Author: KMIZ

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A gun was found on the campus of another Mid-Missouri school on Monday.

Blair Oaks Superintendent Ben Meldrum wrote in a statement to parents a gun was found in a student’s vehicle on campus. Meldrum told ABC 17 News that the gun was “never in any school building.”

“Blair Oaks families: This morning, District administration was notified that a firearm was located in a student’s vehicle on campus. A search was conducted immediately and a firearm was located,” the statement to parents reads. “We appreciate the individual who made the report so quickly and law enforcement’s prompt response. Though this incident did not involve any threat of violence to students or staff, the Safe Schools Act requires specific action on the part of the District, and we are moving forward with next steps. We cannot share additional information regarding this incident due to student privacy laws.”

A similar incident was reported at Rock Bridge High School in Columbia earlier this month, and a student at Hickman High School was found with a gun in their backpack on Monday.

ABC 17 News has reached out to the Cole County Sheriff’s Office.

Check back for updates.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man was arrested Sunday morning after a high-speed chase ended in a Boone County cow pasture.

Kameran Bloodson, 19, was charged on Monday with aggravated fleeing, leaving the scene of an accident and misdemeanor speeding. He is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond. An arraignment was held on Monday afternoon.

The probable cause statement says a deputy was monitoring southbound Highway 63 at Turkey Creek at 2:29 a.m. Sunday when Bloodson was seen driving a Dodge Challenger 112 miles per hour.

The deputy turned on his emergency lights and a chase started. Court documents claim Bloodson at one point was going 150-160 mph while passing other vehicles on Highway 63.

Bloodson allegedly turned into a business’ gravel parking lot in the 13000 block of South Highway 63, lost control of the vehicle and crash it into a barbed wire fence and cow pasture, the statement says.

Bloodson tried to run away, but was eventually caught about 150 yards from the vehicle after he was “covered in mud and cow feces, and gave up,” the statement says.

The crash allegedly caused more than $1,000 worth of damage, per the statement.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia man has been charged with multiple felonies after authorities say he used a machete to attack a victim on Saturday.

JT Pearson, 61, was charged in Boone County with first-degree domestic assault, armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon and second-degree kidnapping. He is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond. An arraignment was held on Monday.

The probable cause statement says police were called to a Columbia residence on Sunday for an assault that occurred the day before. Pearson answered the door and allegedly told police that the victim cut themselves on accident while cutting up chicken, the statement says.

The officer noted the victim had 2-inch cuts on their hand and arm, resulting in authorities bringing the victim to a hospital. The victim told police at the hospital that Pearson started threatening them after they took a phone call, the statement says. Pearson allegedly threatened to kill the victim while wielding the machete, the statement says.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man who pleaded guilty last month to manslaughter and other charges was sentenced on Monday to 25 years in prison.

Donald Legleiter, 37, pleaded guilty in Boone County to first-degree involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, first-degree property damage and leaving the scene of an accident in a fatal crash that occurred in McBaine. He is currently being held at the Boone County Jail.

The crash occurred on Allen Street in McBaine on July 14, 2025. Previous reporting indicates Legleiter had backed up in his SUV and run over a motorcycle with Jeffrie W. Cash on it.

Legleiter allegedly drove from the scene and abandoned the 2024 Toyota Highlander in a bean field, according to court documents in previous reporting.

Cash died from his injuries on July 17, 2025.

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Alison Patton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Missouri has been ordered to use the 2022 congressional map for the November election after a Supreme Court decision on Friday, but a ballot question could change congressional districts after the election.

Missouri voters will see Proposition A on the ballot and will be asked if they approve of the 2025 “Missouri First” map known on the ballot as House Bill 1. Legal battles have ensued during the past year as critics called the map “gerrymandered” in favor of Republicans.

A ‘yes’ vote would mean Missouri redraws its current congressional districts from the 2022 map to the 2025 map. If passed, the 2025 map is likely to take effect 30 days after Proposition A is approved.

A ‘no’ vote would keep the 2022 congressional map.

The 2025 map was passed in a special session last year with the intention of replacing incumbent Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Kansas City) in District 5 with a Republican. Under that map, District 5 is drawn to go from Kansas City all the way to northern Boone County in Mid-Missouri, and it was likely to give Missouri seven Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives and one Democrat, if it were to stand.

The group People Not Politicians filed numerous lawsuits to put the referendum on the ballot. Once it was certified and Proposition A was on the ballot, Missouri was told by the state’s Supreme Court that it had to use the 2022 map for the November election.

Even though Missouri voters will have to decide which congressional map they want, they will still have to vote for their candidate under the 2022 districts.

For example, a voter in Hallsville would vote for a congressional candidate in District 4, which includes incumbent Republican Rep. Bob Onder and Democratic candidate Jordan Herrera. That voter would also have to decide whether they want the 2022 map and remain in District 4, or switch to the 2025 map and switch to District 5.

Executive director of the group backing Proposition A, People Not Politicians’ Richard von Glahn, said he doesn’t see a way for Republicans to leave the November election with a 7-1 Republican majority, as the 2025 map was intended to do.

He expects District 5 to stay Democrat, and is keeping an eye on District 2, which could flip to a Democrat.

“I think the Second Congressional District in Saint Louis is also potentially competitive. So, I think the results that you will likely see out of Missouri in November will either be a 6-2 or a 5-3 [Republican to Democrat] ratio,” von Glahn said.

Freedom Principle Missouri President Byron Keelin said he supports Proposition A because the 2025 map represents the conservative values of Missourians better.

“We believe as an organization, [it] represents the voting views of Missouri and believes that we should have a map that reflects those voting values,” Keelin said.

Primary elections in August were held under the 2025 map, before the Missouri Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court firmly decided that the law didn’t allow November elections to be done the same. Leaving many voters and candidates feeling “disenfranchised.”

“The courts made a mockery of what the legislators are supposed to do when it comes to congressional maps, and they should have just said that you don’t get to undo something of that importance like that,” Keelin said.

A poll from St. Louis University shows many Missourians don’t know how they will vote on Proposition A.

Charles Zug, a political science professor at the University of Missouri, claimed many of the people tracking this issue don’t live in the state.

“I don’t think people are super dialed into this. I think the people who are dialed into this are not Missourians broadly. It’s partisan–Republicans, Democrats around the country–people with a national perspective who are thinking about what is the House going to look like in 2027,” Zug said.

On Sunday, President Donald Trump posted his response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on Truth Social.

“The Supreme Court of the United States will just not let Missouri have an Election Victory,” Trump wrote. “I won Missouri BIG, all three times, and I couldn’t be more proud of doing so. A great place — I love you all!”

Zug said polling numbers are down for Trump leading up to the November election, and one of the things to consider is if voters see their representatives as being apart of the president’s party.

“Republicans are not, just in general, are not in an enviable position because their president is so unpopular right now,” Zug said.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A fire that occurred Sunday morning in northern Columbia was caused by “improperly discarded smoking materials,” according to a Monday afternoon press release by the Columbia Fire Department.

The release says crews were called at 6:43 a.m. Sunday to a home in the 2500 block of Oakland Gravel Road.

The back of the home was on fire when crews arrived, according to the release.

No injuries were reported in the fire.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A student at Hickman High School is in custody after they were allegedly found with a gun in their backpack on Monday afternoon, according to a letter sent to parents by Columbia Public Schools.

The letter states that the school’s weapons detection system detected the gun in the student’s backpack.

The gun was confiscated and the student was taken into custody by a school resource officer, the letter states. The email does not identify the name or age of the student. The incident is under investigation and a threat assessement is underway.

This is the second time this month a gun was found on district grounds, with a gun being found in a student’s vehicle on Sept. 16 at Rock Bridge High School. Down in Cole County on Monday, a Blair Oaks student was also found with a gun in their vehicle.

ABC 17 News has reached out to Columbia Public Schools and the Columbia Police Department. 

The district previously said the weapons detection systems, which were installed in 2024, were implemented at its high schools to deter and detect items that could threaten school safety.

In the letter to families, Superintendent Jeff Klein said the system and the staff operating it “did exactly what they were supposed to do to keep our school safe.”

Klein also said school administrators, safety and security staff and the school resource officer “acted immediately” in response to the incident.

Students who spoke with ABC 17 News Monday said they generally feel safe at Hickman, but say that the process for entering the building could be more efficient. 

Fareshta, a Hickman junior, said students regularly have to prepare their belongings for the weapons detection system when entering the building.

“We have to take our laptops out every time we come in and take it out early in the morning even if we are late to class,” she said.

She added that the process can also create delays for students arriving at school.

“In the mornings there’s only two doors to have the check-ins, the weapon detectors, and then only one if you’re late to class and it just takes a while,” she said. “Then we’re always late to class. They can definitely do a better job.”

All three students that ABC 17 News spoke said they were not aware the incident had happened while they were at school.

Under Columbia Public Schools Board Policy, weapons are prohibited on district property unless specifically allowed by the policy or authorized for a school-sponsored or school-sanctioned activity.

The policy specifically prohibits firearms on school property under the Missouri Safe Schools Act.

Students who bring or possess weapons prohibited under state law on school property or at a school activity face a suspension of at least one calendar year or expulsion, and the incident must be reported to law enforcement as required by law. The superintendent can modify a suspension or expulsion on a case-by-case basis.

The district’s policy also prohibits other weapons, including all knives, dangerous weapons and ammunition or components of prohibited weapons.

CPS policy allows student property, including vehicles parked on district property, to be searched when there is reasonable suspicion of a violation of law, district policy or other student rules.

The policy says reasonable suspicion must be based on facts known to school administrators, credible information or reasonable inferences from those facts or information. Searches are required to be limited in scope based on the original justification.

If administrators reasonably suspect a student is concealing a weapon or other evidence of a crime beneath their clothing and the student refuses to surrender the item, district policy says law enforcement officials will be contacted to conduct the search.

The district is also required to report school safety incidents and credible school safety threats involving a firearm or other weapons defined under Missouri law to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, along with other reports required by law.

The district did not provide additional details about the student or gun involved in Monday’s incident.

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Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man who pleaded guilty to a deadly hit-and-run in Boone County last year is set to be sentenced Monday afternoon.

Donald Legleiter pleaded guilty in August to first-degree involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, first-degree property damage and leaving the scene of an accident after backing his SUV over Jeffrie Cash.

Judge Jacobs will sentence Legleiter at 2:30 p.m. in the Boone County Courthouse.

He was previously charged with second-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action, one count of first-degree property damage and a count of tampering with evidence.

The crash occurred on Allen Street in McBaine on July 14, 2025. Previous reporting indicates Legleiter had backed up in his SUV and run over a motorcycle with Cash on it.

Legleiter allegedly drove from the scene and abandoned the 2024 Toyota Highlander in a bean field, according to court documents.

Paramedics were working to keep the victim alive when the deputy arrived at the scene, according to a probable cause statement. Cash had serious injuries to his head and upper body.

His daughter, Makayla Cash, told ABC 17 News that his injuries were so severe that he broke every bone in his face and skull. Cash died a few days later from his injuries.

Makayla Cash said it all started with her father defending a woman from being hit by Legletier, according to previous reporting. She said he left and came back about 10 minutes later with a woman and things escalated.

Legleiter allegedly told deputies that he wanted to destroy Cash’s motorcycle.

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Melissa Houston

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Race Matters, Friends (RMF) will address downtown public safety governance, municipal accountability, and recent state and local scrutiny facing Reign Bar at a Monday press conference.

The briefing is scheduled for 1 p.m. via Zoom. According to a press release, the conference will focus on two main topics: commercial boundaries and public safety standards, and historical context and systemic erasure.

RMF Vice President Traci Wilson-Kleekamp said the group plans to address what she describes as a misdirected focus on businesses near Eighth, Ninth, and Walnut streets.

“I think a big part of it will be to bring up the false narrative about Ninth and Walnut and Eighth and Walnut,” said Wilson-Kleekamp. “They’re still targeting that area where there are Black businesses, and so businesses haven’t gotten any complaints or anything like that. They haven’t been cited by the police for any, you know, for doing anything wrong.”

Wilson-Kleekamp expressed concern that focus on specific downtown establishments is connected to broader economic goals for the area.

“We think that they’re targeting this business. It’s a distraction while they work on their own economic development plans to redevelop downtown, which is to us that’s really the question and that’s really the thing that we should be talking about and we’re not,” said Wilson-Kleekamp.

Wilson-Kleekamp also questioned the involvement of University of Missouri System President Mun Choi and state officials in local downtown safety conversations.

“Like Mun Choi, they have their own agenda about public safety that isn’t coming to the public. They’re doing whatever they want,” said Wilson-Kleekamp.

While the virtual briefing is open to the public via Zoom, Wilson-Kleekamp noted that Choi was not formally invited by the organization.

In response to a recent letter from the Missouri Attorney General’s office sent to Reign Bar, Wilson-Kleekamp criticized the lack of supporting documentation provided.

“If she were a good attorney, she would come with receipts, and I see none,” said Wilson-Kleekamp. “This is an abuse of power in my mind.”

The press release states that private venues manage internal operations and immediate property lines, while the City of Columbia governs public streets, sidewalks, and parking lots.

RMF advocates for universal public safety standards applied equally across all downtown establishments, based on transparent police call logs and incident reports.

The press release said that other downtown bars like Harpo’s, Field House/Willie’s, and the Blue Note are being treated as “general downtown nightlife activity” by officials when they generate “significant police calls and incidents” in their respective locations.

Wilson-Kleekamp also called for clearer communication and action from city leadership regarding public safety oversight.

“Those are all part of a larger part of the conversation about public safety, but they’re not having that conversation with us,” said Wilson-Kleekamp. “They may talk to us and tell us what they want to know, but they’re not having a two-way, community-oriented conversation with us about public safety.”

According to the press release, RMF is asking the Columbia City Council and City Manager De’Carlon Seewood to pause selective nuisance declarations, establish uniform public safety policies, and refuse to cooperate with selective state nuisance proceedings.

Christopher Ave, spokesperson with the City of Columbia, said in a statement that “the city is not conducting ‘nuisance actions’ and treats all bars fairly.”

ABC 17 News reached out to representatives for University of Missouri System President Mun Choi and Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway for comment ahead of Monday’s press conference.

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Euphenie Andre

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Boone County judge has temporarily blocked Boone Health and CHAS Physician Services from interfering with PulsePoint Cardiovascular’s ability to operate its private cardiology practice.

The judge issued the temporary restraining order Wednesday after a request from PulsePoint, PulsePoint Missouri MSO, Dr. Martin Tibuakuu and Dr. James Fairlamb.

The order stems from a larger legal dispute over noncompete agreements involving Boone Health and physicians who previously provided cardiology services for the health system.

According to court documents, Missouri Cardiovascular Specialists LLP, also known as Missouri Heart Center or MO Heart, provided cardiology services to Boone Health for more than a decade. The parties entered into a renewed agreement in 2021 that included noncompete and confidentiality provisions.

Boone Health alleged the cardiology group violated those agreements by preparing to launch a competing practice in the Columbia area after the agreement ended May 6, 2026, according to court documents.

Boone Health filed to dismiss its lawsuit against Missouri Heart Center without prejudice on July 21.

Tibuakuu and Fairlamb now operate PulsePoint, which provides general cardiology services.

PulsePoint alleges Boone Health and CHAS Physician Services violated the agreement by trying to prevent or interfere with its operation.

The judge found PulsePoint demonstrated an immediate and irreparable risk of harm and that its application met the requirements for a temporary restraining order.

The order prohibits Boone Health and CHAS Physician Services from conduct that interferes with, restricts, prevents or limits PulsePoint’s ability to operate.

 “We are aware of the temporary restraining order and intend to defend against the unlawful restrictions on Boone Health’s ability to operate and care for patients.” Boone Health spokesman Christian Basi told ABC 17 in an email. “We are committed to caring for every patient, and Boone Health is not changing its operations in any way.”

The temporary restraining order took effect immediately and remains in place until a preliminary hearing scheduled at 9 a.m. on Oct. 22, where the court is expected to consider whether the restrictions should continue while the case moves forward.

Check back for updates.

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