Category: kmiz-local-news

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia man was charged on Wednesday after authorities say he raped a child in July.

Jason White, 47, was charged with first-degree rape and first-degree endangering the welfare of a child involving drugs. He is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond. A court date has not been scheduled.

The heavily redacted probable cause statement says White bought marijuana from a business on July 16 and later asked the youth to smoke. The child allegedly told police that they took one hit but “didn’t feel right” afterwards and eventually fell asleep, the statement says. The youth woke up White raping them, court documents say.

White also allegedly knew the age of the victim, but made claims police to police that it was consensual, court documents say.

Another person in the apartment building allegedly told police that they saw White with the youth and noticed the child’s pupils were enlarged, court documents say.

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Matthew Sanders

SEDALIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe opened the Governor’s Ham Breakfast on Thursday morning at the Missouri State Fair.

The yearly dinner serves as a showcase for officeholders and politicians.

Watch Kehoe’s remarks in the media player.

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ABC 17 News Team

By Alison Patton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A health expert claims there is no “documented guideline” for treating a rare brain infection that the Department of Health and Senior Services said on Wednesday could have been contracted by someone at the Lake of the Ozarks.

University of Missouri infectious disease expert Dr. Christian Rojas Moreno described the hurdles in treating Naegleria fowleri, which can lead to an infectioncalledprimary amebic meningoencephalitisalso known as a “brain-eating” infection.

Cases of the disease are rare, which makes diagnosing the brain-eating amoeba difficult because the symptoms overlap with other diseases. 

Rojas Moreno said symptoms show up about one to 12 days after the amoeba makes its way into the brain by entering through the nose. Meningitis, or inflammation in the brain, is a common symptom of a brain eating amoeba.

“We will evaluate for other causes of meningitis, bacterial viral and others,” Rojas Moreno said. “When that testing is negative, we might start expanding our evaluations.” 

Other symptoms include severe headache, fever, stiff neck, vomiting or changes in mental state, Rojas Moreno said. If these symptoms are present, seek medical attention immediately. 

Boone Health infectious disease Physician Phillip Beck said the best way to identify the infection in a patient is knowing if they went swimming. 

“It’s a really high index of suspicion,” Beck said. “This patient has been in the water in the summer time and underwater, getting the water into their nasal cavity.”

A Wednesday press release from the Missouri DHSS called the infection “rare occurrence.”

Once the cause of meningitis is known, doctors can then administer medicine through an IV, Rojas Moreno said. 

Meningitis also causes pressure to build up in the brain from fluid, so a spinal tap might be necessary, Beck added.  Beck also said most cases are diagnosed post mortem because the amoeba takes over the brain so violently.

“The way this amoeba works is that it actually will ingest and kill cells in the central nervous system. So it’s a very nasty process,” Beck said.

An epidemiologist from the DHSS told ABC 17 News on Wednesday that treatment can often be difficult because of how few cases health officials see each year. Nathan Koffarnus, of the DHSS, said around three cases occur in the US each year. Rojas Moreno shared a similar sentiment.

“Because it has been probably many, many exposures over the years and the infection numbers are very low,” Rojas Moreno said. 

From 1962-2024, there were 167 cases reported around the country, according to the DHSS press release from Wednesday.

Rojas Moreno recommends avoiding exposure if possible, but if not he said wearing a nose clip while swimming in bodies of water where the amoeba could live. 

Check back for updates.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Cole County’s top prosecutor will not accept criminal cases submitted by a deputy who recently pleaded guilty to a pair of misdemeanors.

Prosecutor Locke Thompson wrote a letter to Cole County Sheriff John Wheeler saying he would not take cases submitted by Mercy Gonzalez, who pleaded guilty last week to reckless driving and failing to obey a traffic control device.

Thompson’s letter is dated Monday, Aug. 11 and Gonzalez pleaded guilty on Friday, Aug. 8. She was sentenced to two years of unsupervised probation, ordered to complete 40 hours of community service within six months and complete the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Emergency Vehicle Operations Course in October.

She faces a year in jail if she violates her probation.

“As a matter of policy, the Cole County Prosecutor’s Office does not accept criminal referrals from law enforcement officers who have previously pled guilty to any felony or who are currently subject to any criminal diversion program or on probation, whether felony or misdemeanor,” the letter states. “As a result of the guilty plea referenced above, Deputy Gonzalez now falls under this category, and no criminal referrals submitted by her to the Cole County Prosecutor’s Office will be accepted.”

Gonzalez was previously listed as a school resource officer in the Blair Oaks R-2 School District, though her information no longer appears on the district’s website.

Court documents in previous reporting say Gonzalez crashed her patrol vehicle with a Honda Pilot at the intersection of Highway 179 and West Edgewood Drive in Jefferson City on Dec. 15, 2023.

The Honda was driving on West Edgewood Drive when it was hit by Gonzalez’s Dodge Charger that was driving 115 miles per hour while going south on Highway 179, court documents say. Gonzalez had her emergency lights on, but court documents do not clarify if she was in a chase. The probable cause statement says Gonzalez tried to steer away from the victim’s vehicle, but was unsuccessful.

Letter Re Deputy Mercy Gonzalez 8.11.25Download

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Meghan Drakas

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

While authorities and family members continue to search for answers, Columbia police are revealing new details about the homicide case of Edmond ‘Ricky’ Randolph Jr.

“Not knowing what happened to him is still troubling,” Randolph’s mother Nicole Craig said. “It’s still a struggle.”

Ricky Randolph Jr. with his daughter. (Credit: Nicole Craig)

Around 6:45 a.m. on June 25, 2016, a Columbia Police Department Lieutenant Matt Gremore said officers responded to a cardiac arrest call in the 2900 of Leeway Drive in northeast Columbia. Authorities were called to Apartment D, where they found the 25-year-old dead.

“As soon as the officers got here, they tried to do CPR, but it was quickly discovered he was deceased,” Gremore said. “Essentially, a resident that came home from work walked into the apartment and discovered that obviously he was hurt and she believed — in the 911 call — that he was deceased.”

Columbia police investigate the homicide of Edmond ‘Ricky’ Randolph Jr. on Leeway Drive in northeast Columbia on June 25, 2016.

Gremore said at the time, he was in the Street Crimes Unit and was called in to work the scene.

“My job became trying to track down witnesses or anybody that knew anything relative to the case,” Gremore said.

Police did not initially reveal his cause of death.

Months after the homicide in September 2016, there was speculation drugs may have been involved in Randolph’s death. Gremore said he could not confirm or deny if drugs were involved in the case.

“There’s things that you want to get directly from the killer in an interview,” Gremore said. “And if you put that out in the press where everybody know that, it taints the interview. So the idea that they withheld that from the beginning makes sense.”

“He had some trouble in his life and he turned his life around,” Craig said. “It’s unfortunate that he’s not here today.”

Nine years later, police now say Randolph was found laying on his back in the living room with multiple gunshot wounds, including once in the back of his head. Police said there were no other apparent injuries.

Ricky Randolph Jr. and his fiancé Cassandra Alexander. (Credit: Nicole Craig)

“There’s no indication of any forced entry,” Gremore said. “It’s unknown how if the individual that came in knew Ricky or how that came about.”

When asked if there was one or multiple suspects in the case, as well as if more than one gun was used, Gremore said he would not be able to confirm or deny any information. He said there are persons of interest in the case, but Gremore did not identify them.

He said police found shell casings, fingerprints and DNA evidence, which was sent off to the Missouri State Highway Patrol labs.

“As of today, we have not had anything come back that would take us into a position to arrest someone,” Gremore said.

A year after Randolph was killed, his mother, Nicole Craig spoke with ABC 17 News.

“It’s so heartbreaking that as small as Columbia is, nobody wants to say anything,” Craig said in 2017. “That’s what’s killing me the most.”

Eight years after that interview, those words still hold true. Craig said her son who was a brother, fiancé and father, who is “truly missed.”

Ricky Randolph Jr. with his daughter Rikkia Randolph. (Credit: Nicole Craig)

“I still feel the same way I felt when I found out he was deceased: Hurt and upset,” Craig said. “Pain is the best way to describe my loss. I’ve cried dearly for him to give me a sign or just to be able to see him again. It’s been very, very difficult for me and my family.”

Craig said her son was a charismatic man who loved to cook and tell jokes. She said, at one point, he worked as a chef for the University of Missouri and was training to become an assistant manager at Burger King in Columbia. He also became engaged shortly before he was killed.

“What I miss truly about him is the bright light that shines on him,” Craig said. “He was full of life.”

In the years following his death, she said her grandchildren have had a difficult time growing up without a father.

“They struggle, especially during birthdays, holidays, Father’s Day, they struggle,” Craig said. “They want to know what happened to their dad and I can’t explain it. I can’t give them one answer to say ‘hey, this is what happened,’ that kind of thing.”

She’s asking the community to step up and help bring answers to her son’s case.

“If you know something, please come forward, please. That’s all I ask,” Craig said. “Think of yourself as this could be your loved one. And your family wants to know what happened to their loved one. I think it’s only fair that people would come forward and stop living in this concept of, you know, hey, don’t ask, don’t tell, kind of thing.”

Case developments

Over the years, Gremore said multiple tips have come into Columbia/Boone County Crimestoppers. He said the most-recent one — at the time of publication — came in was in 2021.

“Our motto is if you see something, say something,” Columbia/Boone County Crimestoppers Board President John Fields said. “Because we know you know something, just get paid for what you know.” 

Columbia/Boone County Crimestoppers Board President John Fields sits down for an interview with ABC 17 News in studio in Columbia, Missouri, on Thursday, July 17, 2025.

Fields says Crimestoppers works to help solve any felony cases stemming from assault to homicide.

“We’re actively working with some other victims of homicides right now,” Fields said. “We know through working with the mothers of some of these victims of homicides that there were witnesses. And we would love for those witnesses to come forward and give these mother’s closure.”

That’s something Randolph’s mother has been asking for since her son was killed.

Edmond ‘Ricky’ Randolph Jr. with his mother, Nicole Craig. (Credit: Nicole Craig)

“I think of my son everyday,” Craig said. “I miss him dearly and I just pray one day that someone will come forward and say, ‘hey, I know exactly what happened to your son’ and we can move on from there and he can get justice.”

Craig says even after all this time, she still prays that one day, she will get her answers.

“I strongly believe that although its been some time since he’s passed away, I still believe in the judicial system,” Craig said. “I just keep praying that I’ll still get the answers that I’ve been seeking for so long.”

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Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Eastbound I-70 drivers will get to explore one of the first developments in the Missouri Department of Transportation’s Improve I-70 Project, with MoDOT set to reopen newly paved lanes and a new third lane.

The renovations were focused on eastbound I-70 between Callaway County Routes J and M and exit 137 near Route J will be reopened.

MoDOT crews will be working overnight Friday into Saturday morning clearing the barriers. The eastbound road is expected to be fully clear Saturday.

“We were thrilled to have this new high-quality pavement that we’re going to open up tomorrow,” Improve I-70 Central Project Director Jeff Gander said during a Thursday press conference.

Drivers heading into Columbia from eastern Missouri should expect upcoming traffic delays later this August as the Missouri Department of Transportation plans to work on the westbound lanes.

Similar to the previous eastbound construction, westbound construction will shift traffic onto the median of I-70 and feature concrete barriers that will narrow lanes to 10 feet and reduce speeds to 55 mph. The traffic shift is expected to start on Aug. 22. Construction is expected to repave the roads and add a third lane.

“We’re adding the third lane in the middle, but we are also completely rebuilding the two outside lanes as well,” Gander said. “When we get done with this stretch, it will it will be six brand new lanes of concrete from one end to the other.”

During construction, there will be no westbound access to or from Exit 137. Alternate routes include, Exit 144, north Outer Road 70 to Route J and the north Outer Road 70 to Exit 133.

Gander added the westbound section of the project will be completed faster than the eastbound section with Missouri expecting drier weather and crews being more comfortable with equipment.

“We had an excessive amount of rain in June and July, that is a little bit abnormal for this area,” Gander said. “It was our new experience, our first experience with some of the paving equipment that we’re using.”

Columbia residents Shahrokh Zadehahmadsabzi and Ryan McKiney both support the addition of the third lane and were not majorly concerned about continued construction.

“I’d like to go to St Louis a good amount of times because I have a lot of friends that I go to SLU or live there over breaks and stuff, I think it’s going to be a lot easier to go there and back,” Zadehahmadsabzi said.

“I’m really frustrated any time I’m on a two-lane highway and it feels like there’s a truck randomly in the left lane and that traffic could be going a whole lot faster and it’s not,” McKiney said. “Adding a third lane, I think it’s better.”

Gander said that the biggest difficulty during construction was high-speed drivers, reporting 20 to 25 crashes at the work site and some cars traveling 70 mph in work zones. He added that MoDOT is also closely working with first responders like the Missouri State Highway Patrol to step up efforts in curbing speeding.

“I’m not going to ask you to do the math, but it’s 90 seconds is the difference, going 70 versus 55 through the six-mile stretch,” Gander said. “For our own safety and for the worker’s safety and for the other drivers on the road, we can all spare that 90 seconds.”

The Improve I-70 Project is expected to be completed at the end of 2027.

Check back for updates.

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Jazsmin Halliburton

SEDALIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri State Fair will host the annual Governor’s Ham Breakfast Thursday morning, with multiple politicians from across the state expected to attend.

Several state politicians are gathering at a time when the possibility of redistricting congressional seats has become a hot topic in Missouri. Last week, Gov. Mike Kehoe said he wants Missouri to stand with the Trump Administration on its redistricting push in several states.

Missouri currently has six Republicans and two Democrats in the U.S. House. While no redrawn map has been released, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Kansas City), who has served since 2005,  would likely be the main target. Cleaver’s district currently has a high population of black and Hispanic residents. 

A Kehoe spokesperson told ABC 17 News on the opening day of the Missouri State Fair that Kehoe has had several conversations with the Trump administration about Missouri redistricting.

“As I’ve told everybody, the way the maps have been drawn have been talked about since we drew them or the House and Senate drew them four years ago,” Kehoe said of the state’s current House district, which were drawn after the 2020 census. “Nobody’s been exactly happy with it, so looking at how that might be more compact and contingent, making sure that America’s voice matches Missouri’s values, and Missouri is a great conservative, Christian-value state, and I think we’re always going to try to make sure that we support [Republican House Speak Mike Johnson] and that we don’t have an alternative.”

The Governor’s Ham Breakfast will be in the NUCOR Director’s Pavilion at 8 a.m. at the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia Department of Public Works at Wednesday’s Parking Commission meeting said it would recommend the City Council to raise downtown parking meter prices to $1 per hour.

On-street parking is currently 60 cents per hour from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Columbia Public Works spokesman John Ogan wrote in an email that on-street parking rates near the University of Missouri’s campus is $1 per hour, and that public works is recommending the City Council raise the city’s rate in order to keep it consistent. Ogan wrote the increase “would bring parking revenue more in line with the cost of operating and maintaining our facilities.”

Data presented by the city shows more than half of street parking revenue (based on the hourly average) comes from the ParkMobile App, while 46% comes from coins and cash. That dataset excludes parking garages.

When including parking garages for the period of 2020-24, roughly 40% comes from debit/credit/Apple Pay/Google Pay, while 33% comes from ParkMobile and 27% is from coins and cash.

An information packet from the city says ,“Currently, commuters can only use coins and ParkMobile to pay for parking on the street and at a few lots. Card readers are installed in all city-owned parking structures, but street meters do not support these payments. Street meters do not support these payments. Therefore, the Debit/Credit/Apple Pay/Google Pay category reflects revenue solely from garages, as ParkMobile cannot be used in those facilities.”

Parking Rate Analysis 2.0-UpdatedDownload

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 2-year-old girl from Gravois Mills drowned at the Lake of the Ozarks on Wednesday morning around the 10-mile marker of the Gravois Arm, according to a report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The report says the child wandered away from her home and was found face-up in the lake. She was brought to Lake Regional Hospital by ambulance and was pronounced dead, the report says.

MSHP reports do not name those involved in crashes or drownings.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A registered sex offender has been charged with a felony after he allegedly kept child pornography on his cellphone that was generated by artificial intelligence.

Charles Hooton, 63, of Columbia, was charged with possessing child porn. He is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond. An initial court appearance was held Wednesday afternoon.

The probable cause statement says police were called on May 18 about a report of Hooton having child porn after a woman saw a number of images while using his cellphone.

Hooton spoke with police on July 24 and let them go through his phone, court documents say. He allegedly admitted to using an AI app to generate the explicit images, the statement says. Police wrote that more than 130 AI-generated images were found on Hooton’s phone.

“Any time you possess more than 20 images, it’s a felony that comes with a maximum punishment of 15 years in prison,” said Elizabeth Weaver, Boone County Assistant Prosecutor.

Weaver tells ABC 17 News while the pornographic material may be artificial, the people in the photos are real.

“The reality is each time artificial intelligence generates a new item of child sexual abuse media it is re- victimizing those who have been used and taken advantage of in order to create the original images,” Weaver said.

Hooton’s web history also included several websites that had “teen,” “boy” and other related phrases in the name, court documents say.

Court documents and the Missouri sex offender registry say Hooton was convicted of second-degree statutory sodomy 25 years ago.

The Executive Director for Missouri’s Network Against Child Abuse Jessica Seitz told ABC 17 News artificial intelligence is the latest hurdle in their fight.

“The use of AI through an app to create CSAM? We don’t have great data on that yet because, we’re just trying to catch up with how we’re tracking the use of technology,” Seitz said.

Seitz believes prevention is in education of both adults and children.

“The best they can do on the prevention side is to try to discourage from your images being out there in public as much as possible. You can’t be sure what those images, once they’re public, you can’t be sure what’s going to be done with them,” Seitz said.

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