Author: KMIZ

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man who escaped from the Osage County Jail in October 2023 has been sentenced to probation.

Alex Stieffermann pleaded guilty on Feb. 4 in multiple cases to several crimes, including escaping confinement, second-degree assault, stealing a vehicle, first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle and causing damage to jail property. He was sentenced to probation along with a 15-year suspended sentence, court filings show.

Court documents in previous reporting say Stieffermann had ran away from the jail after he assaulted a jail officer and took his keys.

Stieffermann allegedly hit an officer “multiple times” and took his facility keys. Stieffermann made it to a kitchen area and hit another officer with a fire extinguisher, according to the statement. The officer was brought to an emergency room after suffering from a head injury, the statement says.

Stiefferman then escaped from the jail using the facility keys, but was later found in Linn, documents say.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Police say PCP was present in the apartment where a man was fatally shot Saturday night in a senior apartment complex in central Columbia.

Officers also found cocaine in the shooting suspect’s apartment, according to court documents.

Michael D. Graham, 66, was charged with second-degree murder, illegal gun possession, armed criminal action, evidence tampering and two counts of drug possession. He remained in the Boone County Jail on Monday on no bond.

Police found a man who had been shot in the chest on Saturday in a bedroom of apartment 212 at Oak Towers. The victim, Vasshon Haywood, 48, died at a hospital. Officers found and detained Graham in the Oak Towers lobby.

A witness identified Graham as the shooter, according to a probable cause statement. The witness told police that an argument had preceded the shooting.

Police found the PCP in vials in the apartment where Haywood had been shot after the man who lives there gave them to officers, the statement says. They also found shell casings and a revolver. Police later confirmed the revolver was stolen.

The probable cause statement says Graham took evidence from the crime scene to his apartment, where the cocaine was found.

Several residents told ABC 17 News that shootings were uncommon for the building.

“This is our first time really hearing about what’s going on because we didn’t know what happened,” Eight-year-Oak Towers resident Patti Robinson said. “We just woke up out of our beds and surrounded by police.”

Randy Cole, the CEO of Columbia Housing Authority, who oversees the apartment, told ABC 17 News the event was suspected to be isolated to the apartment where the shooting took place, and the surrounding residents were not directly at risk.

“CHA properties are overwhelmingly safe, approximately 93% of resident households annually do not experience an enforcement action,” Cole said in a statement.

CHA data also found that of 450 safety calls for all residences in 2025, Oak Towers made up around 21% of calls.

Cole adds that resident applicants are screened. According to the CHA website, having violence or drug-related criminal activity in the past five years, outstanding debts and negative housing reports are things that could get an application denied.

According to the PC statement, Graham had prior convictions for drug violations in 1987 and 2017 and assault in 2009. Graham was also previously charged with a misdemeanor for DWI and resisting arrest in 2023.

Due to previous charges, it was illegal for Graham to have a gun at the time of the shooting.

“There is no indication that prior safety concerns or reports contributed to this incident,” Cole said.

Residents add that most safety concerns have come from non-residents loitering outside of the building or coming inside during the evenings.

“7:00 p.m., I’m in my apartment, I’m not coming out,” Robinson said. “You’ve got to lock your doors and everything because people are walking around, twisting your doorknobs and stuff, now, that’s not good.”

Residents also voiced concerns about the recent affordable housing on East Sexton Road, with residents reporting drivers speeding in the area and pedestrians blocking the roads.

“You got all these people in wheelchairs and walkers, we need to be more safe than that, they should provide more safety for us,” Robinson said.

Cole also tells ABC 17 News there are no plans to change operations or security at the apartment at this time. He adds that staff are aware of the concerns of non-residents and that CHA’s Safety Department was expanded by one person in 2024.

“CHA staff and safety personnel are on-site and interact with residents regularly and will continue to listen to resident concerns,” Cole said.

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Nia Hinson

MACON COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Macon teenager was seriously injured in a crash in Macon County Saturday afternoon.

According to a crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the crash occurred on Route DD just after 4 p.m. The report states the 17-year-old boy was driving a 1999 Ford Ranger west, when the truck traveled off the road. The teenager then overcorrected and the truck began sliding, before eventually flipping over.

The teenager was taken to University Hospital with serious injuries.

He was not wearing a seatbelt, according to the report.

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Alison Patton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia man who was detained by ICE for several months is back in the Netherlands.

Owen Ramsignh returned to the Netherlands– where he lived as a child– early Sunday morning. Ramsingh’s close friend Robert Olson told ABC 17 News that Ramsingh touched down at the Schiphol International Airport in Amsterdam at 8:30 a.m. local time.

Ramsingh was detained for drug charges from his youth while coming back to the U.S. after a trip to see his family in the Netherlands in September. He was transferred at least once during his detainment, and his deportation flight was pushed back multiple times, according to the Bring Owen Home Facebook page updates.

“Having him out and knowing he is safe is a huge weight off of all our shoulders. Seeing him smile and hearing him laugh is the best medicine,” Olson said over text. “These past 4.5 months have been really tough, mentally exhausting and full of worry. A roller coaster of emotions.”

Olson said Ramsingh’s wife, Diana, and his daughter left on a flight out of the Columbia airport at 3 p.m. on Sunday for the Netherlands.

Diana Ramsingh told ABC 17 News that she was feeling mixed emotions about seeing Owen.

“A lot of things. Excited, anxious (just knowing all the things we have to get done in a short time), a little overwhelmed, but most importantly, excited,” Ramsingh wrote.

Olson also said he plans to visit during the first week of March.

In December, a New Mexico judge ordered Ramsingh to be deported for life. ABC 17 News spoke with an immigration attorney shortly after that ruling, who said it’s typically a 20-year sentence, with the potential to lower the sentence to eight to 10 years.

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Euphenie Andre

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Residents from three Columbia mobile home parks publicly launched a tenants union Sunday, calling on their corporate landlord to negotiate over rising costs, safety concerns, and alleged retaliation.

Tenants from Richland Heights North, Richland Heights South, and Creekwood Estates announced the formation of Columbia Tenants Union Locals 1, 2, and 3 during a press conference and rally held at Creekwood Estates. The Columba Tenants Union represent 102 households and are uniting to issue collective demands to Regal Communities, the New York–based company that owns the properties.

Tenant leaders said they are demanding that Regal Communities come to the bargaining table in good faith with a democratically elected tenant bargaining team and immediately end what they describe as retaliatory actions against residents.

Organizers said residents began organizing after months of escalating rents, unexplained fees, unsafe living conditions, and what they describe as a lack of transparency under corporate ownership. Tenants said efforts to resolve these issues privately were unsuccessful, prompting them to go public.

Regal Communities lists its core values as outstanding service, integrity, a good reputation and affordable living but tenants arrgue their experience has been the opposite.

“So many of my neighbors are in a place where they are going to end up homeless if they continue to increase rent and continue to charge these bogus fees and continue to harass and attack them,” said tenant Logan Moore.

Several residents claim rent has steadily increased, along with additional fees they describe as unclear or unjustified. Some also allege they have not been given proper access to their current lease agreements.

“Extra fees or eviction if you did not comply,” one tenant, Bruce, said while addressing the crowd.

The frustration, tenants said, is not only with the company as a whole but also with specific leadership. Residents publicly called out Regal Communities President Josh Schulman and property manager Robyn Bealler.

The crowd repeatedly chanted, “Robyn Bealler, you can’t hide, we can see your greedy side.”

“A lot of us were getting harassed on a daily basis by the property manager who was coming to tell us that they were going to evict us if we didn’t fix whatever about our porch,” Moore said.

After sharing their concerns, tenants marched to the Creekwoods leasing office, where they hand-delivered a letter demanding direct negotiations with Regal Communities leadership. Among their demands are an immediate rent freeze and the right to collectively bargain.

“Rent is increasing again for some tenants with no access to the lease that we’re currently under,” another tenant said during the event.

The properties were once owned by Jack Overton, who died in 2009. His daughter, Kris Overton Remus, said her father cared for his tenants.

“He would be rolling over in his grave if he saw what the current owners are doing to the tenants,” Kris Overton Remus said. “He very much believed in affordable housing for everyone.

Speakers at the event included tenant leaders from each of the three CTU locals, Citywide Columbia Tenants Union representative Jack Dobbs, Empower Missouri’s Vee Sanchez, and Columbia Third Ward Councilwoman Jacque Sample.

Organizers called the launch a historic moment for tenant organizing in Columbia, saying it marks the first coordinated effort among multiple mobile home parks to collectively bargain with a corporate owner.

“I think the only way to make a change, the only way that anything ever happens is when the people start actually voicing their power as a collective. Nothing ever changes if we just keep going along and doing what these greedy corporations,” James Remus said.

The Columbia Tenants Union sad it plans to take its concerns to the Missouri State Capitol on February 17 as part of Empower Missouri’s annual Day of Action.

ABC 17 News reached out to Regal Communities.

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Nia Hinson

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Michael Graham, 66, of Columbia, was arrested for the shooting death of another Columbia man Saturday night, according to a press release from the Columbia Police Department.

Graham is accused of shooting Vasshon Haywood, 48, at the Oak Towers Apartments, an affordable senior living building in Columbia.

Graham was arrested on suspicion of:

Second-degree murder

Armed criminal action

Unlawful use of a weapon

Stealing

Possession of a controlled substance

Tampering with physical evidence

Graham is being held in the Boone County Jail with no bond.

According to Columbia Police Department Lt. Anthony Bowne, police were called to the 700 block of North Garth Avenue near the Oak Towers apartment building around 9:20 p.m. Saturday night for a report of shots fired.

Police found Haywood with gunshot wounds. He was taken to a local hospital and later died from his injuries, according to the release.

Randy Cole, the CEO of Columbia Housing Authority, who oversees the apartment, told ABC 17 News the shooting was limited to a single unit and involved a conflict between two people.

Cole also said Graham is a resident of the apartment, and Haywood is not.

An ABC 17 News reporter on scene saw several CPD vehicles in the area and an ambulance leave the scene with its sirens on Saturday night.

The reporter went back to the scene Sunday afternoon, and several residents said the shooting happened on the second floor.

Check back for updates.

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Alison Patton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Super Bowl 60 is set to kick off Sunday evening, and fans are expected to spend a total of $20.2 billion in preparation, according to a report from the National Retail Federation.

That’s about a $1.6 billion increase from last year, but consumers will see an average $3.19 increase.

The report shows an individual average of $94.77, with 79% of people choosing to buy food and drinks.

Team apparel comes in much lower, with 15% of people, and 11% of people plan to buy TVs, according to the report. Decorations and furniture are the least popular, with 8% of people planning to purchase.

Over 213 million Americans plan to watch the game, and over half are expected to either go to a watch party or throw one, according to the report. About 18.2 million people plan to watch at a bar or restaurant.

Last year, the Kansas City Chiefs faced off against the Philadelphia Eagles in New Orleans for Super Bowl 59 and lost 40-22.

This year, the Super Bowl won’t be as stressful, Columbia resident Kristi Peterson said.

“We’re just going to hang out at home, with the family, watch a little of the game, since it’s a nonstressful game,” Peterson said. “But we’re looking forward to the Super Bowl halftime show.”

Peterson and her young daughter said they are both ready to dance to halftime performer Bad Bunny– a Puerto Rican artist.

The Petersons are among 18% of people who are looking forward to Bad Bunny’s performance, according to the report.

The report shows 43% of people believe the football game is most important, and 18% of people said they’re looking forward to the commercials.

Peterson said she’ll also have a few appetizers to go along with the game, in typical football fashion.

“We’ll have buffalo chicken dip and chips and salsa, and mostly just football food,” she said.

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Euphenie Andre

COLE COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A late Cole County farmer’s 178-acre Elston land was auctioned Saturday morning, despite his reported wishes for it to become a public park.

Lawrence Renn Jr., who passed away in 2021, left behind a trust intended to turn his farmland into a county park.

However, the land was sold off after Cole County dismissed its lawsuit against Hawthorn Bank, the trustee overseeing Renn’s estate, who were not in attendance at Saturday’s auction.

Nearly 100 people attended the auction, with four buyers bidding in person and one buyer participating online. The auction service reported 19 people registered on its online platform.

The 178 acres were divided up into six tracts.

Tract 1: 38.4 acres, sold for $10,250 to a phone bidder, for an estimated total of $393,600, according to Wheeler Auction & Real Estate.

Tract 2: 28.97 acres, sold for $13,250, with an estimated value of $376,610.

Tract 3: 16.69 acres, sold for $8,000 — the lowest per-acre price of the day — totaling about $133,250.

Tract 4: 16.94 acres, sold for $14,350, with an estimated value of $243,089.

Tracts 5 and 6: totaling 74.95 acres, were purchased by the same buyer. Combined, they sold for $28,500, bringing the estimated total to more than $1 million.

According to Wheeler Auction & Real Estate, the total sale price for the 178 acres exceeded $2.2 million, averaging $12,587.99 per acre.

Ron Bandelier, a neighbor of Renn, was one of the first people to arrive at the auction on Saturday.

“He [Renn] was a good friend, a good neighbor and just everybody liked him,” Bandelier said.

On Friday, Cole County Judge Joseph Shetler dismissed the case brought by Mark Knapp and Gary Scheperle, two men connected to the trust who had been fighting to stop the sale. In his ruling, Shetler stated Knapp and Scheperle are no longer beneficiaries of the Renn Trust and therefore do not have standing to sue.

“The administrators didn’t do what they should do to support him [Renn]. I think they were looking after their own interest and the money in the bank. That’s not what he wanted. He wanted that land to support the community of that area,” Bandelier said.

Since 2024, the situation has been a legal dispute. Friends and family of Renn have claimed the trustee was not transparent about the amount of money in the trust.

Cole County had entered into a 99-year lease agreement for the property, but later withdrew after Hawthorn Bank disclosed how much money was available to develop and maintain the park.

In January, Presiding Commissioner Sam Bushman told ABC 17 News the trust contained an estimated $15,000 to $20,000. He said that amount would not be enough to develop and maintain a county park without significantly affecting the county’s parks budget.

Family and friends of Lawrence Renn Jr. have insisted that millions of dollars were in the trust, specifically intended for the park.

Buyers Jared and Sarah Hotsenpiller, a married couple, purchased Tracts 5 and 6. They said they were aware of the land’s history and had previously signed the petition opposing the auction.

The Hotsenpillers plan to use the property to raise their family and build a farm.

“We are blessed to have the opportunity to buy it and continue that [Renn’s] legacy,” Jared Hotsenpiller said.

Another buyer told ABC 17 they plan to build a home on the land, while a third said they purchased their tract on behalf of a friend. Some community members told ABC 17 they hope none of the buyers decide to build apartment complexes on the property.

Bandelier said he was told most of the land would be used to build family homes. While he acknowledged that the idea sounds positive, he believes it is not what Renn would have wanted.

“He wanted the land to be to the community and it just seems like the bank didn’t give proper concern about his interests,” Bandelier said.

As of Saturday, Chuck Steck still has 39 cattle on Renn’s land. Steck said he had leased the property for more than 20 years, and about a year and a half after Renn’s passing, that lease expired. He said he reached out to several outlets to figure out how to continue making payments, but was ultimately told to keep his cattle on the land.

“Someone from the county kind of just flippantly said, ‘Well, if I were you, I’d just leave them out there until somebody told me to get them off.’ I wasn’t trying to take anything from anybody,” Steck said.

According to Steck, all of the cattle currently on the property are expected to be removed by early next week.

All buyers were required to pay a 10% downpayment Saturday, with the remaining balance due on or before Mar. 10.

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Mitchell Kaminski

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Missouri’s first month of legal sports betting generated heavy activity, but no money for education.

When Amendment 2, which legalized sports betting in Missouri, appeared on the ballot, one of its biggest supporters was the group Winning for Missouri Education. The group estimated the measure would generate $100 million in tax revenue over five years.

Under the amendment, a 10% tax on sports betting revenue is dedicated to education, but only after operators deduct expenses and contribute to the compulsive gambling prevention fund. However, what the group failed to mention is that the ballot language also allows for the possibility that no money would go to schools if taxable revenue is insufficient. 

New figures from the Missouri Gaming Commission show sportsbooks took in more than $543 million in bets during their first full month of operation. After payouts, voided wagers and promotional credits, however, the state finished $20.8 million in the red, leaving no taxable revenue to distribute under Missouri’s constitution.

A key driver was sportsbooks’ aggressive promotional betting strategy to lure in customers. 

Sportsbooks wrote off $125.1 million in free-play wagers, which are exempt from taxation under the constitutional amendment voters approved. FanDuel alone wrote off over $53 million in free-play wagers, while DraftKings wrote off $48.5 million. 

Ryan Butler, senior news analyst at Covers.com, said the early numbers reflect strong interest and a familiar rollout strategy.

“The best way to look at it is per capita spent in the biggest population and Missouri’s was pretty stronger than North Carolina, which is the most recent comparable one,” Butler said.

Butler added one of the biggest unknowns, was whether Missourians would stick with sportsbook accounts they already used in neighboring states or if there was pent-up demand for betting legally at home. He said the early data shows it was the latter, with strong interest from bettors eager to place wagers without crossing state lines.

That excitement was fueled by costly promotions.

“The free bets were pretty ridiculous, where it was if the Chiefs or Texans score a single point in their game, or if the Blues have a shot on goal,” Butler said. “The promos were very expensive and this is common.”

According to the commission’s report, total deductions, including winnings paid out and free play, reached $563.8 million, exceeding total gross revenue. The result: negative adjusted gross revenue and essentially no tax collection tied to education.

“Because of these deductions and everything with it, the sportsbooks are able to then mitigate their tax liability if they declare losses because of these free bets,” Butler said. “It’s very usual for a state in their first month to spend a lot of money like this but it’s not going to continue.”

Butler said sportsbooks expected early losses and view promotions as a long-term investment.

“It’s an investment. It’s what they call a customer acquisition tool,” Butler said. “On their financial reports leading up to it they expected to lose $20 to $30 million that first month so it’s actually a little less than they expected to lose but again, they have shown us time and time again that they’re making money. MGM just came out with their financials and they had lost billions of dollars on these kind of strategies leading up to it and now they are turning a profit. They made $250 million last year.” 

However, while Missouri finished in the red, Butler predicts that will change moving forward. 

“There were no taxes basically that’s because of all these free bets and promos. But that is going to change,” Butler said. “We’re going to see it stabilize really beginning this month. Next month, there will be less betting handle, there will be less bets placed, but there’s going to be more taxes generated.”

Missouri’s launch comes a year after it missed out on Super Bowl betting entirely. During the Chiefs’ 2024 Super Bowl run, GeoComply says it blocked 431,000 attempts by Missouri devices trying to place legal bets in other states — nearly half targeting Kansas sportsbooks.

That cross-border betting paid off for Kansas. During the Chiefs’ 2023 playoff run, Kansas collected about $600,000 in sports betting revenue. In the 2024 playoffs, that figure jumped to $1.7 million.

With the Super Bowl just two days away, sportsbooks are once again expecting large numbers. 

“It’s two teams vying for the championship of the most popular sport betting sport in America,” Johnny Avello, DraftKings ‘ head oddsmaker, told ABC 17 News. ““At this point, with three days to go before the Super Bowl,  things look pretty good.  You know, kind of where we thought our expectations would be.  But these next two days are crucial because that’s when some of the big bets and the big money comes in. Probably only 20% has been written, then there’s about 80% to go.” 

Avello said sportsbooks dramatically expand offerings for the Super Bowl, with far more betting options than a typical NFL Sunday.

“Usually on a Sunday for every game we probably have about 600 props for each game,” Avello said. “For this 1500 this week. So yeah, we increase it.”

DraftKings is also running two major promotions tied to the game, similar to those used during its initial rollout, including an offer that allows bettors to share in a $4 million prize pool if they wager on a player to score who scores the game’s longest touchdown.

“We don’t normally do two on any given Sunday or anything of this big. But for the Super Bowl we think you know it’s worth doing and people are looking for them and  plus all the other little ones that we do you know on a daily basis.” 

However, some of the novelty props offered during the Super Bowl won’t be available to Missourians due to the state’s regulatory framework. 

“Missouri won’t do coin toss, they won’t do Gatorade, they won’t even do some on-field ones,” Butler said. “The idea behind states such as Missouri that ban this is fear of manipulation.”

Butler said sportsbooks requested permission to offer certain bets, but the Missouri Gaming Commission reviewed those requests and declined them, opting for a stricter approach than some other states that have approved similar wagering options.

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Olivia Hayes

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A woman charged with felony murder is still listed on the Boone County Jail roster on Friday evening, a day after she was given a bond.

Alexis Baumann, 18, of Hallsville, saw her bond reduced to $50,000 on Thursday and is eligible for home detention. She is charged with first-degree robbery, two counts of armed criminal action and one count of felony murder.

Baumann’s other co-defendants: Kobe Aust, 18, Joseph Crane, 18, and a juvenile are still being held without bond. Aust has another bond hearing on Tuesday.

Michael Ryan Burke was shot to death on Jan. 18 in the 1400 block of Ridgemont Court. Court documents allege Burke had used Facebook Marketplace to arrange to arrange a cellphone sale. In previous reporting Baumann allegedly told officers the juvenile suspect and Crane went into the home shot Burke, took his phone, and then the group sold it at a local ecoATM.

Court documents also place Baumann and Aust in the getaway car at the time of the shooting.

A former judge told ABC 17 News that deciding a bond is one of the most difficult decisions they make.

“You have to judge whether or not the defendant, he or she, is a threat to the community,” said Gary Oxenhandler, who is a retired Boone County Circuit Judge. “Then the other side of the the scale is the presumption that we’re all innocent until proven guilty.”

Oxenhandler said it’s unlikely Baumann’s bond decision would influence the decisions for her other co-defendants due to most judges not taking influence from decisions in cases that are not theirs.

“You can hardly compare the two people that are being held without bond,” he said. “Their circumstances could be entirely different from one another.”

Aust was determined on Wednesday to not be eligible for home detention. Court documents also revealed he provided officer’s the location of where the gun used by the juvenile suspect was hidden after the shooting.

“Someone may have had a a bigger part in what transpired and that might be something that gets considered when judges are looking at the case,” Cole County Prosecutor Locke Thompson said.

Boone County Prosecutor Roger Johnson explained other factors that a judge may take into consideration with a bond decision include family ties, criminal history, mental health, employment, a risk assessment and more.

Crane has his preliminary hearing set for March 5.

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