smoke in the Missouri Psychiatric Center that is connected to University Hospital caused a large Columbia Fire Department response Wednesday, but no evacuation was needed, according to a CFD official.

CFD Assistant Chief Lester Shewmake said an HVAC system handler started smoking and spread the smoke throughout the first floor via the vents. Twenty CFD firefighters were sent to the scene.

Firetrucks blocked Deans Drive near the children’s emergency room entrance during the response.

Firefighters were clearing the scene just before 9:30 a.m.

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Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

An Audrain County woman was hurt after a crash Tuesday night.

Missouri State Highway Patrol said the crash happened on eastbound Business 54 east of Spire Lane on Tuesday at 7:25 p.m.

Troopers said a 33-year-old woman from Mexico was driving a 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe when she went off the right side of the road.

The vehicle went over a curb, hit a John Deere tractor, a MoDOT sign and a building.

The woman was taken to University Hospital in Columbia with serious injuries.

She was not reported to be wearing a seatbelt.

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Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

As the midnight deadline to file 2025 taxes approaches, extension options are available.

Filers can request an extension to file their taxes until Oct. 15 by going to the IRS website and finding the IRS Free File Guide. Filers can submit this request electronically and at no cost.

If people still owe taxes and are looking for an extension, they still need to pay what they owe. According to an IRS press release, those who pay all or part of what they owe using IRS payment options online can select “extension” as the reason for the payment.

If filers are not able to pay at the moment, they should still file. The penalty for not filing is higher than the penalty for not paying. Payment plans from the IRS can help filers pay off the balance over time.

Until the midnight deadline, filers still have time to file their taxes.

People can file their federal income tax return electronically and request direct deposit for any refund due. Filing electronically with an accredited tax preparation software can reduce errors by performing calculations, flagging mistakes and guiding users who are missing information.

Taxpayers with an income of $89,000 or less in 2025 can use the IRS Free File to prepare and file their federal tax returns.

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Olivia Hayes

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A crash on North Providence road near Monday night Hickman High School that left a man seriously hurt marked the third crash in Columbia this year that involved a pedestrian.

Statewide crash data shows pedestrian crashes are three times lower in Columbia than by the same point in 2025.

By April 2025, Mid-Missouri had already seen 22 pedestrian crashes across the region. Twelve crashes were reported within Columbia city limits and an additional crash was reported in Boone County.

Through that same data point in 2025, Callaway County was the only place in Mid-Missouri to see a death as a result of a pedestrian crash. Three deadly crashes have been reported around Mid-Missouri so far this year.

In April 2026, Mid-Missouri has seen 12 pedestrian crashes so far. Three of those crashes have occurred within Columbia city limits with one being fatal. An additional pedestrian crash was reported in Boone County.

Randolph and Benton counties each have already had one death as a result of a car hitting a pedestrian so far in this year.

While no arrests or charges have been announced in Monday night’s crash, Cole County’s Prosecutor Locke Thompson spoke to ABC 17 News about the potential criminal outcomes in pedestrian crashes.

“A case where there is injury you might have potentially either assault in the fourth degree if someone is being negligent,” Thompson said. “It might even be assault in the second degree if they’re being reckless and cause serious physical injury.”

Thompson also said law enforcement may look at things like if a driver was under the influence and crash reconstruction as part of a pedestrian crash investigation.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A former part-time teacher who was accused of trying to poison her husband in 2024 has had her attempted-murder charge reduced to domestic assault.

Sarah Scheffer is now charged in Cole County with third-degree domestic assault. The reduction in charges was filed on Monday, court filings show. ABC 17 News has reached out to the Cole County prosecutor.

Scheffer is accused of trying to poison her husband with substances she put in his food, court documents in previous reporting say.

She was allegedly caught on camera grabbing a substance out of a bag called labeled “lily of the valley” and adding it to his smoothies. Lily of the valley is a poisonous plant.

Scheffer was a part-time design and art teacher at Calvary Lutheran High School in Cole County, previous reporting shows.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man who was accused in the overdose death of a Montgomery City toddler in 2024 has pleaded guilty.

Bryan Danter pleaded guilty on Monday to felony murder, second-degree drug trafficking and illegal gun possession.

He was previously charged with felony murder, second-degree drug trafficking, two counts of drug possession, one count of endangering the welfare of a child, three counts of illegal gun possession and a count of misdemeanor having a defaced gun. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday, June 12.

According to the probable cause statement in previous reporting, Danter found his 2-year-old son unresponsive on Sept. 3, 2024. Law enforcement saw the body of the child on the kitchen table near a plastic bag containing “a crystalline substance.”

Pill containers with white residue, capsules with white powder, two scales and another plastic bag containing white powder were found in the home, the statement says. The substances tested positive for fentanyl and methamphetamine, court documents say.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man who was charged with multiple felonies after he was shot by Jefferson City police officers in February is asking for a change of judge and venue.

Joey Hampton, 40, of Jefferson City, is charged in Cole County with two counts of first-degree assault and single counts of shooting at a vehicle, armed criminal action and illegal gun possession. He is being held at the Cole County Jail without bond. 

Hampton appeared by video from the jail for his arraignment on Monday and pleaded not guilty. His lawyer, assistant public defender Juliana Payne, filed a motion on Monday asking for a change of judge and venue.

The motion says Hampton is hoping for the case to be moved to either Jackson County, St. Louis County or the city of St. Louis and alleges that Cole County residents “are prejudiced against him.”

Payne also filed a motion for Hampton on Monday that asked the state for a mental exam.

Court documents in previous reporting say Jefferson City police officers were trying to contact Hampton on Feb. 26 “in relation to reports that had received that Hampton was involved in the sale and use of illegal drugs, was in possession of a stolen firearm, and had brandished a firearm and/or threatened person(s) with a firearm.”

Hampton allegedly fired shots at the officers, hit a patrol vehicle and officers returned fire. The Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control is investigating.

The names of the officers involved in the shooting have not been released.

The next hearing is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Friday.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia woman was charged on Tuesday with disseminating a sexual video of someone without their consent.

Megan Cabaniol, 27, is being held at the Boone County Jail on a $15,000 bond. A court date has not been scheduled.

The probable cause statement says police were called on Monday after the victim in the case claimed their ex-boyfriend asked her about an explicit video that was showed to him days before by Cabaniol.

The statement says another person confirmed Cabaniol showed them the video and that police found the video on a couple of pornographic websites.

The victim believed Cabaniol was trying to harass her because their friendship had recently ended, the statement says.

Cabaniol allegedly told police that the victim agreed to let her take the video but denied showing it to anyone or uploading it to any website. She allegedly told police that “someone else must have posted them from her account” on the pornographic websites, the statement says.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The two men accused of robbing the Isle of Capri Casino in Boonville last month have each been indicted by a grand jury.

Benjamin Michael-Dass Charles, 21, of Columbia has been charged with first-degree robbery, armed criminal action and tampering with evidence. He is being held at the Cooper County Jail on a $1.3 million bond. Charles waived his arraignment and pleaded not guilty on Monday. A case review is scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday, May 22.

Hollis Vanleer Jr., 20, of Normal, Illinois, is not in custody and is charged with first-degree robbery, armed criminal action and first-degree assault. Law enforcement last month stated that he is to be considered “armed and dangerous.” A $1.3 million bond was set in his case.

Charles was an employee of the casino and allegedly told law enforcement that he helped set up the robbery “for about a month,” court documents in previous reporting say. The pair took about $1.28 million from the main bank drawer, court documents in previous reporting say.

Vanleer is accused of attacking a patron who tried to stop one of the men from getting away, court documents in previous reporting say.

The two got away in a Ford Taurus and abandoned the vehicle in Howard County before getting into another vehicle, previous reporting indicates. Charles was identified after a receipt was found in the first getaway vehicle.

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