Category: kmiz-local-news

Erika McGuire

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Club Car Wash, a Columbia-based company was given a “F” rating from the Better Business Bureau after the company received more than 240 complaints over that past 36 months, the BBB said in a press release Tuesday.

The BBB says the complaints stem from alleged vehicle damage, billing issues, and poor customer service. The company also received 73 customer reviews, the majority of those being negative, according to the BBB.

The “F” rating is the lowest on its scale, the BBB claimed in a release on its website it is due to a pattern of unresolved and unanswered complaints.

Customers claim Club Car Wash failed to pay for damage allegedly caused during automatic washes. Others claim they were unable to cancel the company’s $22-a-month subscription or get refunds.

Club Car Wash has said that many complaints involve preexisting vehicle damage, the release from the BB says.

In July in St. Charles County, Club Car Wash was ordered to pay $3,200 to a man whose 2019 Ford F-250 was damaged in April 2024, when a loose cord from another vehicle struck several parts of his truck, according to court documents. The damage included a broken windshield, and damage to the grille, headlight, hood and fender.

In Boone County in 2023, a woman filed a small claims lawsuit after alleging her 2013 Mazda’s rear top bumper was damaged after going through Club Car Wash automatic wash. Court documents say the woman filed a claim with employees. The petition says her claim was denied a month later because her vehicle was considered too old.

Court documents show Club Carwash settled with the vehicle’s owner, Uvirkaa Akumaga, for $1,163 on Jan. 9, 2024.

A Club Car Wash location in Columbia has a sign listing disclaimers and terms, which state the company is not responsible for damage to:

Vehicles seven ears or older;

Any Kia Trim;

Bug shields or rain guards of any kind;

Any style antenna;

Aftermarket wheels or extended valve stems;

Power running board in down position;

Windshields with prior chips or cracks in non-factory installed parts and accessories;

All externally attached items;

Preexisting paint imperfections;

Any prior vehicle damage; and

Accidents due to driver negligence.

The release from the BBB says it it received a complaint from a woman in Cape Girardeau who reported that a piece of her vehicle’s molding was torn off during a wash, with repairs estimated at $558. According to the BBB, Club Car Wash did not respond to the complaint.

Another case, in Arnold, Missouri, a woman claimed her son’s vehicle sustained damaged to a window, which caused $600 in damage. The BBB claims the company denied responsibility and did not respond to the complaint.

Former Club Car Wash customer Mindy Schmelz said the passenger-side door of her Grand Traverse SUV was scratched during a wash at a location in the St. Louis area. Schmelz, who says her vehicle had low mileage and no visible damage beforehand.

“I got out of the car, I just happened to look down for whatever reason and I noticed these like three patterns of scratches that were just like very uniform at the same level,” Schmelz said. “I knew the damage wasn’t there so we immediately went back up to the car wash and reported it,”

Schmelz says she reported the damage to an employee who then filed a claim. But a few days later, Schmelz says she was told the company would not take responsibility.

“We were told, ‘Oh sorry we can’t verify that we actually did the damage so we’re not going to cover it,'” she said.

Schmelz said she urged the company to review security footage from before the wash to confirm the scratches weren’t there.

“They’re like because of the glare and the metallic paint that you have, we couldn’t determine the damage wasn’t there prior,” Schmelz said. “We can’t determine that we actually did the damage, so we’re not going to cover it.”

After being denied payment for damage, Schmelz said felt she didn’t have much resource.

“We canceled our memberships,” Schmelz said. “I ended up just leaving a bad Google review for it because I’m like there’s no reason other people need to be subjected to having their new vehicles damaged or their vehicles in general damaged, people pay a lot of money for their cars and they want them to be kept nice,”

When Schmelz learned the BBB gave the company a “F” rating, she wasn’t surprised.

“I’m not surprised, to be honest with you because like, event two years ago when I wrote my Google review on it, and just even our local one on their Facebook reviews, which they’ve since taken away the ability to, There was so many people that were like my car has been damaged,” Schmelz said.

“You know their response was, we didn’t do it, I’m sorry you’re not happy with the response but we can’t verify that we did the damage or anything like that so I wasn’t surprised that they got that review,” she said.

Schmelz said she has not repaired her vehicle.

A Club Car Wash executive previously responded when BBB brought complaint pattern concerns to its attention, stating: “We have video and photo proof that these cars come in with the damage, but they feel the need to still make a complaint. The other thing is 228 complaints thankfully are minimal to the 50 million cars we have washed in that time frame so it’s obvious we don’t damage vehicles.” 

The BBB recommends several tips when using car wash services:

Research the business before paying at BBB.org

Review terms and disclaimers posted at the facility or on the company’s website

Understand subscription plans and how to cancel them. Monitor your billing statements

Pay by credit card when possible to retain the ability to dispute charges

File complaints with BBB and your state attorney general’s office if you feel wronged

Club Car Wash operates more than 200 locations across 11 states, with six locations in Columbia.

ABC 17 News reached out to Club Car Wash and the Better Business Bureau.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man is sitting in jail after authorities claim he assaulted a woman with a cane on Monday evening in Columbia.

Daren Hart, 57, of Columbia, was charged on Wednesday with second-degree assault and armed criminal action. Court filings show he is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond. A court date has not been scheduled.

The probable cause statement says the victim in the case flagged down police around 7:30 p.m. Monday in the 1200 block of Lakeview Avenue. Police wrote the woman was bleeding from her head and had other injuries.

The woman allegedly told police that she and Hart were in an argument near a creek when he started punching her in her face, the statement says. He then allegedly picked up a cane and started hitting her, the statement says. The victim allegedly had issues talking because of her injuries, the statement says.

The victim pointed out Hart to police when he walked out of a wooded area while holding a cane, the statement says.  

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Matthew Sanders

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Jefferson City voters will decide in November whether to extend the city’s 7% lodging sales tax for 25 more years.

The tax pays to promote tourism in Jefferson City and charges 7% on all hotel and motel rooms and short-term rentals. Most of the tax receipts — four-sevenths of the money — are devoted to developing a conference center, according to Jefferson City Council documents. The other part funds the operations of the Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The city council approved putting the tax on the November ballot with a unanimous vote at its Monday meeting.

The tax brought in about $1.5 million in the last fiscal year, according to city records.

The election will be held Nov. 4.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia doctor who is charged with rape has been found guilty of a pair of misdemeanors in a separate case.

A jury found Travis Birkhead guilty on Wednesday of two counts of violating a restraining order. He was found not guilty of first-degree harassment. He will be sentenced at 1:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 17. Birkhead is still charged in another case with first-degree rape, first-degree kidnapping and misdemeanor fourth-degree assault.

Court documents say Birkhead violated the order of protection by driving by the victim’s residence on Sept. 9 and 15, 2022. He was not allowed to be within 500 feet of the home, the probable cause statement says of the order for protection. Birkhead allegedly denied being within 500 feet of the victim, but allegedly told officers he drove by the home to drop off someone, the statement says.

In his rape case, court documents in previous reporting claim Birkhead took a woman behind a bar on East Business Loop 70 on Oct. 22, 2022, and sexually assaulted her in the woods behind the bar.

Columbia police said surveillance video showed the woman having difficulty standing up while the two went out of view. Columbia police claim Birkhead texted another person that he had sex with the alleged victim behind the bar.

A pretrial conference is scheduled for at 10:30 a.m. Monday, Aug. 25, and a jury trial is set for 9 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 9.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Jefferson City man was charged with two felonies after he allegedly sexually abused a disabled woman at her home on Monday.

Demon Tyrone Johnson Sr., 40, was charged on Wednesday with first-degree sexual abuse and first-degree burglary. He is being held at the Cole County Jail without bond. A court date has not been scheduled.

The probable cause statement says police were called to a home on Tuesday for a reported sexual assault that occurred the day before. The victim claimed Johnson does landscaping work at her home because she cannot any more, the statement says. The victim was not satisfied with recent work and told Johnson’s boss, the statement says.

Johnson then allegedly showed up to the residence around 9 p.m. and confronted the victim before demanding to see her breasts, the statement says. He then allegedly groped her for several minutes while the victim tried to get away, court documents say.

Johnson allegedly admitted to sexually abusing the victim to police, court documents say.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A registered sex offender in Fulton was charged with a felony on Wednesday after he allegedly was seen at being at a public park with a playground and splash pad.

Schylur Mahurin, 31, was charged with being a sex offender who was loitering within 500 feet of a park with a playground. He is being held at the Callaway County Jail on a $20,000 bond.

The probable cause statement says he was convicted of second-degree statutory rape in 2015 in Linn County.

The statement says the Callaway County Sheriff’s Office received multiple complaints about Mahurin being at a park over the weekend.

A probation officer who put Mahurin on GPS monitoring confirmed that he was at Memorial Park on Saturday between 3-7 p.m. Mahurin allegedly told law enforcement that he was walking at the park with a coworker, the statement says. A deputy told him he’s not allowed to be at a park and he allegedly replied that he knew that information, court documents say.

Mahurin pleaded guilty on June 26, 2023, to failure to register as a sex offender and was sentenced to five years of probation, along with a three-year suspended sentence.

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Ryan Shiner

EDITOR’S NOTE: The story has been updated to say Douglas Harris might not be an owner of the bar.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man involved in running a Jamestown bar is accused of assaulting a woman in the business on Sunday morning.

Douglas Harris was charged with second-degree assault. A warrant was issued and a $25,000 bond was set. A mugshot was not immediately available.

Court documents say Harris allegedly got into a heated argument with someone and multiple people tried to stop him from attacking them at Twisted Pickles in Jamestown. A victim told investigators that Harris is an owner of the bar, but owner Deanna Harris told ABC 17 News that he is a manager.

Harris allegedly grabbed a woman by her neck and shoved her into a pool table, the probable cause statement says. She fell to the floor, had injuries to her face and knees and had “significant bleeding,” the statement says. A patron then provided First Aid, the statement says.

Court documents allege Harris gave a “partial or insincere apology” before complaining about financial losses and threatening to assault another woman. The victim then went to a hospital in Jefferson City, the statement says. Law enforcement saw injuries on the woman when she spoke with them on Monday, the statement says.

Harris then allegedly sent an apology in a text message, the statement says. Harris did not give a statement to police when he was arrested and two witnesses give similar accounts of what occurred to law enforcement, court documents say.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Harrisburg School District will lose out on about $300,000 and likely will need to cut staff or programs after voters rejected a property tax increase on Tuesday.

School district voters rejected the dual measure, which would roll back Prop C sales taxes while increasing the district’s property tax levy, with 275 “no” votes to 216 “yes” votes. The property tax increase would have been 50 cents per $100 of assessed value, or 7%, and cost a taxpayer with a house appraised at $200,000 about $16 per month.

Superintendent Steve Combs said Tuesday that he was a “little disappointed” about the vote and that cuts are likely in the coming school year. The tax increase would have brought in about $300,000.

The district had pitched the tax measure to voters as needed to continue providing quality education as the district grows.

“While we celebrate the success of our students and the accomplishments of our District, we also look to the future and recognize the cost to operate the District continues to rise,” Combs wrote in an open letter posted to the district’s website in June. “Our District is financially sound, but we are at a crossroads. Unfortunately, we cannot rely on federal and state funding to cover increased costs.”

The district employs about 85 people and has about 600 students. 

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man who was accused of armed robbery at a Columbia Vapor Maven on June 5 has seen case moved to federal court.

Noah Cooley, 21, was charged with robbing a store and brandishing a gun during a violent crime. He was charged in Boone County with first-degree robbery, two counts of armed criminal action and a count of unlawful use of a weapon. He is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond.

Court documents in previous reporting say police were called to Vaper Maven in the 100 block of Business Loop 70 around 12:16 p.m. June 5. The victim had allegedly stated to police that a man robbed her at gunpoint, the probable cause statement says.

The victim was able to identify Cooley to law enforcement in a photo lineup. Cooley at the time allegedly asked the victim about a product and she turned around, the statement says. Cooley then allegedly jumped behind the counter, pointed a gun at her head and told her to put products in a bag, along with money from the cash register, the statement says.

The victim locked the door of the store after Cooley left, the statement says. Cooley allegedly took about $300 in cash and $500 worth of product. Police also reviewed video of the incident which allegedly matched details the victim gave police, the statement says.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The City of Sedalia announced in a Tuesday press release that it will inspect another building on Main Street on Wednesday for asbestos.

The city is seeking to demolish 209 West Main St. and its neighbor, the release says. A building deemed dangerous at 207 West Main St. has significant damage, and a judge ruled last week the city has the authority to OK demolition of the building.

The city looks to put together a plan for demolition that would not impact the building at 217 West Main St., which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the release says.

“While structurally sound, its close proximity to the compromised buildings increases the urgency for stabilization and preservation,” the release says. “To support those efforts, Mayor Andrew Dawson submitted a formal letter to the administrators of the Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Subgrant, urging an expedited technical review of the grant application for 217 W. Main.”

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