Author: KMIZ

ABC 17 News Team

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The University of Missouri’s School of Medicine’s Emergency Department held a “simulated mass casualty event” at Faurot Field on Wednesday.

Emergency medicine resident physicians trained for six different scenarios, including cardiac arrest, a field stampede incident, a player spinal injury and more.

The students used several actors and mannequins–plus a mobile lab to simulate medical incidents on the field.

According to MU Health Care, the training event is to make sure their physicians are trained for multiple types of emergencies beyond the walls of the hospital–including during Mizzou football games. 

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A woman pleaded not guilty in court on Wednesday to firing a gun in a north Columbia early last month.

Tanajee Hickem-Ricketts, 30, of Columbia, was charged in September with unlawful use of a weapon and armed criminal action. She was booked into the Boone County Jail around 1 p.m. Tuesday and is being held without bond. She had a court hearing on Wednesday and pleaded not guilty. A bond hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 7.

The probable cause statement says police were called to a report of shots being fired on North Tyler Drive in northern Columbia on Sept. 2, but did not find a scene.

Police later stopped a vehicle on Clark Lane that had a bullet hole in its windshield, and the driver allegedly told them the vehicle was shot on North Tyler Drive. The driver allegedly told police he was driving to a residence for “a planned fight,” court documents say.

Police went to the residence on Sept. 3 to serve a search warrant and allegedly found a gun and then found four spent shell casings in the yard, the statement says.

Hickem-Ricketts arrived home and allegedly told police she fired a gun when she saw “multiple carloads of people drive onto her street,” court documents say. At least two homes were hit by gunfire, the statement says.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

An 85-year-old woman from Salisbury, Missouri, died in a crash Wednesday on Highway 24 near Highway 129 in Chariton County, according to a crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The report says a 2008 Ford Taurus – driven by the woman – was heading north when it pulled into the path of a 1994 Kenworth T4 and was hit.

The woman was pronounced dead at the scene, the report says. She was not wearing a seatbelt, according to the report.

The driver of the Kenworth wore a seatbelt and had no reported injuries. Both vehicles had extensive damage, the report says.

MSHP reports do not name those involved in crashes.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 75-year-old man from Williamsville, Missouri, was seriously injured Wednesday in a crash on Route U in Pulaski County at Brush Lane, according to a crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The report says the man was driving a 2003 Cadillac Deville northbound when it went off the right side of the road and hit a tree. The man was flown to University Hospital in Columbia with serious injuries, the report says.

The driver wore a seatbelt, according to the report. The Cadillac was totaled.

MSHP reports do not name those involved in crashes.

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Olivia Hayes

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Missouri immigration lawyer says due to new immigration policies, he has had to stop taking on removal cases for immigrants in detention.

“Changes to the immigration court system, how evidence is being evaluated, how charges are being brought, people are being placed in removal proceedings with far greater ease,” said David Cox, an Immigration Attorney in St. Louis.

Cox said he saw instant impacts to his practice after President Donald Trump returned back to the Oval Office.

“They’re not ever seeing a judge, they’re just being put on planes and shipped out of here,” Cox said. “They’re basically detaining everybody that they catch and no bond is allowed. That wasn’t the case before. You could litigate and get out on a bond if you’re not a threat to the community.”

Owen Ramsingh, a Columbia man who has had a green card since 1986, was detained last week by ICE agents in Chicago after returning from the Netherlands and landing at O’Hare International Airport. He has been in detention since.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson wrote on Tuesday that Ramsingh was detained due to previous convictions involving drug possession. One charge was expunged and the other conviction occurred in the 1998.

The last information Ramsingh’s wife has is that Owen was being transferred to a detention center in El Paso, Texas. He has a court date in Illinois scheduled for Oct. 15.

German Gonzalez Herrera, an Immigration Attorney in St. Louis, said he receives at least 10 calls a day from people in ICE detention. He described how the new immigration policies have created less time for attorneys to take on cases. He said it used to take him six months to help build a case, but the increased workload has made that difficult.

“When they are in detention, it’s really hard to help them,” German Gonzalez Herrera said.

He said the bar for obtaining asylum status has been raised under the Trump administration and is unattainable for many coming from bad situations.

“You need to pay $100 to apply for asylum. So many people that enter into many states they don’t have money. They say ‘OK, how do I pay the $100?'” Gonzalez Herrera said.

Gonzalez Herrera said he has had to start discussing avenues outside of U.S. citizenship with his clients, due to cases becoming harder and harder to win.

“My recommendation is save the money,” Gonzalez Herrera said. “Talk with the judge, explain your situation, what happened to you and if there is a miracle and the judge granted asylum it is a miracle.”

Cox reiterated the difficulty migrants face as cases become harder to win.

“My practice has changed, and I think a lot of other attorneys that used to do removal work are no longer doing so. They’re (other attorneys) just like me because they can’t win those cases. And it’s just not fair to their clients to charge that money to provide a service that’s going to get them,” Cox said.

Brad Sandler, an Immigration Lawyer and Partner at Stinson LLP in St. Louis said new policies in place have caused confusion for many of his clients.

“I’m having to spend two or three times more than I normally would on those people that are already here trying to help them understand how these things are impacting them,” Sandler said.

Cox said that he’s seen citizenship applications skyrocket since the Trump administration took office.

“We used to do one ceremony occasionally, usually a couple of times a month here in Saint Louis to swear in new citizens. Now they’re at least two every week with 50 new applicants every time,” Cox said.

He explained how the Missouri Federal Courts are trying to curb the increased number of applicants.

“The courthouse here in St. Louis handles Friday cases. The Tuesday cases, which is the other day they have ceremonies every week, are done in the federal building here in Saint Louis,” Cox said.

Sandler suggested more opportunities for work- and student-related visas as a way to promote legal immigration opportunities.

“All those programs, the numbers have not been adjusted since the economy and the number of people have grown. They were set up, you know, like in the 1990s in the population and the need for those programs has grown,” Sandler said.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

An Eldon man was charged in Pettis County after he allegedly attacked another man with a metal bar and rammed his truck into the man’s vehicle on Sept. 26.

Tyler McCue, 50, was charged with first-degree burglary, second-degree assault, armed criminal action, leaving the scene of an accident and first-degree property damage. A court date has not been scheduled.

The probable cause statement says the victim was at a trailer with another person when McCue grabbed a woman out of the trailer and pulled her into his truck. McCue then allegedly hit the victim with a metal bar and then used a truck to hit the victim’s vehicle, causing more than $3,000 worth of damage, the statement says.

The victim had a large cut on the left side of his head and required five staples to shut it, a deputy wrote.

McCue allegedly denied the encounter occurring, the statement says.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 30-year-old Columbia man was arrested after he was accused of leading law enforcement on a high-speed chase on Tuesday night.

James Miller is charged with drug possession, delivery of a controlled substance, aggravated fleeing, driving without a license and misdemeanor reckless driving. He is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond and had a court appearance on Wednesday.

The probable cause statement says Miller’s vehicle swerved on Highway 763 near Smiley Lane and almost hit another vehicle. That prompted a deputy to try to conduct a traffic stop, but Miller sped away in his GMC at 100 miles per hour after the deputy turned on his lights and siren, the statement says.

Miller then sped his vehicle up to 120 miles per hour and law enforcement used spike strips twice before the vehicle stopped on the ramp to southbound Highway 63 at the Interstate 70 connector, the statement says.

Law enforcement then found cocaine in the vehicle, the statements says.

He is also charged in two separate cases in Boone County, according to court records. In one case, he is charged with first-degree property damage and misdemeanor second-degree tampering with a motor vehicle.

In another case, he is charged with second-degree drug trafficking, drug possession and misdemeanor driving without a license.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 54-year-old man from Moberly has been charged with enticing a child younger than 17 years old.

John Teel is being held at the Randolph County Jail on a $100,000 bond. A court date has not been scheduled.

The probable cause statement says someone described as a witness went to the Moberly Police Department on Sept. 21 after they learned the child received sexually explicit messages on Instagram from Teel.

The statement says messages dated back to Aug. 15 and included Teel asking to meet with the victim in person and for them to perform sexual acts. Teel has previously met the victim and knows they are a child, court documents say.

Teel allegedly told police that he said “no” to meeting the victim, though law enforcement noted in court documents that was not the case.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Auditing criminal cases arising from incidents downtown and adding county deputies and state troopers to patrol shifts are among the plans Columbia and University of Missouri leaders have for reducing crime.

MU and the City of Columbia on Wednesday put out a list of actions they’re taking to make downtown safer after a shooting over homecoming weekend killed a woman and hurt two other innocent bystanders. A Florida man has been charged with murder for allegedly firing 11 shots into a crowd.

The action plan includes:

Increase staffing at the Columbia Police Department and MUPD.

CPD and MUPD will continue the increase in foot patrol in the downtown region during peak weekend hours.

Missouri Department of Highway Patrol will provide troopers to patrol downtown during peak hours of the weekend.

Boone County Sheriff Dwayne Carey will also provide additional deputies to patrol downtown Columbia.

Meet with Western District of Missouri Attorney Matt Price to discuss federal resources and other programs to improve public safety.

Meet with Gov. Mike Kehoe to discuss state resources and other programs to improve safety.

Support the “Ride Home” program that returns people who come to the city for health care to their home community outside of Boone County.

Request that every downtown business owner complete a letter of enforcement.

Conduct a review of city ordinances to improve crowd control and safety – especially downtown. Immediate actions will be taken when appropriate.

Conduct a review of downtown to address environmental issues, including lighting, business hours of operation, individuals sleeping on or blocking sidewalks and traffic flow for vehicles. Immediate actions will be taken when appropriate.

Conduct an internal audit of all cases handled by the Boone County Prosecutor’s Office involving weapons offenses downtown as well as trespass, peace disturbance, and misdemeanor assault cases county-wide to ensure these offenses are being prosecuted consistently, effectively and in alignment with office goals and community safety priorities. Immediate actions will be taken when appropriate.

University of Missouri System President Mun Choi wrote a letter to city and county leaders after the shooting early Saturday, urging action and saying he planned to get Kehoe involved. City officials have responded with the idea of a task force and other plans, including increased patrols.

Records obtained by ABC 17 News show a string of emails that Choi sent to city leaders that led up to the list released to the public. Most of Choi’s proposed action items made it into the final plan.

MunChoi 09302025 GieslerDownload

Two changes of note include adding increased staffing for MUPD as well as CPD, and dropping a line that read “arrest individuals that accost or harass vehicle owners.”

Newly appointed U.S. Attorney Matthew Price also responded to Choi, saying his office is eager to meet with Columbia leaders about federal resources to address what he called an “emerging crisis.” Emails also show that Choi spoke with Price on a call on Sept. 29.

As part of the plan, the city will audit downtown weapons cases from the Boone County prosecutor’s office.

“We suggested that as something we could do right away to make sure that we don’t have any cases that are slipping through the cracks,” Boone County Prosecutor Roger Johnson said. “It’s not just violent crime that we’re looking at. It’s also a serious and ongoing concern that we have a lot of mental health-related crime, especially in the downtown area.”

The city is also asking local businesses to sign “letters of enforcement” allowing police to act on trespassing issues.

“For trespassing, only the person who owns the property can kick somebody off of the property and can request them to leave,” Johnson said. “The letter of enforcement authorizes somebody else to do that on your behalf.”

Choi has also invited city leaders to walk with him downtown late Saturday night into Sunday.

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Matthew Sanders

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Cole County judge has, for the second time, rejected the secretary of state’s ballot summary for a constitutional amendment that would outlaw abortion across Missouri.

Judge Daniel Green refused to accept Secretary of State Denny Hoskins’ second attempt to write the language for Amendment 3 on Tuesday. Green ordered Hoskins to take care of problems with a bullet point.

Green wrote in the order that the bullet point does not sufficiently explain what the amendment would change — in this case, outlawing abortion. Amendment 3, which will be on the November 2026 ballot pending legal challenges, would overturn a constitutional amendment approved by voters last year that legalized abortion.

Hoskins — a Republican who is staunchly against abortion — was given five days to submit a revised summary.

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