Category: kmiz-local-news

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Missouri Department of Transportation crews plan to permanently close a portion of the North Jefferson City Recreation Area on March 13, according to a Thursday press release.

Crews will close the paved parking lot and playground for tree removal. The trees must be cleared by March 31 because of environmental concerns, the release says.

The playground will be relocated to Green Berry Acres Park, the release says. MoDOT will cover the cost. Fourth Street, the northern sports fields, gravel lots and the commuter parking lot off Hibernia Road will remain open, the release says.

The release says the area where the paved parking lot and playground are currently at “will be repurposed for a new ramp” from Route W to westbound Highway 54, the release says. The change is part of a project that will widen Highway 54 between Highway 63 and the Missouri River Bridge.

Click here to follow the original article.

Mitchell Kaminski

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia Police Department is asking the city for an additional $70,000 to extend a targeted media campaign aimed at recruiting for the department. 

The request comes as the City of Columbia makes its quarterly adjustments to the current fiscal year budget. According to a March 2 council memo, Finance Director Matthew Lue certified the city has sufficient funds to cover roughly $9.4 million in adjustments requested by multiple departments.

If approved, the police department’s $70,000 request would be paid from the city’s general fund reserves. 

City employees and public safety were highlighted as two of Columbia’s priorities in the fiscal year 2026 budget. In the approved budget, city staff wrote Columbia has been grappling with employee shortages, most notably within the police department, leading to longer response times for non-emergency calls and fewer opportunities for officers to engage with residents outside of emergency situations.

As of July 9, 2025, the city reported CPD’s vacancy rate is at 8%, which represented 16 sworn officer vacancies. To remedy the situation, the city has spent the past three years working to lead the market by offering competitive salaries and benefits, and launching a targeted media campaign. 

According to CPD, the department has spent a combined $186,050 in ads over fiscal years 2024 and 2025. The campaign has included television, radio and streaming advertisements all aimed at recruiting for the department. 

So far, the department has produced six video advertisements, two radio ads and photographs and social media content. 

“The department considered the past campaign successful in bringing in quality applicants, which is why we are seeking additional funds to continue the success,” CPD spokesman Colin Imhoff told ABC 17 News in an email. 

Since launching the campaign, the city reported hiring and retaining 24 officers in 2024 and 28 new officers in 2025.

Check back for updates.

Click here to follow the original article.

Alison Patton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Violent juvenile crime is rising, according to data from the state and the Greene County chief juvenile officer Bill Prince. The ABC 17 News team took a look at the data following a Wednesday night shooting in Columbia.

Data from the Robert L. Perry Juvenile Justice Center shows that the number of juveniles admitted is lower in 2024 than it was in 2023. Here’s a breakdown of people in the center during a five-year period of available data:

2024: 143

2023: 161

2022: 112

2021: 114

2020: 112

The 2024 data is the newest, with 2025 data expected to come out this year.

The top crime for juveniles in 2024 was weapons offenses, which 31% of juveniles committed, and is followed by “felony persons,” which makes up 28% of offenses.

Prince, who is also the president of the Missouri Juvenile Justice Association, said a report he read showed the number of violent crimes youth are committing is rising, but overall juvenile crime is down.

“The juvenile crime that still is existing seems to be more violent, you know, more homicides, more serious assaults and things of that nature,” Prince said.

He said one potential cause is juveniles’ access to guns.

“It’s the easy access to firearms by these kids; they all have guns. In the old days, kids got into a beef with each other, they’d have fist fights and those sorts of things, and people tend to recover from fist fights better than they do from gunshots,” Prince said.

Prince said the other side of this is the youth’s willingness to use guns.

“The average person’s brain doesn’t get hardwired until we’re about 25 years old,” Prince said. “We’re dealing with these kids whose brains are still developing, who act on impulse mode, and that combined with the gun, it just never adds up for some people.”

When juveniles are involved in violent crimes, like murder, they are certified as adults in court.

The Boone County prosecutor said over email that he’s seen an uptick in these certifications over the years.

Policy manager at Empower Missouri, Gwen Smith-Moore, said she and her team talk with the attorneys and people who are directly involved with certifying juveniles.

“There has been a general increase across the board in the number of certifications happening annually,” Smith-Moore said. “I don’t think that a rise in youth crime is necessarily the reason for that.”

Click here to follow the original article.

Euphenie Andre

COLUMBIA, MO. (KMIZ)

City leaders met Thursday with the City of Columbia Office of Violence Prevention to discuss how the city plans to address violence and reduce crime.

The meeting wrapped up around 4 p.m. at City Hall. Media were not allowed inside the meeting, but attendees later shared details about what was discussed.

Thursday’s workshop brought together stakeholders from across Columbia to evaluate current violence reduction efforts, create shared definitions for community violence intervention and identify strengths and areas where the city’s violence prevention work could improve.

According to those who attended, the meeting was highly interactive. Participants moved around the room, wrote ideas on posters, and shared their thoughts with others during group discussions.

Office of Violence Prevention Administrator D’Markus Thomas-Brown said the meeting served as an introduction for organizations working to address violence in the community.

“[Today] entailed a lot of the community based organizations who were boots on the ground and in the fray of intervention and prevention, “Thomas-Brown said. ” [We] talked about what we do and to display a baseline for the landscape so we can identify gaps, we can identify who’s actually doing, community violence intervention, who’s doing prevention and we can also identify deserts and services that are not actually available to those most a risk.”

ABC 17 News spoke with John Scalise, president of Job Point; Ronald Brown, a street outreach worker with a community-based program; Connor McGowan with the Office of Violence Prevention; and Marcus Richardson, president of the Columbia chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

“A lot of it was discussed was what the challenges are that we face as a community. I think a lot of them are obvious. But the solution some of the things that we can do, how we can coordinate to get those things in place,” Scalise said.

Richardson said he thought Thursday’s meeting was informative.

“Very helpful. Very meaningful. We needed this so all of us could be together in the room to better asses our ecosystem on how we can make it better, where can improve, and what we can do to prevent things from happening in the future,” Richardson said.

The workshop explored how the Office of Violence Prevention can serve as a coordinating hub for community violence intervention efforts, helping public agencies and community partners better support people who may be at the highest risk of violence.

The group also briefly discussed a gun violence program analysis being conducted by the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform. The study is working alongside the Columbia Police Department and is expected to help guide future strategies to reduce violence in the city.

According to a press release sent by the city after the event, insights gathered during the meeting will help inform a Violence Reduction Landscape Analysis Report that NICJR plans to deliver to the city in the coming months. Thomas-Brown said possible outcomes from the study were mentioned during the meeting, but specific details were not discussed.

“We’re just getting into our third month and there’s been already a handful of violence and gun violence” McGowan said. “So I would say definitely it’s very at the forefront of everyone’s mind right now,”  

According to a violent crime report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, there have been 62 violent crimes reported in the city so far this year.

Thomas-Brown addressed several violent incidents that have already occurred this year, stating he is beginning to notice a pattern.

“But we have to look at the types of what these homicides have been,” Thomas-Brown said. “They’ve not been just random, run-of-the-mill beef on one side or the other. These have been interpersonal. These have been friends.”

Thomas-Brown said addressing violence also means examining broader issues, including legislation and access to firearms. He added that he believes it is currently too easy for people to access guns.

“I remember growing up, I would have had a dispute with somebody, and if I would have had a gun, I would probably be in the same predicament either in a grave or going to jail,” he said.

Another meeting involving the prevention group is scheduled for August.

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia man was charged in federal court on Thursday after he was indicted by a grand jury.

Dorian Gardner, 38, is charged with illegally possessing a gun. He has a prior felony conviction and is not allowed to own guns.  He is being held at the Cooper County Jail and still has active charges from the county for first-degree domestic assault, armed criminal action, illegal gun possession and child endangerment.

The probable cause statement claims he fired a shot on Nov. 24 at a Boonville intersection. He allegedly told the victim to stop the car they were in, took their cellphone, stepped out of the car and fired a shot straight ahead, with the shell casing of the bullet being found within 100 yards of Laura Speed Elliott Middle School, the statement says.

Police eventually found Gardner and he initially denied being involved in the incident before admitting to having and firing a gun, the statement says.

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The City of Fulton announced on its social media on Thursday that a boil water advisory will be issued for a portion of the city.

The post says water service will be temporarily shut off on Route Z between Bluff and Vine streets because of a water main break.

Affects residences will have notices delivered to them, the post says.

Crews are currently working to make repairs.  

Click here to follow the original article.

Josie Anglin

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A reinspection of Copper Kettle in Ashland shows it still has one health-code violation.

The Columbia/Boone County Health Department inspected the restaurant last week and found nine violations, seven of which were critical.

A health inspector went back on Wednesday and found all of the critical violations had been fixed. However, the inspection report shows there is still a non-critical violation. The walk-in cooler, shelves and equipment throughout the building are soiled, according to the report.

Copper Kettle has another inspection scheduled for Wednesday, March 11. It is as risk of having its operating permit suspected if there is still a health code violation.

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Boonville man is facing federal charges after he was indicted by a grand jury on Thursday.

Johntelle Millens, 40, is charged with illegally possessing a gun and planning to distribute drugs. He is currently being held at the Howard County Jail without bond. He was accused of having the gun and drugs between June 17-July 24, 2025.

Charges are still listed on Casenet out of Howard County for first-degree assault, armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon and illegal gun possession.

Court documents in previous reporting claim police found someone with multiple gunshot wounds at the intersection of Main and High streets in Boonville on July 24. A victim and a witness had identified Millens as the shooter.

Witnesses allegedly told police they saw men in two vehicles, including the GMC driven by Millens, parked next to each other near Port Authority on Highway 40 in Howard County and claimed one of the men had a gun, the statement says.

Troopers found broken glass and spent shell casings in the area that matched the casing found in the victim’s vehicle, court documents say.

Click here to follow the original article.

Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 19-year-old felon has been arrested in connection with the deadly shooting of a 20-year-old on Wednesday in central Columbia.

Damarius Kavanaugh, of Columbia, was charged with felony murder, armed criminal action, illegal gun possession and tampering with physical evidence after William Riechers of Columbia was found shot dead in the area of Allen and Bryant streets.

A court date has not been scheduled for Kavanaugh. He is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond.

The probable cause statement says officers had fun a .40 caliber gun near Riechers, along with spent shell casings from the same gun and 9 millimeter cartridges. Riechers lived in the 200 block of Lincoln Drive and was allegedly seen on video walking with Kavanaugh before the shooting, the statement says.

A vehicle was allegedly seen on video pulling up to Riechers and Kavanaugh as they approached north on Bryant Street through the intersection with Allen Street before gunshots were heard, the statement says. Police wrote that Kavanaugh was allegedly seen on video with his arm extended at the vehicle before Riechers fell down.

Kavanaugh had allegedly called a family member of Riechers’ using Riechers’ social media to say Riechers had been shot, the statement says. Kavanaugh and two other people later drove to the hospital, the statement indicates.

Kavanaugh allegedly told police that someone in the aforementioned vehicle pulled up to them and rolled down a window, the statement says. Kavanaugh allegedly “gave conflicting statements” about if someone in the vehicle had shot first before saying he didn’t know who shot first between the person in the vehicle or Riechers.

Kavanaugh allegedly told police that his gun jammed after firing, but was eventually able to get two more shots off before throwing it in a nearby wooded area, the statement says. Officers later found the 9 millimeter gun in a bag with a gun magazine.

Kavanaugh just completed a 120-day prison program for unlawful use of a weapon and felony motor vehicle tampering, along with misdemeanor resisting arrest, last month.

Cameron Chase, a close friend of Kavanaugh and Riechers, tells ABC 17 News the three of them were working to leave behind their troubled past.

“Under no circumstances could nobody break any of our relationships between each other,” Chase said. “They were trying to get away from this, the whole thug life that they was in.”

Chase explained Kavanaugh and Riechers had known each other since they were children.

“They were going to the store, next thing you know a car came pulling up in the middle of the street and then it stopped. Someone got out and said something to them with the firearm and proceeded to start shooting,” Chase said.

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man who was accused of shooting someone at a Jefferson City apartment last month is facing additional charges after a grand jury indictment was filed on Tuesday.  

David Jarrett, of Jefferson City, was charged with unlawful use of a weapon, endangering the welfare of a child, first-degree assault and resisting arrest. He was previously just charged with unlawful use of a weapon and endangering the welfare of a child.

An arraignment for the new set of charges is scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday, March 26. He was released from the Cole County Jail under his own recognizance on Feb. 26.

The probable cause statement says police were called on Feb. 13 to the 900 block of Cedar Way for a report of a shooting. The statement says Jarrett left the area with his 1-year-old child and the gun used in the shooting. Police arrested him on East Elm Street after a short chase. Two rounds were missing from the gun.

Jarrett allegedly went to a neighboring apartment where his mother resided and threatened to hit her after he was upset, the statement says. The victim went over to the apartment and told Jarrett to leave, which he refused the statement says.

Jarrett first allegedly shot at the floor before getting into a fight with the victim and shooting him in his torso, the statement says. The victim had bloodstains, but University Hospital staff determined no vital organs were hit, the statement says.

Click here to follow the original article.