Author: KMIZ

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Stover man who was charged last month with several child sex crimes has been accused of several more crimes.

Joseph Kucera, 79, was charged on Thursday with four counts of second-degree child molestation of a child younger than 12 years old. He was charged last month with four counts of third-degree child molestation of a child younger than 14 years old. He is being held at the Morgan County Jail on a $500,000 bond in the new case.

A disposition hearing for his original set of charges is scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 19.

The probable cause statement for his new charges says two more potential victims came forward to law enforcement on July 24 after Kucera was charged and in jail. The victims described multiple assaults that allegedly occurred as far back as 2022, the statement says.

Previous reporting indicates two victims were sexually abused by Kucera and he allegedly admitted to molesting one of them.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Mary Lou Craig has been named Macon’s interim city administrator, the city announced in a Wednesday social media post.

Craig replaces Scott Meszaros, who was fired last week after only working since March 1.

The post says Craig has worked for the city as either the city clerk or assistant city administrator since 2014 and was previously the city clerk in Shelbina for 12 years.

The City Council will begin advertising for the position and taking applications immediately, the post says.

“Mrs. Craig has effectively served as the Assistant City Administrator and we feel very confident in her ability to step in as the Interim as we navigate the future for administrative roles at City Hall,” Mayor Tony Petre was quoted in the release.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man who was accused of shooting at three people in a vehicle last year in downtown Columbia has been sentenced on Thursday to 25 years in prison.

Charlie Sneed III, 42, of Aurora, Colorado, was found guilty by a jury on June 4 of unlawful use of a weapon involving shooting at a vehicle, unlawful use of a weapon involving showing a weapon in an angry or threatening manner, armed criminal action, illegal gun possession, armed criminal action and tampering with evidence. He’s currently being held at the Boone County Jail.

A press release from the Boone County prosecutor’s office says Sneed was walking on Broadway in downtown Columbia on Aug. 3, 2024, and walked up to three people who were standing near their vehicle. The release says Sneed “became aggressive,” pulled out a gun and shot at the people, who went into the vehicle.

“Mr. Sneed fired one bullet in the direction of the vehicle the three individuals were in and then attempted to hide the firearm inside of a flowerpot before fleeing the area,” the release says.

Police heard the shots and arrested him within minutes, the release says.

Court documents in previous reporting say police found a spent shell casing in the area, as well as a gun in the flower pot.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia woman was charged with three felonies and a misdemeanor after she was accused of assaulting another person with a baseball bat.

Essence Jones, 25, was charged with second-degree domestic assault, second-degree robbery, armed criminal action and second-degree property damage, a misdemeanor. She is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond. A court date has not been scheduled.

The heavily redacted probable cause statement says Jones allegedly assaulted the victim on Wednesday. The victim allegedly told police that they answered the door and Jones tackled and hit them, the statement says.

Jones allegedly then hit the victim in their ribs with a baseball bat, the statement says. Police saw blood in multiple rooms, court documents say. Witnesses allegedly saw the assault, as well as Jones taking keys and trying to prevent the victim from taking them back, court documents say.

Jones then allegedly went outside and used a baseball bat to destroy the rear window of a 2022 Nissan Altima, court documents say. Police found the bat in the kitchen, the statement says. Police also detailed injuries to the victim in the statement.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia man was charged on Wednesday after authorities say he raped a child in July.

Jason White, 47, was charged with first-degree rape and first-degree endangering the welfare of a child involving drugs. He is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond. A court date has not been scheduled.

The heavily redacted probable cause statement says White bought marijuana from a business on July 16 and later asked the youth to smoke. The child allegedly told police that they took one hit but “didn’t feel right” afterwards and eventually fell asleep, the statement says. The youth woke up White raping them, court documents say.

White also allegedly knew the age of the victim, but made claims police to police that it was consensual, court documents say.

Another person in the apartment building allegedly told police that they saw White with the youth and noticed the child’s pupils were enlarged, court documents say.

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Matthew Sanders

SEDALIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe opened the Governor’s Ham Breakfast on Thursday morning at the Missouri State Fair.

The yearly dinner serves as a showcase for officeholders and politicians.

Watch Kehoe’s remarks in the media player.

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ABC 17 News Team

By Alison Patton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A health expert claims there is no “documented guideline” for treating a rare brain infection that the Department of Health and Senior Services said on Wednesday could have been contracted by someone at the Lake of the Ozarks.

University of Missouri infectious disease expert Dr. Christian Rojas Moreno described the hurdles in treating Naegleria fowleri, which can lead to an infectioncalledprimary amebic meningoencephalitisalso known as a “brain-eating” infection.

Cases of the disease are rare, which makes diagnosing the brain-eating amoeba difficult because the symptoms overlap with other diseases. 

Rojas Moreno said symptoms show up about one to 12 days after the amoeba makes its way into the brain by entering through the nose. Meningitis, or inflammation in the brain, is a common symptom of a brain eating amoeba.

“We will evaluate for other causes of meningitis, bacterial viral and others,” Rojas Moreno said. “When that testing is negative, we might start expanding our evaluations.” 

Other symptoms include severe headache, fever, stiff neck, vomiting or changes in mental state, Rojas Moreno said. If these symptoms are present, seek medical attention immediately. 

Boone Health infectious disease Physician Phillip Beck said the best way to identify the infection in a patient is knowing if they went swimming. 

“It’s a really high index of suspicion,” Beck said. “This patient has been in the water in the summer time and underwater, getting the water into their nasal cavity.”

A Wednesday press release from the Missouri DHSS called the infection “rare occurrence.”

Once the cause of meningitis is known, doctors can then administer medicine through an IV, Rojas Moreno said. 

Meningitis also causes pressure to build up in the brain from fluid, so a spinal tap might be necessary, Beck added.  Beck also said most cases are diagnosed post mortem because the amoeba takes over the brain so violently.

“The way this amoeba works is that it actually will ingest and kill cells in the central nervous system. So it’s a very nasty process,” Beck said.

An epidemiologist from the DHSS told ABC 17 News on Wednesday that treatment can often be difficult because of how few cases health officials see each year. Nathan Koffarnus, of the DHSS, said around three cases occur in the US each year. Rojas Moreno shared a similar sentiment.

“Because it has been probably many, many exposures over the years and the infection numbers are very low,” Rojas Moreno said. 

From 1962-2024, there were 167 cases reported around the country, according to the DHSS press release from Wednesday.

Rojas Moreno recommends avoiding exposure if possible, but if not he said wearing a nose clip while swimming in bodies of water where the amoeba could live. 

Check back for updates.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Cole County’s top prosecutor will not accept criminal cases submitted by a deputy who recently pleaded guilty to a pair of misdemeanors.

Prosecutor Locke Thompson wrote a letter to Cole County Sheriff John Wheeler saying he would not take cases submitted by Mercy Gonzalez, who pleaded guilty last week to reckless driving and failing to obey a traffic control device.

Thompson’s letter is dated Monday, Aug. 11 and Gonzalez pleaded guilty on Friday, Aug. 8. She was sentenced to two years of unsupervised probation, ordered to complete 40 hours of community service within six months and complete the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Emergency Vehicle Operations Course in October.

She faces a year in jail if she violates her probation.

“As a matter of policy, the Cole County Prosecutor’s Office does not accept criminal referrals from law enforcement officers who have previously pled guilty to any felony or who are currently subject to any criminal diversion program or on probation, whether felony or misdemeanor,” the letter states. “As a result of the guilty plea referenced above, Deputy Gonzalez now falls under this category, and no criminal referrals submitted by her to the Cole County Prosecutor’s Office will be accepted.”

Gonzalez was previously listed as a school resource officer in the Blair Oaks R-2 School District, though her information no longer appears on the district’s website.

Court documents in previous reporting say Gonzalez crashed her patrol vehicle with a Honda Pilot at the intersection of Highway 179 and West Edgewood Drive in Jefferson City on Dec. 15, 2023.

The Honda was driving on West Edgewood Drive when it was hit by Gonzalez’s Dodge Charger that was driving 115 miles per hour while going south on Highway 179, court documents say. Gonzalez had her emergency lights on, but court documents do not clarify if she was in a chase. The probable cause statement says Gonzalez tried to steer away from the victim’s vehicle, but was unsuccessful.

Letter Re Deputy Mercy Gonzalez 8.11.25Download

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Meghan Drakas

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

While authorities and family members continue to search for answers, Columbia police are revealing new details about the homicide case of Edmond ‘Ricky’ Randolph Jr.

“Not knowing what happened to him is still troubling,” Randolph’s mother Nicole Craig said. “It’s still a struggle.”

Ricky Randolph Jr. with his daughter. (Credit: Nicole Craig)

Around 6:45 a.m. on June 25, 2016, a Columbia Police Department Lieutenant Matt Gremore said officers responded to a cardiac arrest call in the 2900 of Leeway Drive in northeast Columbia. Authorities were called to Apartment D, where they found the 25-year-old dead.

“As soon as the officers got here, they tried to do CPR, but it was quickly discovered he was deceased,” Gremore said. “Essentially, a resident that came home from work walked into the apartment and discovered that obviously he was hurt and she believed — in the 911 call — that he was deceased.”

Columbia police investigate the homicide of Edmond ‘Ricky’ Randolph Jr. on Leeway Drive in northeast Columbia on June 25, 2016.

Gremore said at the time, he was in the Street Crimes Unit and was called in to work the scene.

“My job became trying to track down witnesses or anybody that knew anything relative to the case,” Gremore said.

Police did not initially reveal his cause of death.

Months after the homicide in September 2016, there was speculation drugs may have been involved in Randolph’s death. Gremore said he could not confirm or deny if drugs were involved in the case.

“There’s things that you want to get directly from the killer in an interview,” Gremore said. “And if you put that out in the press where everybody know that, it taints the interview. So the idea that they withheld that from the beginning makes sense.”

“He had some trouble in his life and he turned his life around,” Craig said. “It’s unfortunate that he’s not here today.”

Nine years later, police now say Randolph was found laying on his back in the living room with multiple gunshot wounds, including once in the back of his head. Police said there were no other apparent injuries.

Ricky Randolph Jr. and his fiancé Cassandra Alexander. (Credit: Nicole Craig)

“There’s no indication of any forced entry,” Gremore said. “It’s unknown how if the individual that came in knew Ricky or how that came about.”

When asked if there was one or multiple suspects in the case, as well as if more than one gun was used, Gremore said he would not be able to confirm or deny any information. He said there are persons of interest in the case, but Gremore did not identify them.

He said police found shell casings, fingerprints and DNA evidence, which was sent off to the Missouri State Highway Patrol labs.

“As of today, we have not had anything come back that would take us into a position to arrest someone,” Gremore said.

A year after Randolph was killed, his mother, Nicole Craig spoke with ABC 17 News.

“It’s so heartbreaking that as small as Columbia is, nobody wants to say anything,” Craig said in 2017. “That’s what’s killing me the most.”

Eight years after that interview, those words still hold true. Craig said her son who was a brother, fiancé and father, who is “truly missed.”

Ricky Randolph Jr. with his daughter Rikkia Randolph. (Credit: Nicole Craig)

“I still feel the same way I felt when I found out he was deceased: Hurt and upset,” Craig said. “Pain is the best way to describe my loss. I’ve cried dearly for him to give me a sign or just to be able to see him again. It’s been very, very difficult for me and my family.”

Craig said her son was a charismatic man who loved to cook and tell jokes. She said, at one point, he worked as a chef for the University of Missouri and was training to become an assistant manager at Burger King in Columbia. He also became engaged shortly before he was killed.

“What I miss truly about him is the bright light that shines on him,” Craig said. “He was full of life.”

In the years following his death, she said her grandchildren have had a difficult time growing up without a father.

“They struggle, especially during birthdays, holidays, Father’s Day, they struggle,” Craig said. “They want to know what happened to their dad and I can’t explain it. I can’t give them one answer to say ‘hey, this is what happened,’ that kind of thing.”

She’s asking the community to step up and help bring answers to her son’s case.

“If you know something, please come forward, please. That’s all I ask,” Craig said. “Think of yourself as this could be your loved one. And your family wants to know what happened to their loved one. I think it’s only fair that people would come forward and stop living in this concept of, you know, hey, don’t ask, don’t tell, kind of thing.”

Case developments

Over the years, Gremore said multiple tips have come into Columbia/Boone County Crimestoppers. He said the most-recent one — at the time of publication — came in was in 2021.

“Our motto is if you see something, say something,” Columbia/Boone County Crimestoppers Board President John Fields said. “Because we know you know something, just get paid for what you know.” 

Columbia/Boone County Crimestoppers Board President John Fields sits down for an interview with ABC 17 News in studio in Columbia, Missouri, on Thursday, July 17, 2025.

Fields says Crimestoppers works to help solve any felony cases stemming from assault to homicide.

“We’re actively working with some other victims of homicides right now,” Fields said. “We know through working with the mothers of some of these victims of homicides that there were witnesses. And we would love for those witnesses to come forward and give these mother’s closure.”

That’s something Randolph’s mother has been asking for since her son was killed.

Edmond ‘Ricky’ Randolph Jr. with his mother, Nicole Craig. (Credit: Nicole Craig)

“I think of my son everyday,” Craig said. “I miss him dearly and I just pray one day that someone will come forward and say, ‘hey, I know exactly what happened to your son’ and we can move on from there and he can get justice.”

Craig says even after all this time, she still prays that one day, she will get her answers.

“I strongly believe that although its been some time since he’s passed away, I still believe in the judicial system,” Craig said. “I just keep praying that I’ll still get the answers that I’ve been seeking for so long.”

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Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Eastbound I-70 drivers will get to explore one of the first developments in the Missouri Department of Transportation’s Improve I-70 Project, with MoDOT set to reopen newly paved lanes and a new third lane.

The renovations were focused on eastbound I-70 between Callaway County Routes J and M and exit 137 near Route J will be reopened.

MoDOT crews will be working overnight Friday into Saturday morning clearing the barriers. The eastbound road is expected to be fully clear Saturday.

“We were thrilled to have this new high-quality pavement that we’re going to open up tomorrow,” Improve I-70 Central Project Director Jeff Gander said during a Thursday press conference.

Drivers heading into Columbia from eastern Missouri should expect upcoming traffic delays later this August as the Missouri Department of Transportation plans to work on the westbound lanes.

Similar to the previous eastbound construction, westbound construction will shift traffic onto the median of I-70 and feature concrete barriers that will narrow lanes to 10 feet and reduce speeds to 55 mph. The traffic shift is expected to start on Aug. 22. Construction is expected to repave the roads and add a third lane.

“We’re adding the third lane in the middle, but we are also completely rebuilding the two outside lanes as well,” Gander said. “When we get done with this stretch, it will it will be six brand new lanes of concrete from one end to the other.”

During construction, there will be no westbound access to or from Exit 137. Alternate routes include, Exit 144, north Outer Road 70 to Route J and the north Outer Road 70 to Exit 133.

Gander added the westbound section of the project will be completed faster than the eastbound section with Missouri expecting drier weather and crews being more comfortable with equipment.

“We had an excessive amount of rain in June and July, that is a little bit abnormal for this area,” Gander said. “It was our new experience, our first experience with some of the paving equipment that we’re using.”

Columbia residents Shahrokh Zadehahmadsabzi and Ryan McKiney both support the addition of the third lane and were not majorly concerned about continued construction.

“I’d like to go to St Louis a good amount of times because I have a lot of friends that I go to SLU or live there over breaks and stuff, I think it’s going to be a lot easier to go there and back,” Zadehahmadsabzi said.

“I’m really frustrated any time I’m on a two-lane highway and it feels like there’s a truck randomly in the left lane and that traffic could be going a whole lot faster and it’s not,” McKiney said. “Adding a third lane, I think it’s better.”

Gander said that the biggest difficulty during construction was high-speed drivers, reporting 20 to 25 crashes at the work site and some cars traveling 70 mph in work zones. He added that MoDOT is also closely working with first responders like the Missouri State Highway Patrol to step up efforts in curbing speeding.

“I’m not going to ask you to do the math, but it’s 90 seconds is the difference, going 70 versus 55 through the six-mile stretch,” Gander said. “For our own safety and for the worker’s safety and for the other drivers on the road, we can all spare that 90 seconds.”

The Improve I-70 Project is expected to be completed at the end of 2027.

Check back for updates.

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