Author: KMIZ

Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia man backed off an attempt to change his plea in a shooting case on Tuesday and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Steven M. Harris pleaded guilty in January to unlawful use of a weapon, armed criminal action and stealing a gun in a March 2025 shooting near Ninth and Walnut streets in downtown Columbia. Harris tried to retract his plea in February, but dropped that effort on Tuesday, according to court records.

According to court documents, a blue Chevrolet Tahoe hit Harris, leading him to run after the vehicle and fire a gun, which had been stolen. Officers reportedly found several shell casings and wrote in court documents that Harris dropped the gun when instructed by police.

Judge Stephanie Morrell sentenced Harris to 15 years in prison for unlawful use of a weapon and 10 years for having a stolen gun. Those sentences are concurrent and will run consecutively to a 10-year sentence for armed criminal action, for a total term of 25 years.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A car ran into a building on Broadway in downtown Columbia on Wednesday morning.

No one was injured when the four-door sedan ran into the building at 910 W. Broadway — a suite of offices. The car appeared to cause only minor damage.

Columbia Police Department Officer John Hoff said the building did not sustain any structural damage.

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Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Columbia Fire Department responded to an apartment fire in East Columbia early Wednesday morning.

Fire crews responded to a kitchen fire in the 5100 block of Clark Lane just after 4 a.m. Columbia Fire official Wayne Cummins told ABC 17 News on scene that the fire was in only one unit and that crews contained it.

Residents were evacuated, and no one was injured.

ABC 17 News crews on scene saw 11 CFD fire trucks, an MU Health ambulance and two Columbia Police vehicles.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Jefferson City Council unanimously accepted $15 million from a state appropriations bill for the for the conference center project.

House Bill 19 gives the money to the city “to fund the planning, design, and construction of a conference center and parking garage.” The funds are required to be spent by June 10, 2027, council documents say.

The council in January approved the creation of a downtown conference center transportation development district in connection with the project and construction has been ongoing. The Madison Street parking garage was knocked down in January and a new one is going to be built in its place.

Other buildings in the area – including the old Jefferson City News Tribune building at 210 Monroe St. in 2024 —were knocked down in preparation for building the new conference center, hotel and more parking. 

Council documents say a stipulation of the $15 million includes parking spaces in the new garage to be provided to the state.

Reporting from February indicates the hotel is expected to open by June 1, 2028.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man has been charged with several felonies after authorities claim he pistol-whipped someone during an armed robbery on Monday.

Royce Kemp, of Columbia, was charged on Tuesday in Boone County with first-degree robbery, armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon, second-degree assault and first-degree kidnapping. He is not listed on a jail roster and a no-bond warrant was ordered.

The probable cause statement claims Kemp went to the victim’s residence, was let in by the victim and then left. He then allegedly returned with a woman minutes later and the woman asked the victim for $50, the statement says.

Kemp allegedly then hit the victim in the back of their head with a gun and took roughly $1,800, the statement says. He then allegedly pointed the barrel to the back of the victim’s head while they were on the ground, the statement says.

Police noted seeing a cut and “a large amount of blood” at the scene.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Jefferson City man was charged with a felony and several misdemeanors after he allegedly pointed a gun at five youth during a car chase on Saturday.

Cassius Bello, 21, was charged on Tuesday in Cole County with unlawful use of a weapon and five counts of misdemeanor fourth-degree assault. He is being held at the Cole County Jail without bond. An initial court appearance is scheduled for 2 p.m. Wednesday.

The probable cause statement says a Jefferson City police officer was flagged down by five juveniles at 10:40 p.m. Saturday on the westbound Highway 50 ramp from Dix Road. The victims claimed a man in a purple Dodge Charger started chasing them from the Olive Garden, the statement says.

The youth allegedly told police that they saw Bello point a rifle with a laser at them while making threats, the statement says.

Officers found the vehicle at the Olive Garden parking lot and Bello allegedly admitted to chasing another vehicle, but denied pointing a gun, the statement says. He allegedly told officers that he grabbed the gun after it fell on the floor of the vehicle during the chase, the statement says.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Jefferson City man has been charged after law enforcement claims he possessed child sex abuse materials in Boone County.

George Haynes III, 44, was charged on Tuesday with six counts of possessing child sex abuse materials. He is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond. A court date has not been scheduled in this case.

The probable cause statement says Columbia police were investigating Haynes on Aug. 8 at the Columbia Police Department in connection with a “drug related” crime. Officers searched Haynes’ phone and allegedly found several images showing child sex abuse, the statement says.

Haynes was charged with drug possession in Boone County on June 20 and was indicted by a grand jury on Aug. 21. An arraignment is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Monday, Sept. 21.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Missouri secretary of state to use a 2025 congressional map, just days after the Missouri Supreme Court said the new map was not law.

Judge Stephen Clark ordered Tuesday that Secretary of State Denny Hoskins implement the map in the November 2026 election, instead of an older map that a Missouri Supreme Court decision ordered used last week.

The 2025 map breaks up the safely Democratic Fifth District of Kansas City, subsuming it into several other districts and theoretically giving Republicans a 7-1 advantage in U.S. House seats in Missouri. Hoskins had ruled that a petition challenging the map was unconstitutional.

However, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled last week that the petition was lawful, that it should have been certified for the ballot, and that the petition suspended the law that created the new map.

Republican congressional candidates Bob Onder and Rick Brattin sued to stop the use of the old map in federal court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

Clark issued a restraining order requiring the use of the 2025 map for 14 days while the Eastern District court hears arguments in the case.

“Using a different map for the general election would wreak havoc on the fairness and orderliness of Missouri’s congressional elections, calling into question the candidacy of those nominated in the primaries and the votes of those who voted in the primaries,” Clark wrote.

People Not Politicians filed an emergency application with the Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday night in an attempt to hold Secretary of State Denny Hoskins in contempt.

The attorney for PNP alleges in the filing that an email from Hoskins stating to use House Bill 1 following a federal TRO being filed “is a direct violation of this court’s injunction”

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Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway issued a statement in support of the ruling.

“Missouri is prepared to follow and comply with Chief Judge Clark’s order that binds the state to using the Missouri First map for the November General Election. We appreciate Judge Clark’s support of the rights of Missouri voters, and intend to comply with this federal ruling. We maintain that changing the congressional map in between the primary and general elections is simply not feasible and profoundly unjust to Missouri voters,” Hanaway was quoted in the release.

Secretary of State Denny Hoskins issued a statement in favor of the TOR.

“The Missouri First Congressional Map stands as the Law of the Land. I promised I would never stop fighting for Missourians and I have gone to the mat on that. Today United States District Court, Eastern District Judge Stephen Clark issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO), mandating use of HB-1, the Missouri First Congressional Map,” Hoskins’ statement says. “This victory halts a full-on constitutional crisis. It ensures the candidates Missourians nominated in the August primary election are the same candidates running in the same congressional districts they will vote on in the November general election. This is a win for Missouri-and a win for constitutional conservativism and I am proud to lead this charge.”

Republican State Sen. Rick Brattin – who is running for the Fifth District — issued a statement in favor of the federal court’s TRO.

“While I am disappointed that the U.S. Supreme Court was not able to grant relief, I understand that the standard for review in our nation’s highest court limits what they can do in an unprecedented case such as this one,” the statement says. “I am glad for the citizens of our state that the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri issued a stay that will allow the use of the Missouri First map for the general election, ensuring voters will not be disenfranchised by being forced to vote in a different district for November.”

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Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon wrote on her social media that her office is “is unclear how the state’s 5pm deadline interacts with federal courts.”

The 2025 map was used in the August primaries to select party nominees after Hoskins declared the petition drive invalid. The Missouri Supreme Court’s ruling last week overturned Hoskins’ decision about the petition and said the 2025 map was not in effect.

However, voters in November will decide on whether to carry the Republican-friendly 2025 map into future elections.

Republicans in the General Assembly approved the new map last year at the urging of Gov. Mike Kehoe and the White House, overriding a map redrawn after the 2020 census.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh on Tuesday also rejected Attorney General Catherine Hanaway’s request that the high court intervene.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man who was accused of trying to toss someone out of a two-story window in January has been booked into the Boone County Jail.

Michael Wright, 39, of Columbia, was charged in February with first-degree domestic assault and fourth-degree domestic assault. He was booked into the jail at 11:04 p.m. Monday. He is being held without bond. An initial court appearance was held on Tuesday.

The probable cause statement says deputies were called to an apartment after the victim claimed Wright tried to kill the victim after Wright threw their phone out the window. The statement says the victim woke up Wright so they pick up their children and an argument started.

Wright then allegedly picked up the victim and tried to throw them out of a window. A youth in the apartment reportedly also told police they had saw Wright pick up the victim.

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Ellyse Edwards

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia City Council on Tuesday night unanimously approved an ordinance that will nearly double the number of downtown parking spaces designated for taxis and rideshare services.

The proposal expands the downtown taxi and rideshare footprint from 34 spaces to 66. It would expand the start time to 9 p.m., two hours earlier than the previous 11 p.m. start time. The stands will continue operating until 2 a.m.

The designated areas would include parking spaces along Broadway, Cherry, Ninth, Tenth and Walnut streets.

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The ordinance would also include food and package delivery drivers, impose a 15-minute loading and unloading limit and allow emergency services to use the designated areas while the ordinance is in effect.

Columbia Public Works and the Columbia Police Department proposed the changes in response to increased rideshare use downtown. According to a council memo, the city intends for the ordinance to reduce traffic congestion, illegal stopping and double parking while improving pedestrian safety.

CPD reported an increase in overnight traffic congestion connected to rideshare operators and customers violating traffic laws in August 2025. The city said those problems stemmed from a lack of designated places for operators and customers to use rideshare services.

Documents state the city tested portions of the proposed ordinance during two University of Missouri football game weekends last fall.

On Sept. 19-20, 2025, the city temporarily blocked metered parking spaces to create a rideshare pull-off zone. The following month, the city again blocked off metered parking and worked with Uber and Lyft to test designated pickup and drop-off areas.

During the October pilot, Uber and Lyft directed customers to the designated locations through their smartphone applications. The city said both pilot weekends resulted in a dramatic reduction in traffic violations and an overall improvement in pedestrian safety.

“During this testing both rideshare platforms guided patrons to the specific locations for pick up inside of their smartphone applications. The results of both of these pilot weekends saw a dramatic reduction in traffic violations and an overall improvement in pedestrian safety,” city documents say.

A council memo says the city also asked for feedback from rideshare drivers and customers during the pilots and received positive responses. According to the memo, rideshare drivers reported that the arrangement felt safer, while one driver said drivers needed clearer directions for operating downtown.

The Community Improvement District provided positive feedback on an earlier version of the ordinance. The city says a majority of the district supports updating the ordinance’s hours.

The city estimates updating signs at the designated stands will cost $750, with a negligible long-term financial impact.

The city wants to have the new ordinance in place ahead of the next Mizzou home football game on Sept. 19.

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