Category: kmiz-local-news

Nia Hinson

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man accused of killing two women on Interstate 70 in Columbia in 2024 accepted a plea deal on Tuesday that reduces his charges.

Walter Montejo, 27, entered open pleas for two counts of involuntary manslaughter and one count of fourth-degree assault. The defense and prosecution agreed to the open plea, with the exception that Montejo will face a maximum of four years in prison. A judge will have the final say.

Former Cole County Prosecutor Bill Tackett said open pleas typically reached when the prosecution and defense can’t meet in the middle.

“It becomes the Wild west because the judge can do whatever they want,” Tackett said. “The person sitting there has absolutely no idea whether this is five years, 10 years, 15 years…it’s up to the maximum and that’s horrific.”

Montejo was charged with two counts of first-degree involuntary manslaughter, one count of second-degree assault, misdemeanor driving while revoked and driving without insurance before prosecutors proposed the reduced charges on Monday ahead of his hearing.

Montejo killed Cindy Helms, 54, of Rockwood, Tennessee, and Melvina Colin, 84, of Broomfield, Colorado, in August 2024.

Court documents say he was driving a tractor-trailer when the vehicle crossed the centerline and crashed head-on into the U-haul Helms and Colin were in. Court records filed on Monday said he entered a lane when it was not safe to do so and over-corrected into the opposite lanes, leading to the deadly crash.

Jail records show Montejo is also being held on an immigration detainer. A judge on Tuesday said that as part of the plea, Montejo could face deportation. He is originally from El Salvador. Tackett said when a defendant gets deported depends on whether or not the plea of guilty and sentencing to a felony plays into the deportation.

“Federal law trumps state law. If ICE or the feds took him then there would still be the sentence here to be served if he’s deported and comes back, the sentence is real,” Tackett said. “But in the short term, the federal government would be superior to the state government in terms of deportation.”

Montejo’s lawyers declined to comment.

A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for Nov. 24.

Click here to follow the original article.

Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

An Ashland man suffered serious injuries in a motorcycle crash in Miller County on Monday night.

According to online crash reports, the 60-year-old man was riding his motorcycle westbound on Highway 54, west of Walnut Grove Road, at about 11 p.m. when he turned a curve too fast, skidded off the road and overturned the motorcycle.

The man was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.

He was taken to Lake Regional Hospital by a Miller County ambulance.

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Prosecutors on Monday proposed reduced charges for a man accused of killing two women in a crash last year ahead of his plea hearing on Tuesday.

Walter Montejo, 27, is charged with two counts of first-degree involuntary manslaughter, one count of second-degree assault, misdemeanor driving while revoked and driving without insurance. He is being held at the Boone County Jail. Jail records show he is also being held on an immigration detainer.

A filing on Monday shows prosecutors are suggesting Montejo be charged with two counts of second-degree manslaughter and one account of misdemeanor fourth-degree assault. Montejo’s plea hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Boone County Courthouse.

A filing from Friday says the “case has been resolved.”

Montejo is accused of killing Cindy Helms, 54, of Rockwood, Tennessee, and Melvina Colin, 84, of Broomfield, Colorado, during an Aug. 5, 2024, crash on Interstate 70 in Boone County.

Court documents in previous reporting say Montejo was driving a tractor-trailer when it crossed over the median and hit a U-Haul head-on, killing Helms and Colin.

Click here to follow the original article.

Haley Swaino

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Ethan Jones has owned MindRight Wellness in downtown Columbia for five years. He said he came into work Monday with a heavy heart after shooting on Saturday morning left one student dead and injured two others just a few stores down.

“It’s definitely a heavy energy,” Jones said. “It’s emotional, you know.”

He said the downtown he knows and loves is not the same as it once was.

“I read it on all the Facebook comments, ‘Oh, downtown, you’re going to get shot,’ and all this crazy stuff. But now, people obviously would feel that way for a reason or two,” Jones said.

He said when the sun sets and bar open, that’s when it seems crime is the worst downtown.

“I think over time we’re losing that uniqueness of what downtown is and has and what it was,” Jones said. “And the idea of not being able to have families feel like they could come down here and walk around and hang out and just chill for the day and get good food, have some good retail. Because a lot of people don’t want to come.”

ABC 17 News spoke with many downtown businesses Monday after the shooting, but most did not want to comment on-record about the violence.

City leaders, including Mayor Barbara Buffaloe, Columbia Police Chief Jill Schlude, and University of Missouri President Mun Choi came together Monday afternoon to address safety. At that table, was the Downtown Community Improvement District.

ABC 17 News spoke with Executive Director for The District Nickie Davis after the meeting, who said conversations were productive.

“I think that some of the issues that we’re seeing is stuff that’s going to be addressed soon,” Davis said.

Downtown CID houses the Columbia Police Department substation and works closely with them on safety needs.

“We knew that we had issues at bar close, so we bought some light poles with special lighting in them that can raise to daylight level whenever CPD needs them,” Davis said.

At Monday’s meeting, a proposal that Downtown CID had been pushing for was discussed.

“We have been trying to get the city and MU to sign for safety ambassadors at night,” Davis said. “It looks like that hopefully will be moving forward.”

Downtown CID is also pushing for the city to bring back a downtown unit of walking patrol officers. Davis says that was cut in recent years due to funding and staffing shortages.

“Adding more police officers isn’t always the answer. We need to figure out what are other steps, which I think is what CPD and the city are doing,” Davis said.

Davis and many other city leaders are headed to a leadership retreat Tuesday in Columbia, South Carolina, where she says discussions about safety initiatives will continue. The retreat lasts through Thursday.

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Columbia police officers were seen searching an area of Mohawk Avenue near Indian Hills Park in northeast Columbia on Monday evening.

Officers put up crime scene tape around 8:20 p.m. and about 10 evidence markers were seen on the ground. An officer at the scene told an ABC 17 News photographer that around 10-15 shots were fired, but property damage had not been observed as of 8:30 p.m. No injuries have been reported.

Police took down the tape and left the area around 9 p.m.

Around a half-dozen Columbia Police Department vehicles were at the scene, along with a Crime Scene Investigation van.

Check back for updates.

Click here to follow the original article.

Nia Hinson

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

An area attorney is concerned a recent proposal from University of Missouri System President Mun Choi could lead to some people in the city being singled out.

Choi held a press conference on Monday, pushing for city and university leaders to come together to address crime. Choi’s push came after Stephens College student Aiyanna Williams was shot and killed while downtown with friends early Saturday morning.

23-year-old Misael Covarrubias is charged with three counts of first-degree assault, three counts of armed criminal action and a count of unlawful use of a weapon in connection with the shooting.

Choi sent a letter to Columbia Mayor Barbara Buffaloe and City Manager De’Carlon Seewood following Saturday’s shooting, asking the two to take immediate action to combat violence downtown. On Monday, Choi also urged the city to “seriously consider a loitering ordinance.”

“The city also needs to address the safety issues of the homeless population being in the medians,” Choi said. “It’s a safety issue for them as well as well as the drivers in those regions, and I believe that we need to clean up encampments that occur. There are safety hazards as well as an environmental hazard.”

Attorney Dan Viets, who is the president of Mid-Missouri Civil Liberties Association, said the city has had discussions regarding implementing a loitering ordinance in the past. Viets said he’s worried the presence of one in the city would invite selective and prejudicial enforcement.

“That’s exactly what would happen if we had those ordinances, certain people…people of color primarily would be singled out for enforcement efforts,” Viets said. “The vast majority of others would not and those ordinances are very suspect. Their constitutionality is very questionable and they’ve been stricken in many jurisdictions.”

Viets said he believes the city should ask for data before any changes in law are made.

When asked if he believed a loitering ordinance would be beneficial to Columbia, Seewood said he would need to know the “intent” of the ordinance.

“We have to build an ordinance around what the intent of what we’re trying to do and so looking at ordinances around safety is important and looking at how do we respond to community issues is also important,” Seewood said. “I have to look and see exactly what we’re trying to do and make sure that whatever we do is in the right intent.”

Click here to follow the original article.

Erika McGuire

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Columbia city leaders are evaluating its next steps to reduce crime in the city after a Stephens College student was killed in a shooting over the weekend that left two others injured.

University of Missouri System President Mun Choi has called on the city to make a “task force” to deter crime.

However, Columbia Mayor Barbara Buffaloe on Saturday announced on Facebook the creation of a task force.

“I don’t know all the details yet, the idea of the task force was something that President Choi suggested that we do for organizing,” Buffaloe said. “The focus for me has been on the senseless gun violence that ended up with a young, bright women’s death on Friday night,”

“Trying to figure out what this is when they are talking about a task force for me I really would just want to focus on what we need that why I am going to city staff what is it that we need,” Buffaloe added.

Ward 5 Councilman Don Waterman echoed the uncertainty around the task force but voiced support for involving additional law enforcement agencies, including the Boone County Sheriff’s Office.

“Because of their proximity to use, yes I think the county needs to have a role,” Waterman said. “One thing I do want to say is that we need to keep in mind there’s not going to be one single solution, it’s going to be a number of things.”

The city already offers the Office of Violence Prevention, that began this year but Waterman claims it more focuses on youth and the next generation.

Buffaloe and Waterman emphasized that despite the tragedy, crime trends overall have improved in recent months.

“That’s why we haven’t had an incident since June 8 downtown because of their proactive policing, and so I just look to them to what resources do they need to do their job,” Buffaloe said.

“Again you see the numbers have gone down, I think the fully staffed police department more police on the streets, presence is working,” Waterman said. “Also the Flock system that we’ve purchases for the police approved for the police, I think those tools that they’re using to begin to address the issues of crime in the city,”

Ward 3 Councilwoman Jacque Sample says everyone needs to come together and come open minded to discussions.

“We have a lot of work to do we need to gather the people who are the experts on how to address these things and create plans that we can implement that are sustainable,” Sample said. “They leave their own personal ideas of what they think is going to be the best success outside of the room, so we can come together and decide what’s going to work for everyone and the tools that we have to be able to use to be effective.”

Buffaloe later wrote in a Facebook on Monday night that the number of shots-fired incidents in the city have been cut nearly in half during the first nine months of this year compared to the same period last year.  

“As a result of their proactive policing efforts, city-wide there have been 58 confirmed incidents of shots fired in the first 9 months of 2025, compared to 105 during the same nine month period in 2024,” Buffaloe wrote. “But every incident of shots fired is one incident too many and we know that police presence is only one aspect of preventing and interrupting violence, which is highlighted by the fact that the events this weekend took place with officers directly in the area.”

The mayor also claimed in the post that a key factor in violent crime reduction would be preventing youth from obtaining guns and keeping people who are not allowed to own guns from getting them. Buffaloe, along with other mayors of larger cities in the state, had signed a letter last year asking Gov. Mike Kehoe to ban youth from having guns.

Misael Covarrubias is accused of shooting and killing Stephens College student Aiyanna Williams. He is 23 years old and is charged with three counts of first-degree assault, three counts of armed criminal action and a single count of unlawful use of a weapon. Early court screenings do not show prior convictions for Covarrubias.

Missouri State Highway Patrol data shows that through the first nine months of the year, violent crime has trended downward since 2021 in CPD’s jurisdiction. There have been 307 violent crimes reported so far this year, while 357 were reported through September in 2024, 425 were reported for the same period in 2023, 465 were tallied during 2022’s period and 492 were reported in 2021’s first-nine-month total. Though it should be noted that overall crime appears to be up compared to last year, according to data from CPD.

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man was charged in Audrain County after he allegedly dragged a woman from her home, pulled her into a vehicle and assaulted her on Sunday morning.

Lane Miles, 21, of Auxvasse, was charged with first-degree burglary, first-degree kidnapping, second-degree domestic assault and misdemeanor second-degree property damage. He is being held at the Audrain County Jail without bond. A mugshot was not immediately available. A confined docket hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday.

The probable cause statement says a witness saw Miles pull the victim out of a home in Mexico, Missouri, around 2 a.m. Sunday. Miles allegedly dragged the victim by her hair down the stairs of the home and pulled her into a car before leaving, the statement says.

The victim later knocked on the door of the home and was let back in before Miles kicked the door in and forced the woman, again, into the vehicle, the statement says.

The victim allegedly told law enforcement that Miles was not invited into the home, but arrived anyways and pulled her out by her ankles, the statement says. The victim was afraid of what Miles would do if she did not get in the vehicle, the statement says. Miles allegedly choked the victim while he drove the vehicle, but the victim was able to hit the “start/stop” button of the vehicle to turn it off, the statement says. She then began honking the horn of the vehicle and eventually got away the first time, the statement says. Miles then returned to the home and kicked the door in, according to court documents.

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Court documents say Columbia police had to use a Taser on a man who is accused of a number of crimes.

Deon Brown, 53, of Columbia, was charged on Monday with three counts of third-degree domestic assault, one count of misdemeanor third-degree kidnaping, misdemeanor resisting arrest, one count of second-degree domestic assault, felony resisting arrest and third-degree child molestation.

He is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond. An initial court appearance was held on Monday.

Court documents say police were called to a residence on Saturday and a standoff ensued after Brown would not come out of the home. Police called off the standoff and left, though it is not clear in court documents why that decision was made. Brown allegedly trapped one of the victims in a bathroom after assaulting them and threatened to kill them, the probable cause statement says.

In a second probable cause statement, police wrote that they went back to the residence as Brown was in a fight with one of the victims on the lawn of the home. There were three victims described in court documents, one being a child that he allegedly molested during the assaults. That victim also described sexual comments Brown allegedly made toward them in the past, the statement says.

Brown allegedly started walking back to the home when officers arrived, and officers told him they would use a stun gun if he did not comply, the statement says. An officer then deployed a Taser on Brown, court documents say.

Click here to follow the original article.

Olivia Hayes

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

University of Missouri System President Mun Choi said Monday that crimes ranging from homeless trespassers on campus to gun violence in downtown Columbia have created a dangerous environment for citizens and students.

“What I’m hearing from individuals, whether that’s the business leaders or citizens, is that Columbia was not this way in the past,” Choi said. “There are people that say, ‘I’m not going to downtown, it’s just too dangerous,’ and that’s not the way it should be.”

Choi made the remarks at a news conference Monday morning after a Stephens College student died over the weekend from a shooting that also left two others hurt.

This is the third shooting incident during a MU Homecoming weekend in the last five years. In 2021, two people were shot, and in 2022, three people were shot, including an MU student.

“The leaders have to lead and acknowledge that there is an issue and find credible solutions. The Columbia Police Department is doing all they can. I have a lot of confidence in them and they must be supported,” Choi said.

Choi called on the City government to change its policies and practices that let people think they can commit crimes without consequences.

“There has to be severe repercussions so that criminals know that this region, the state of Missouri, takes its laws very seriously and that they will be held to account to the full extent of the law,” Choi said.

Choi said his call to action did not come from this weekend’s shooting, but a pattern of crimes that has continued to plague downtown Columbia.

“When parents send their students to a university, they want to know that they’re going to a university environment that is safe. We keep our campus very safe. We need to make sure that the downtown region and the rest of Columbia is safe as well,” Choi said.

Choi said University of Missouri Police Chief Brian Weimer would offer all available staff to patrol downtown on game days. Mayor Barbara Buffaloe wrote in an email to Choi over the weekend that CPD added eight officers to night patrols, a 20% increase in staffing since last summer.

“We’re going to maintain the safety on our campus and may require more overtime for our police officers who do an excellent job supporting the officers of CPD,” Choi said.

MUPD has responded to nine violent crimes on campus so far this year, and four victims were between the ages of 18 and 24, according to Missouri State Highway Patrol data. In 2024, MUPD responded to six violent crimes total. The data also shows that MUPD has arrested 10 people between the ages of 18 and 24 for violent crimes this year.

Choi said no new MUPD officers will be hired right now; instead, current officers will be reallocated until the department can hire and train new officers. Choi said he wants to keep the options for solutions open as preliminary discussions continue, but the need for a temporary solution is approaching as the Tigers’ next game on Oct. 11 nears.

“Whether it is changing the traffic pattern in the downtown during weekends, that is a possibility that we’re going to be exploring,” Choi said. “We’ll have a big game on Oct. 11, and we want to be able to prepare for that.”

Choi is working with Buffaloe to create a task force on crime that includes local and community leaders. He said that he and Weimer would be part of the task force. Choi said he had asked to meet with Buffaloe on Monday afternoon, but it’s not clear whether they did.

The last crime task force in the city was created over 10 years ago, in 2013. The task force researched for over a year before presenting its findings in 2014.

Those findings included four recommendations:

Make people aware of resources

Create safe spaces for youth

Create trust between law enforcement and the community

Hold high-risk offenders accountable

Choi said he has also shared his concerns with Gov. Mike Kehoe. Choi said Kehoe has promised him a meeting of local, university and business leaders to develop solutions.

In a statement to ABC 17 News, Kehoe’s office called public safety and cracking down on crime in Missouri communities his top priority.

“Governor Kehoe will continue to consider options to assist Columbia and communities across the state to address crime. A truly tragic and unnecessary act of violence took the life of a young woman with a bright future ahead of her,” the statement read.

Dr. Sandra Hamar, Senior Vice President and Provost for Columbia College, also shared her support for the Stephens College Community and Choi’s collaborative efforts in a statement.

“Students come to Columbia to learn, grow and build a future. They deserve to feel safe both on campus and throughout our City. We must come together as educators, students, parents, neighbors and leaders to create a safer environment for everyone,” the statement read. “We stand ready to support Stephens College President Dr. Shannon Lundeen as the Stephens community navigates this difficult time. We also support the efforts of University of Missouri President Dr. Mun Choi, who, along with many community leaders, is seeking meaningful change to ensure the safety of our City.”

Click here to follow the original article.