Author: KMIZ

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man who sexually assaulted a woman in a parking lot in 2024 has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Nicholas Mathews, 24, of Columbia, pleaded guilty on Friday to first-degree sodomy and armed criminal action. Matthews will also be registered as a sex offender. He is currently being held at the Boone County Jail.

He was previously charged with first-degree sodomy, armed criminal action, first-degree kidnapping, third-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon.

Court documents in previous reporting say Mathews pulled out a large knife and knocked down the victim in a parking lot at 1 a.m. April 2. He then sexually assaulted the woman.

Mathews allegedly confessed at the time about assaulting the victim and told police that he follows vehicles and has “urges to assault women,” the statement says. He denied having a knife.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Romanian national has been charged in federal court with wire fraud after authorities claim he would use a “sleight-of-hand” trick on Walmart cashiers.

Federal court documents involving Hozu Rostas, 25, were unsealed on Thursday. Court documents say Rostas is in ICE custody.

Court documents allege Rostas would “shortchange” cashiers when buying merchandise and would then exchange the receipts for a full refund at other stores. The indictment lists the Conley Road Walmart in Columbia as the location he went to on June 7.

Court documents say after cashiers scanned the merchandise, Rostas would count out cash into separate piles and hand one at a time to the cashiers. After he gave the cashiers separate piles of cash “that added up to at least the full amount owed for the transaction, he took the cash back from the cashiers and gathered it into a single pile,” documents claim.

The indictment says before he gave the pile of cash back to cashiers, “he held the cash close to his body with both hands and used one of his hands to furtively take some of the cash from the bottom of the pile, which he then held until he could place the money into his pants pocket.”

“At the same time that ROSTAS pocketed a portion of the cash, he used his other hand to give the cashiers what was left of the cash, deceiving the cashiers into believing that he had handed them back the full amount of the cash,” according to the indictment.

The probable cause statement alleges that on June 7, he shortchanged the Conley Road Walmart by roughly $2,500 while purchasing $3,196 of merchandise. He also allegedly did this the same day at the Moberly Walmart.

The statement claims Walmart had lost $167,000 from Rostas doing this from February 2025-June 2026 at Walmarts in multiple states.

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Melissa Houston

HUNTSVILLE, Mo. (KMIZ)

A detective testified about the role a man accused of evidence tampering played in the events that led to a Randolph County teenager’s death during the suspect’s preliminary hearing Friday.

Judge Mason Gebhardt said Friday that he would consider binding Julian Mason over for trial after Mason’s preliminary hearing. His next court appearance is set for 9 a.m. Sept. 23.

Mason is one of the co-defendants facing charges for being a part of the murder of a Moberly girl, Kayla Huff, 16, who was killed in May.

Mason is charged with first-degree kidnapping, felony evidence tampering, second-degree burglary and first-degree property damage.

Prosecuting Attorney Stephanie Luntsford called Randolph County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Nathan West to the stand, who testified about the timeline of his investigation.

West testified that through cellphone records of a codefendant’s phone, Mason was tracked driving to Huff’s residence, where what the codefendants believed to be motor oil at the time was poured into Huff’s car, later disabling it. According to West, Mason was responsible for holding the funnel in the gas tank so the substance could be poured into the car.

West also testified that Mason and another codefendant were responsible for hiding the baton used to assault Huff.

After investigators did not take the baton into evidence, Mason and Hunter Ames drove the baton near County Line Road and hid it, according to West, creating grounds for the tampering with evidence charge.

During cross-examination, Mason’s defense attorney, John Barron, argued for dismissal of some charges.

The defense argued that the prosecutors presented no evidence showing Mason physically removed Huff, so the kidnapping charge should be dropped. Barron asked West if there was any evidence of Mason doing so, and West said no.

Gebhardt responded to the defense’s arguments by saying that “nobody jumps into a trunk voluntarily.” The prosecution argued that Mason acted as an accomplice.

The defense also argued that Mason did not physically enter the victim’s vehicle, and that tampering with the outside of the car, the gas tank, held no grounds for a burglary charge.

The prosecution said that, according to the burglary statute, Mason did enter into the gas tank to pour the substance in. The prosecution stated that entering a vehicle’s body is not required, but because Mason inserted the funnel, it satisfies the charge, and pouring the substance into the tank was sufficient to support the property damage charge.

The judge made no rulings Friday, taking the arguments under consideration before scheduling the Sept. 23 court date.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Glass recycling is coming back in one form for Columbia trash customers.

The City of Columbia Utilities announced in a Friday press release that the city is partnering with Ripple Glass to off free glass recycling drop-off.

Residents can drop off glass food and drink containers in the Ripple’s bin at the landfill at 5700 Peabody Road.

Glass will still not be accepted for curbside collection and should not be placed inside residential blue recycle bags, the release says.

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Ellyse Edwards

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia Police Department is inviting local bar owners and managers to a closed-door meeting next week to discuss safety and cooperation between law enforcement and the city’s nightlife establishments.

The roundtable is scheduled for 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Molly Bowden Community Policing Center, according to an invitation obtained by ABC 17 News.

The invitation says the meeting will focus on building a stronger partnership between police and bars. Police plan to provide safety updates and resources while giving bar leaders time to share their concerns and ideas for keeping Columbia’s nightlife district “safe and thriving,” according to the message sent to bar owners.

The meeting is restricted to bar owners, general managers and high-level operations staff. It will not be open to the public or non-management employees. Attendees must register by 5 p.m. Tuesday and identify the business or venue they represent when they arrive.

The invitation was sent to leaders connected to several Columbia bars and entertainment venues. ABC 17 News could not verify how many businesses plan to attend.

The planned meeting comes amid ongoing discussion about safety in downtown Columbia. University of Missouri President Mun Choi said Thursday that downtown bar owners could do more to help curb crime. His comments came days after he warned students about visiting part of Walnut Street after dark.

The police invitation was initially sent Tuesday, before Choi made those comments in an ABC 17 News interview.

CPD has not responded to a request for more information.

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Demetra Alarcon

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Moberly man has been charged with first-degree murder after allegedly shooting a woman Sunday night.

Christopher Viley, 51, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of first-degree murder in connection with a shooting Sunday night.

The victim was identified as Cheryl Gravitt, 57, of Moberly.

According to the probable cause statement, at about 7:10 p.m. Sunday, officers with the Moberly Police Department responded to a shots-fired call and found Gravitt lying in the driveway of the residence with an apparent gunshot wound to the back of the head. She was taken to the hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.

According to the statement, one witness heard the sound of a gunshot and saw Viley running away from the body.

In the report, another witness said they heard a loud pop and saw a black man wearing a blue shirt standing in the driveway where the body was lying.

The report states that Viley was also observed on video surveillance in the area immediately after the shooting, wearing a blue shirt.

Viley has past criminal convictions. The probable cause statement says Viley was arrested for fourth-degree domestic assault in February, which is pending a court appearance.

Other past convictions include felony resisting/interfering with an arrest, first-degree assault and third-degree assault.

Viley’s initial hearing is set for Monday afternoon. He remained in the Randolph County Jail on Friday with no bond.

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Matthew Sanders

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The director of the Missouri Department of Public Safety has petitioned to have a former Mid-Missouri sheriff lose his license, writing in court documents that Aaron Wilson broke the law and committed an act of “moral turpitude” by claiming a $5,000 check that wasn’t his.

Wilson, sheriff of Randolph County for one term from 2021 to 2025, was arrested last month on a charge of felony theft. He turned himself in July 31 and posted a $5,000 bond.

Current Sheriff Andy Boggs wrote in a statement that he asked the Audrain County Sheriff’s Office to investigate the missing check, which a business gave to Wilson in 2024. The check was never deposited into county accounts, according to Boggs.

Wilson claimed the check was a “thank you” for help the sheriff’s office provided with a calendar fundraiser.

The petition by Public Safety Director Mark James states that Wilson has held a peace officer’s license with the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office since 2004.

“The check provided to [Wilson] was for proceeds from Randolph County’s business with the calendar,” James’ petition states.

A hearing before the Administrative Hearing Commission has not been set.

Petition against Aaron WilsonDownload

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Matthew Sanders

President Donald Trump signed an executive order to rename another body of water on Thursday.

This time, it’s Lake Ontario.

Amid a trade dispute with Canada, Trump decided that Lake Ontario should instead be known as Lake America. It remains to be seen whether mapmakers and other countries will follow suit.

Trump has previously renamed an international body of water, proclaiming the Gulf of Mexico would become the Gulf of America.

Do you think Lake America is a better name for the body of water between New York and Canada? Let us know by voting in the poll.

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Olivia Hayes

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The City of Columbia is continuing its conversations around a homelessness and how to better support the unhoused community.

On Thursday, a round table discussion by the Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services brought together about 70 community members, homeless advocates and city officials.

Sara Humm, the health department’s public health planner, called Thursday’s meeting one of many discussions that are apart of a bigger picture for the city’s Steering Committee established back in May.

“The end goal being submitting a strategic plan with action steps to City Council to hopefully make some improvements,” Humm said. “What things are working, what things are not working, what can be improved in terms of homelessness in the community?”

Attendees were split into groups with a facilitator at each table where they discussed three questions for 20 minutes each. The questions were:

From your perspective, what is working well in our community’s response to homelessness?

From your perspective, what do you see as the biggest challenges related to homelessness in our community?

If you could recommend one or two actions that would make the greatest positive impact on homelessness in our community over the next few years, what would it be?

In response to what’s working well, one group listed the city’s free bus system, the new Opportunity Campus and passionate community organizations that provide resources to the unhoused.

As far as some of the challenges related to homelessness, the same group listed high housing costs, pedestrian safety and distrust in first responding agencies.

Recommendations made by the group included suggestions around more mental health resources, more housing options and easier access to public transit.

Shannon Frey, a community member and local volunteer, said she was encouraged by the turnout on Thursday.

“Everyone at my table was really someone who I think understands that it’s a very complex problem and so there’s not going to be a simple solution. I think it’s good to again have conversations,” Frey said.

Focus groups have also been held with young adults in the community and more than 41 interviews have been completed with people who are currently experiencing homelessness.

Humm described the approach as comprehensive and said the next focus groups will include conversations with direct service providers, as well as health professionals, business owners, and leaders in the faith community. The city has a public survey accessible until mid September that anyone who cannot attend a meeting can participate in to make sure their voice is heard.

After all the data is collected, Humm said staff at the health department will analyze it and present it to the Steering Committee. From there, the Steering Committee will create action items to present to the city council by the end of December.

Frey said she thinks the December deadline is reasonable.

“It’s a really difficult issue, so I don’t think that you can rush through trying to solve it,” Frey said.

Humm said a public data presentation will also take place after it is analyzed but a date has not been finalized yet.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

University of Missouri System President Mun Choi on Thursday doubled down on sentiments he shared with city leaders over the summer.

While Choi was speaking with ABC 17 News, he claimed bar owners in downtown Columbia can do more to curb crime. This comes after he told students in a school-wide email earlier this week to avoid East Walnut Street between Eighth and Tenth streets at night.

“I heard from the police department that there are many things that bar owners can do,” Choi said during an interview. “They can’t just say that once they are– once customers are outside of the bar, there’s nothing they can do. Well, what about overserving? What about letting patrons in that are underage that are being served? Those are all issues that bar owners have to be responsible for.”

Choi had emailed city leaders over the summer multiple times while also calling out one Columbia bar after  a shots-fired incident and a large street brawl occurred near Eighth and Walnut over the summer, when most students were away.

Choi took aim at Reign Bar in his emails with city leaders, though a city spokesman noted the area has been the site of early morning gatherings before Reign Bar opened. Police Chief Jill Schlude had stated in August 2025 a “hot spot” for gun violence shifted from the 900 block of East Broadway in 2024 to the 800 block of Walnut Street. Reign Bar opened two months after that statement.

One of Choi’s emails had criticized the sentences in recent Boone County cases, which Prosecutor Roger Johnson replied to with a lengthy message of his own.

The university reported a total student enrollment of 31,650 and over 9,000 new students on the first day earlier this week.

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