Category: kmiz-local-news

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Several changes are coming to the “Wildlife Code of Missouri” for this upcoming deer season, the Missouri Department of Conservation announced in a Monday press release.

Among those changes includes reduced antlered buck limits for nonresidents from two to one. The release says nonresident deer hunters in the state have increased nearly 50% in the past 10 years “and there has been an increasing number of resident hunters who have expressed concern about the impacts to land access and their hunting experiences.”

The youth portion of deer season was moved up a week to Oct. 24 and 25 “to help avoid conflicts with Halloween activities at the end of October,” the release says.

Also, the antler-point restriction was removed for the 18 counties who most-recently put it in place, the release says. MDC also removed designation of chronic wasting disease management zones. The CWD portion of firearms season was also removed “to simplify the structure of the season while not significantly affecting deer harvest,” per the release.

The mandatory CWD sampling during the opening weekend of firearms season will become a four-year county rotation, making sampling “be conducted in every county of the state once every four years,” per the release. This season it will be conducted in 28 counties on Nov. 14 and 15.

Placing feed and mineral for deer has been banned in counties close where CWD has been detected, the release says. Additional, the minimum acreage requirement for CWD management permits has increased to 20 continuous acres and the application process has been simplified, according to the release.

The release also says targeted deer removals will not occur after the season ends.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 20-year-old Columbia man is now charged with first-degree assault in addition to other felonies in connection with an incident Aug. 9 in which gunshots were fired in public downtown.

Prosecutors added the charge against Tavan Williams-Patrick on Friday, dropping a fourth-degree assault charge. Williams-Patrick was initially charged Aug. 10, accused of firing shots near Ninth and Walnut streets in downtown Columbia. He is also charged with two counts of armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon and illegally firing a gun, a misdemeanor.

A new complaint filed in the case states that Williams-Patrick shot at “Victim 1” in an attempt to kill him or cause serious injury.

According to a probable cause statement, Columbia police officers were working a separate incident near Ninth and Walnut around 1:13 a.m. Aug. 9 when they heard three to four gunshots coming from west of the intersection. The statement says the shots were heard in proximity to several officers.

An officer allegedly saw Williams-Patrick put a gun down on the sidewalk in front of a bar. Other officers also found .40-caliber ammunition in the area.

In 2022, Boone County prosecutors accused Williams-Patrick, who was 16 at the time, and three other teenagers of taking part in a shooting that killed a teen girl on McKee Street. Charges were dropped last year.

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Ellyse Edwards

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Jefferson City’s long-awaited Olive Garden opened its doors Monday, drawing a line of customers outside the restaurant before seating started at 11 a.m.

The new restaurant is located on Missouri Boulevard. Customers lined up outside the building and into the parking lot as they waited for the doors to open, starting as early as 9 a.m. The restaurant’s opening comes after plans for a Jefferson City location were confirmed in October 2025. 

For customer Kirsten Stegeman, having an Olive Garden in Jefferson City means her family no longer has to make the trip to Columbia.

“I think it’s great. I think it’s great for our community. We go to Olive Garden in Columbia. Now it’s closer to home,” Stegeman said.

Stegeman said people in Jefferson City have been talking about getting an Olive Garden for a long time.

Customer Lori Pitts said she sees new additions as part of the community’s growth.

“I work at the city chamber [of commerce] office, so we were talking about how we want the community to grow, and this is helping us to get that way and bringing something exciting for the people to look forward to,” Pitts said.

General Manager Adam Brown said the restaurant’s team spent about five weeks hiring and training ahead of Monday’s opening. Brown said employees come from Jefferson City and surrounding communities.

Brown said the excitement surrounding the restaurant became especially apparent as opening day approached.

“I will admit that I knew people were excited, but until this weekend, you know, and seeing the line out the door and we open, right. It really brings it to life,” Brown said.

Stegeman said having the restaurant in Jefferson City gives residents another option without having to leave town.

“It makes people excited to go out and something new to try and different. We don’t have to go to Columbia. We have it right here in our backyard,” Stegeman said.

The Jefferson City Olive Garden is open seven days a week.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Missouri Budget Director Dan Haug will retire on Oct. 1, according to a Monday press release from Gov. Mike Kehoe.

Haug has served as budget director for 11 years — making him the longest to serve in the position — and has worked in state government for 31 years, the release says.

“It has been an honor serving alongside Governor Kehoe and all previous Governors as budget director,” Haug was quoted in the release. “I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to help these administrations craft state budgets that improved the lives of Missourians in countless ways. I want to thank the amazing team at Budget and Planning for all of their excellent work and service to the state.”

Haug began his state government career as an economist for the Office of Administration’s division of budget and planning in 1995, the release says. He joined the senate appropriations staff in 2002 and served as director of the department from 2005-13. He became the department of mental health’s director of administration in 2013 before becoming the budget director in 2015.

Department of Corrections Director Trevor Foley will serve as budget director after Haug retires. The appointment for the next DOC director “is forthcoming,” the release says.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 17-year-old Columbia boy was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Monday after pleading guilty to felony charges in connection with a shooting at the mall in 2025.

Samiyon Myers, 17, pleaded guilty to second-degree assault, armed criminal action and second-degree drug trafficking. He is currently being held at the Boone County Jail, according to online jail records.

He was originally charged with first-degree assault, delivery of a controlled substance, two counts of armed criminal action, two counts of unlawful use of a weapon, one count of shooting at a car and second-degree drug trafficking.

Court documents in previous reporting say police were called around 5:30 p.m. Jan. 19, 2025, for a shots-fired call in the 2100 block of West Worley Street.

A gun was found in a bag near Myers and video from the Columbia Mall allegedly showed Myers firing the gun at a vehicle filled with people, court documents in previous reporting say.

Police saw bullet holes in the vehicle and were able to identify Myers by the color of his underwear, which was seen on video and was the only person wearing red, previous reporting indicates. Police allegedly found Myers with more than 200 pills and found additional guns in a garbage bin, previous reporting says.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

An Owensville man was charged on Friday with 13 counts of possessing child sex abuse materials.

Wilbur Krumrey was served a $100,000 cash-only bond warrant. A mugshot was not available on Monday.

The probable cause statement says a woman and her brother went to the Owensville Police Department on July 26 to report an assault by Krumrey. The woman also reported seeing child sex abuse files on Krumrey’s cellphone.

Krumrey was arrested that month and allowed investigators to look at his phone and they found images of minors “in a sexualized manner,” court documents allege. Authorities applied for a search warrant and were able to use it on Aug. 10, where led to the discovery of at least 13 files of child sex abuse found on the phone, court documents say.

Police wrote in the statement that Krumrey has been staying near Owensville City Park.

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Alison Patton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A hit-and-run crash late Friday in Columbia was captured on video, leading to the arrest of two suspects, a probable cause statement filed Monday states.

The video captured the moments a vehicle allegedly driven by Shunta Bohanon hit 47-year-old Mark Hunter Jr. at East St. Charles Road and Remm Drive. Hunter was pronounced dead at the hospital. Bohanon was charged with involuntary manslaughter, armed criminal action, leaving the scene of a crash resulting in death and evidence tampering in a felony prosecution

Police officers identified Bohanon’s vehicle and its license plate from video footage, the probable cause statement says. Bohanon allegedly admitted to police that he was driving the car that killed Hunter, but said he didn’t see the man and didn’t realize initially that he had hit a person, the document states.

The impact sent Hunter down the road, leaving a trail of blood, police say.

Bohanon parked his car inside a garage after the crash and closed the door, according to the statement.

Another suspect, Sandra Sharp, 55, hasn’t been charged. Because she posted bond, charges don’t have to be filed until her bond hearing date on Sept. 10, Boone County Assistant Prosecutor Melissa Buchanan told ABC 17 News via email.

Sharp was arrested on suspicion of evidence tampering, resisting arrest and assault of a special victim, according to the Columbia Police Department.

Bohanon, 53, was being held Monday without bond in the Boone County Jail.

Police say they arrested both Sharp and Bohanon on Saturday, and that Flock cameras were used to locate the suspects.

A candlelight vigil will be held for Hunter on Friday at Hogan House, located at 313 Hogan Dr. in Columbia. The vigil starts at 7:30 p.m.

Hogan House is a food pantry and a non-profit that falls under the organization Do Something Right Now. The goal is for Hogan House to help out its neighbors in surrounding areas, like families on Hogan Drive or Demaret Drive.

Do Something Right Now Executive Director Sue Riley said Hunter was a part of one of those families on Demaret Drive, and he volunteered with Hogan House for the last three years.

“Mark was very quiet. He had a special little grin, and I always called him a gentle giant because he would work hard, but he wouldn’t say a whole lot. He’d just look at you and smile,” Riley said.

She said Hunter worked with Love Columbia for job coaching, and he recently got one.

“He was proud of himself, and he had every right to be,” Riley said. “We had seen a lot less of him in the recent months because he had started working a job, but when he came around, I would tell him, ‘Mark, I am so proud of you. You’re doing so great.”

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Demetra Alarcon

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia Fire Department system is currently staffed with a minimum of three people per truck, but the fire chief would like to see four per truck.

That could happen soon with extra money to pay employees and new recruits coming on staff.

A new public safety sales tax is expected to add 42 new firefighters and result in an estimated $31 million budget increase.

Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer said CFD will have a new class of trainees in October and continue to have more classes.

“It’s going to take us a lot of intense work to get people recruited, trained and what we call ‘on the floor,'” said Schaeffer.

Shaeffer said the increased hiring won’t lead to lower standards. He said that when the next class graduates, operations will decide which trucks to expand to four people.

As of Friday, according to a Facebook post made by CFD, eight new firefighters have completed their probationary period.

There are currently around 20 firefighters in the 18-month probationary period. They can be identified by their gray shirts.

Schaeffer said that the new sales tax will have a profound impact on recruiting at CFD.

Schaeffer said that in general, staffing is healthy.

The fire department has an estimated 185 operational, in-uniform positions.

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Mitchell Kaminski

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) 

Jefferson City swore in a new councilmember Monday, filling the Ward 3 seat left vacant by Derek Thomas’ resignation on June 2.

Hal Dulle was appointed to the seat after receiving five votes from the City Council, while Susan Cook received the remaining four.

Thomas resigned in June after moving out of state because of medical issues affecting his family.

Before the vote, Ward 2 Councilman Mike Lester voiced his support for Cook, saying he did not believe Dulle took his application seriously. Cook and Dulle were two of three residents who submitted letters of interest for the position, according to city documents.

“Mr. Dulle has appeared less serious than Mrs. Cook about wanting to serve on the council. At every stage of the process, he seems to give minimal effort. His letter of interest was just that, a couple of sentences announcing that he had interest,” Lester said during the meeting. “His endorsements from Ward 3 residents consisted of his wife, Scott Spencer and Mrs. Spencer.”

Lester claimed Dulle had not reached out to him or several other council members to discuss the position, unlike Cook, who he said demonstrated a greater “commitment to serve.”

Despite Lester’s comments, the council still voted 5-4 in favor of Dulle, with councilmen Randy Hoselton, Chris Leuckel, Shane Kampeter, Jeff Ahlers and Cody Holt all voting in favor. 

Dulle, a retired Vietnam veteran, previously served as executive director of the Missouri Veterans Commission. In 2018, he received the Kevin Meinhardt Memorial Award for Distinguished Public Service.

In his letter of interest, which was fewer than 200 words, Dulle highlighted his eight years of service on the Jefferson City Convention and Visitors Bureau Board. He also noted he previously chaired the USS Jefferson City Submarine Committee, which coordinates visits to Hawaii with the submarine crew. While he is no longer the chair, the letter states he is still a member of the committee.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Sharon Jones was sworn in to her seat as the Fourth Ward’s representative on the Columbia City Council on Monday evening.

Jones, an area lawyer and lobbyist, won the seat in the Aug. 4 election over Dave Sorrell and Ryan King. Jones’ addition makes her a part of the city’s first all-female council.

The Ward 4 seat became open after former Councilman Nick Foster stepped away from the position in June after announcing a move to Atlanta, Georgia.

Jones will serve the remainder of Foster’s original term through April 2028.

The current City Council is made up Mayor Barbara Buffaloe, Ward 1 Councilwoman Valerie Carroll, Ward 2 Councilwoman Vera Elwood, Ward 3 Councilwoman Jacque Sample, Ward 5 Councilwoman Christina Hartman and Ward 6 Councilwoman Betsy Peters.

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