Author: KMIZ

Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 16-year-old boy will face the adult criminal justice system after he was charged with murder and other crimes Tuesday in connection with a robbery and shooting last June.

Deshawn D. Brown of Columbia was charged Tuesday with first-degree robbery, armed criminal action and second-degree murder in the killing of Zarian Simpson. Simpson after he followed the people who had robbed him at gunpoint, court documents state.

Dispatchers heard gunfire while Simpson was on the phone with them during the chase. He went silent after the shots rang out, and his car crashed into an apartment complex near Stephens Lake Park.

Brown is accused of being one of the people in a gold SUV who allegedly robbed Simpson before his death. The SUV belongs to Brown’s mother, according to court records. Police also allegedly identified Brown as a suspect through surveillance video that showed the gold SUV and Simpson’s car.

Court documents say police interrogated another defendant, Rodney Moore, 16, who confirmed that Brown was part of the robbery of a person named “Z.” Moore also admitted to firing a gun at Simpson’s vehicle during the chase.

Brown is scheduled for an initial appearance Tuesday afternoon before Judge Kim Shaw.

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Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The state presented more witness testimony Tuesday as the jury trial for a deadly 2025 Holts Summit shooting continues.

This testimony included new information on both Smith’s retelling of events and the whereabouts of Dills’ gun following the shooting.

A 12-person jury was picked Monday to decide the fate of 38-year-old Heather Smith, who allegedly shot and killed 37-year-old Kara Dills at Hunter Lane Apartments in April 2025.

Smith is facing charges of second-degree murder, child endangerment, armed criminal action and three counts of unlawful use of a weapon.

Smith claims the shooting was in self-defense. It followed a tense situation between Smith and Dills’ family in the apartment’s parking lot after children who were family members of Smith and Dills got into an altercation while riding bikes.

Following a confrontation between Smith and Dills, Dills allegedly pistol-whipped Smith and walked away. When Dills hit Smith, the gun went off, grazing a man on his head. Smith then allegedly shot Dills in the stomach, killing her.

According to Callaway County Lt. Ryan Lacey, Smith’s testimony following the shooting differed. He confirmed that Smith made claims including Dills shot a gun at her head from a distance away during the altercation.

Dills’ mother, Deanna Dills, also revealed that following the shooting, she lied to officials about Dills’ gun.

“I was afraid for my daughter. I felt like she would get in trouble, and I didn’t want her in trouble,” Deanna Dills said. “I didn’t know she was dead yet.”

Deanna Dills later showed the gun to officials when they asked a second time later in the investigation.

Lacey also confirmed that he did not arrest Deanna Dills for initially lying about the gun for two reasons.

“The first one was the homicide investigation took priority, ensuring that all the bases were covered, all steps were taken.” Lacey said. “The second was, Deanna watched her daughter get killed.”

The prosecution alleged during opening statements that before the confrontation, Smith initially threatened both Dills’ mother and boyfriend with a gun.

Deanna Dills testified that Smith walked up to her porch first to comment about their children and then later left. Smith then returned to confront Deanna Dills again and flashed a gun that was holstered in the waistband of her shorts, allegedly saying, “I’m not afraid of nobody.”

Deanna Dills was with a 9-year-old girl, who is a close family friend and considered a granddaughter of Deanna during the altercation.

“I grabbed [her] arm started to walk backwards, I didn’t want my granddaughter to get shot by somebody, so I was just trying to get back inside,” Deanna Dills said. “I was shocked that there was a gun involved.”

Video surveillance showed Smith threatening witnesses with a pistol in the parking lot before the shooting.

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Jazsmin Halliburton

BOONVILLE, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Cooper County judge denied bond for the leader of a “cult-like” Amish community after new charges, including manslaughter, were filed against him this week.

Sam Shetler, 42, of Boonville, appeared Tuesday in front of Judge Keith Bail after the new charges were added for a previously scheduled bond reduction hearing. Bail oped against reducing Shetler’s $100,000 bond.

He will make his first appearance in court Tuesday, one day after seven new charges were filed, including manslaughter in the 2025 death of an infant.

Shetler has been held in the Cooper County Jail since his arrest last month. His lawyer had asked for a $50,000 bond, but Judge Keith Michael Bail denied that request after a statement from the victims was read.

Shetler is now charged with three counts of trafficking for forced labor, first-degree sodomy, first-degree sex abuse, four counts of kidnapping and one count of first-degree involuntary manslaughter. He was originally arrested and charged last month. The additional charges were filed on Monday.

Five new victims from the Amish community came forward to speak with investigators following Shetler’s arrest after a years-long investigation into an Amish Mennonite retreat run by Shetler, authorities allege.

Witnesses allegedly say Shetler discouraged the parents of a 6-month-old baby from getting medical help at a hospital.

According to court documents, a deputy learned from the baby’s parents that the child had been sick since March 2, 2025,  and was having breathing issues and had “turned blue.” The parents brought the baby to Shetler, who allegedly identified as a “holistic doctor.”

Shetler allegedly gave a “lavender breathing treatment” that the parents gave to the baby, but the baby was not responsive on March 6, 2025. A biology virus report indicated the baby had multiple viruses, including COVID-19.

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Olivia Hayes

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

It’s been one year since a tornado destroyed Columbia’s recycling facility and city officials told ABC 17 News the city is spending more money to transport recyclables than what it makes in return.

Recovery Supervisor Tom Elliot with the city’s Solid Waste Division said the revenue impact is due to profit sharing and contaminated material, but operations are still within budget.

“Currently, we’re getting very little value. However, it is staying out of the landfill, which is our primary objective,” Elliot said.

Elliot said the facility has also seen a drop in incoming material, meaning fewer households recycling.

“For the first half of fiscal year ’25 – that would have been October 2024 through March 2025 – there was just under 5,000 tons,” Elliot said. “The same time period from ’25 to 2026, we were right at 2700 tons of incoming material, so that’s a pretty good drop.”

Following the tornado the city contracted to split materials it takes in with a company in Jefferson city. The company helps Columbia’s operation to bale together the materials, and the bales are shipped to a processing plant in Illinois.

The money that is sent back for the materials is then split between the two operations.

Elliot explained the city used to get the full profit back when the facility had the ability to process and bale the materials completely themselves. According to Elliot the profit is even less when contaminants are found in the bales, like glass.

“We’ve asked that glass no longer be put in the co-mingled recycling,” Elliot said. “Most of the contamination that we were getting was from the drop off sites.”

One year later, Elliot said the facility is as fully operational as it can be, but with no structure to cover machinery, its all weather dependent.

In Dec. 2025, the Columbia City Council unanimously approved the construction of a new building for the recycling site. The city expects the construction to cost $3.5 million and the funds will come from an insurance reimbursement and capital funds.

The city is now taking bids for the design and build plans of the building structure, the funds do not include any machinery. Elliot said he wants the building construction to be finished by the beginning of 2028.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia City Council on Monday approved the development plan and preliminary plat of a 240-unit, multi-family housing complex in east Columbia.

The 50.8-acre complex – known as The Vantage — will be located on the east and west sides of Rolling Hills Road, south of Richland Road. The approval also comes with a revised statement of intent.

In February, the Planning and Zoning Commission voted to send the plan to the City Council. During the Feb. 5 meeting, residents had raised concerns about traffic congestion at nearby intersections. Similar concerns were raised by nearby residents over Ashford Place, a proposed triplex development that the City Council rejected in January, according to previous reporting.

Meeting documents show that sidewalks are proposed for Richland and Rolling Hills roads and the possible construction of a roundabout at the intersection of Richland Road, Grace Lane and Rolling Hills Road.

A timeline for the construction of the roundabout was not listed in city documents. Those same documents say Tori-Bens Farms would pay a “proportional contribution to offset the costs of constructing the future roundabout.”

Previous reporting shows additional plans for traffic easement included widening Richland Road to four lanes, which could be finished by 2031.

Previous reporting shows the city has cited a 2024 Boone County and City of Columbia Housing Study that identified a shortfall of roughly 900 multi-family rental units each year.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A public hearing will be held early next month about the construction of a new Columbia fire station.

The Columbia City Council on Monday approved to schedule a public hearing for Monday, May 4 for the construction of a new Fire Station No. 5 that is proposed for the intersection of Ballenger Lane and Ria Street. An interested parties meeting was held on March 18.

Previous reporting shows that $5 million was allocated by the city last year to replace the aging fire station.

Columbia Fire Assistant Chief Jeffrey Heidenreich previously said the current station is the third-busiest in the city next to the downtown station and the location on Worley Street.

The current Fire Station No. 5 was built in 1971, and city documents and previous reporting say the building is nearing the end of its lifespan, citing  the deteriorating and sinking conditions of the station. City documents describe the problems at the station as “unsolvable.”

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A fall that occurred last week at a University of Missouri construction site is being investigated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

A US Department of Labor spokesman wrote in a Monday email that OSHA has up to six months to complete its investigation.

A worker suffered minor injuries after they fell about 18 feet at a construction site, previous reporting indicates.

Workers are building the Michael L. Parson Meat Science Education and Training Laboratory at the site. Ground was broken on the project in April 2025.

The site is located on Ashland Road next to the Trowbridge Livestock Center. The worker was sent to University Hospital after the fall.  

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 33-year-old man was seriously injured in a crash on Monday evening on Deans Creek Road in Camden County, according to a crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The report says the crash occurred in the 1700 block of the road. A 33-year-old Richland man was described as a pedestrian in the report.

The man allegedly tried to stop a 2024 Polaris Ranger as it began to roll down a hill, but the man became pinned between the Polaris and a parked 2015 Mazda 3, the report says.

The man was brought to Lake Regional Hospital by a private vehicle, the report says.

The Polaris had no damage, while the Mazda had minor damage, the report says.

MSHP reports do not name those involved in crashes.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Jefferson City Council on Monday awarded a $74,800 contract to Double Arch Construction in order to repair the High Street viaduct.

Previous reporting shows that Jefferson City Public Works shut down the viaduct after what was initially reported as a pothole turned out to be a significant structural issue. Early estimates had put the cost around $34,400, per previous reporting.

Additionally, the council also approved to spend a $100,000 grant on a system study of JEFFTran, the city’s public bus system. Meeting documents from April 6 show that the grant has a 20% match.

The council also did not vote on improvements to the Jefferson City Police Department’s 911 infrastructure, which allowed the bill to expire.

If approved, it would have renewed the city’s Intrado for five years, which includes call handling. It was expected to update trunk lines to a next-generation emergency services IP network, previous reporting indicates. The issue had been tabled at prior council meetings.   

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man was charged Monday in Audrain County after he allegedly poured gas on the yard and porch of a Mexico, Missouri, home early that morning.

Cheyenne Hott, of Mexico, Missouri, was charged with first-degree attempted arson, armed criminal action and fourth-degree domestic assault, a misdemeanor. He is being held at the Audrain County Jail without bond and a confined docket hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday.

The probable cause statement says officers were called just after midnight after the victim claimed Hott had poured gasoline on the victim’s yard and porch. The victim also allegedly said Hott had been holding a butane torch, the statement says.

A witness corroborated the victim’s statement and also claimed they heard Hott say he planned on burning down the home, court documents allege.

Hott allegedly told officers that he poured gas in the street, the statement says.

Court documents say Hott allegedly told police, “If you guys are going to get me with attempt wait until I get released and I’ll show you attempt.”

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