Author: KMIZ

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia Board of Education on Monday night approved two people for leadership positions within the district, a Tuesday press release says.

Adam Taylor was picked as Columbia Public Schools’ chief academic officer for the 2025-26 school year, while Allison Chostner was chosen as Benton STEM Elementary School’s next principal, the release says.

Taylor is currently the executive director of secondary education and will replace Jeff Klein, who was recently announced the district’s next superintendent. The release says Taylor is a CPS graduate who has more than a decade of educational experience, including roles as athletic director, assistant principal and principal at Battle High School.

He also taught personal finance, business law and global business at Hickman High School for five years, the release says.

Chostner is currently the assistant principal at Benton STEM Elementary School and will replace Sarah Sicht, who is becoming the principal at Eagle Bluffs Elementary School, the release says.

Chostner has 17 years of experience in elementary education and has served as Benton STEM’s assistant principal since 2020, the release says. She has also served as an assistant principal at Bush Elementary School in Fulton. She began her career as a teacher at Parkade and Midway Heights elementary schools.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia businesswoman accused of fraud and embezzlement pleaded guilty on Thursday to two counts.

Kathryn L. Cunningham pleaded guilty in federal court to wire fraud and not paying payroll taxes. She was originally charged with 38 counts, which included bank fraud, stealing from an organization that receives federal funds and wire fraud.  

Cunningham is the former owner and CEO of payroll company Moresource, which had about 140 clients when it closed in 2020, according to previous reporting.

Cunningham was accused of embezzling from the payroll account that was held in trust for the company’s clients. Cunningham stole about $1.5 million for her personal benefit and to run her company, previous reporting indicates.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Macon County, man was charged with a felony and two misdemeanors after authorities allege that he raped a woman on Saturday.

Cameron Hunter, 18, of Bevier, Missouri, was charged Tuesday in Macon County with first-degree rape and two misdemeanors: second-degree sexual abuse and third-degree kidnapping. He is being held at the Macon County Jail without bond, according to a press release from the Missouri State Highway Patrol. A mugshot was not immediately available.

The probable cause statement says that the victim arrived at Hunter’s residence for a bonfire on Saturday with several people. The alleged victim walked into the residence, didn’t see anyone and went back outside to ask for help finding people at the home, the statement says.

The victim and a man found Hunter laying on his bed and the man left after Hunter told him to sleep on the couch, the statement says. Hunter then allegedly raped the victim while she told him to stop, the statement says.

The victim at one point was able to slip away from Hunter during the assault and contacted someone to get her, the statement says.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Ken Rice has thrown his hat in the Second Ward Columbia City Council race.

Rice made the announcement in a Tuesday afternoon press release. The city called for a special election on Aug. 5 after Ward 2 Councilwoman Lisa Meyer announced that she would step down on May 16. Rice wrote in his release that Meyer asked him to run for her seat.

Rice recently ran an unsuccessful bid for a Columbia Board of Education seat in the April election. He made headlines later in the month by asking for community help in paying off school lunch debt.

City Clerk Sheela Amin told ABC 17 News that Rice submitted his election petition on Tuesday morning and the city is in the process of reviewing it to determine if it’s sufficient. Tuesday was the first day candidates could file.

Election packets can be picked up at the city clerk’s office and candidates have until June 3 to file, according to previous reporting.

In his release, Rice wrote that affordable housing and addressing infrastructure and public safety needs would be focuses of his campaign.

“In our city’s council-manager form of government, leadership is about collaboration, accountability, and long-term thinking. The city manager runs the day-to-day operations—but it’s the council that sets the direction, the values, and the policies that shape how our city grows, serves, and thrives. I’m running because I want to be your voice in that process,” Rice wrote in the release. “I’m running because I believe in the power of public service, and I believe in us—the people who make up this city, from every neighborhood and every walk of life.”

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man who is accused of shooting two Pettis County deputies earlier this month is facing additional federal charges.

James Joseph Elsea, 62, of Marshall, was indicted on Tuesday with possessing with intending to distribute methamphetamine, shooting a gun while committing a drug trafficking crime and being a felon with a gun.

He was previously charged on May 2 with being a felon with a gun. He is being held at the Cole County Jail.

According to court documents in previous reporting, deputies served a “no-knock” warrant for a drug investigation on Friday, May 2 at a house in the 27000 block of Route BB. Court documents said that Elsea is “known to be armed.”

The SWAT team began cutting into the door when Elsea fired four shots, the complaint says. One SWAT member returned fire, the complaint says.

One of the injured SWAT members was brought to University Hospital with a shattered femur and was sent to surgery. The other was brought to Bothwell Hospital and was eventually released the same day, the statement says. The identities of the injured SWAT members have not been stated.

A gun was found in the residence.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Boonville man has been charged with second-degree felony murder in a 2021 overdose death that occurred in Columbia.

Cameron Comstock, 25, is accused of selling fentanyl to a woman on Nov. 6, 2021. A warrant was ordered on Tuesday and no bond was set. A court date has not been scheduled. He is being held at Northeast Correctional Center for other charges.

The probable cause statement says that police were called to the 2600 block of Quail Drive on Nov. 7, 2021, for a report of a dead woman at a residence.

A roommate allegedly told police that the woman had bought fentanyl from Comstock the day before, the statement says. Court documents say that a drug at the scene tested positive for methamphetamine and fentanyl.

Comstock allegedly took a vehicle from the residence, police found it the same day and a chase ensued, court documents say. Comstock allegedly told police that the victim asked him to find heroine and sold her a gram for $100, the statement says.

Comstock allegedly showed police text messages of the deal getting set up, the statement says.

Court documents say that an autopsy showed the woman died from an accidental overdose of fentanyl and methamphetamine.

Court filings show he is serving time for multiple cases. In one case, he pleaded guilty to first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle, resisting arrest, leaving the scene of an accident and misdemeanor reckless driving. In another case he pleaded guilty to stealing a vehicle.  

He was sentenced to probation in both cases, but it was revoked after a violation. He also pleaded guilty in another case to first-degree tampering with a vehicle and misdemeanor driving while revoked. He is serving a 12-year sentence in total.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Mexican national who previously lived in Osage Beach was indicted by a federal grand jury on Tuesday for two felonies, according to a press release from the Department of Justice.

Israel Ramirez-Jaramillo, 33, was charged with illegal reentry by a previously deported immigrant and being an illegal alien with a gun.

The release says Ramirez-Jaramillo was found with a gun on April 20 and that he was previously deported on July 13, 2011. It also states that he never obtained the consent from the Attorney General or the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to reapply for admission.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A woman was seriously injured Monday night in a crash on eastbound Interstate 44 in Pulaski County, according to a crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The report says the crash occurred after a 29-year-old St. Robert man lost control of his 2016 Hyundai Genesis on the wet roadway, overcorrected and went off the right side of the road. The car then became airborne and hit several trees, the report says.

A 26-year-old Waynesville woman – who was a passenger in the vehicle – was seriously injured and was brought to Mercy Hospital in Springfield by ambulance, the report says. The man had minor injuries and was brought to the same hospital by ambulance, according to the report.

The vehicle was totaled.

MSHP reports do not name those involved in crashes.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Three women were injured Monday in a single-vehicle crash in the westbound lane of Interstate 44 in Phelps County near mile marker 172, according to a crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The report says the crash occurred as a 2024 Chrysler Sebring – driven by a 24-year-old Salem woman — went off the right side of the road, overturned and ejected all three women.

A 26-year-old passenger was flown to University Hospital in Columbia with serious injuries, the report says. The 24-year-old was brought to Phelps Health Hospital in Rolla by ambulance with serious injuries, the report says.

A 23-year-old passenger had minor injuries and was brought by ambulance to Phelps Health, the report says. None of the women were wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash, the report says. The vehicle was totaled.

MSHP reports do not name those involved in crashes.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia sex offender was indicted in federal court on Tuesday for a child pornography charge, according to a press release from the Department of Justice.

Andrew Charles Nicholls, 38, was charged last month in the Western District Court of Missouri with sending and receiving child pornography. He is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond.

Tuesday’s press release says that Nicholls used a dark web browser to send and keep child porn.

Court documents in previous reporting say the Boone County Sheriff’s Office Cyber Crimes Task Force received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children on Jan. 5 about Nicholls uploading multiple child porn files to his Google account.

Google was initially aware of the uploads on Sept. 5, the complaint says. The email on the NCMEC report matched Nicholls’ email on the sex offender registry, as did the phone number, court documents say.

The IP address also allegedly matched a device at Nicholls’ residence, court documents say. Nicholls was arrested for a different charge in March and law enforcement took his cellphone, examined it and found child porn, the complaint says.

He is also charged in Boone County with second-degree kidnapping and his bond was surrendered. He is also charged in Boone County with first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle. He appeared for a hearing on Monday by video from the jail.

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