Category: kmiz-local-news

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Jefferson City woman was charged on Wednesday after she was accused of raping a youth.

Estelle Kerns, 35, was charged with first-degree statutory rape of someone younger than 14 years old. She is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond. A hearing was set for Wednesday.

The probable cause statement says that a friend of the victim told the victim’s mother about the assaults. The victim allegedly told law enforcement that they repeatedly told Kerns to stop.

Kerns allegedly admitted to the victim’s mother that the assaults took place over multiple weeks and then blamed the victim, court documents say.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A woman who was charged with murder in a fatal shooting at a Holts Summit apartment complex last month was indicted by a grand jury on Monday.

Heather Smith, 37, of Holts Summit, was charged with second-degree murder, first-degree child endangerment, armed criminal action and three counts of unlawful use of a weapon.

An arraignment is set for 9 a.m. Tuesday, May 27 at the Callaway County Courthouse. She bonded out of jail last month.

Smith is accused of killing Kara Dills, 37. Court documents in previous reporting say the shooting started with an argument between Smith and Dills at Hunter Lane Apartments. The documents cite nine witnesses to the shooting.

Video surveillance allegedly showed Smith threatening witnesses with a pistol before the shooting. One witness allegedly tried to disarm her after she pointed the gun at several people, but was not successful.

Dills allegedly got a gun and pistol-whipped Smith on the forehead, documents say. The gun went off, grazing a man later identified as Thomas Jones, 71, on his head, according to the probable cause statement. After Dills lowered her gun and started to walk away, Smith shot her in the stomach, the statement says. She later died.

Jones was later charged with fourth-degree assault for failure to listen to deputies. He has a hearing scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday, July 18.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Two juveniles were arrested in connection with a May 15 shooting in the 4600 block of Rice Road, according to a Wednesday press release from the Columbia Police Department.

The release says a youth was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of first-degree assault, while another was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of first-degree assault, unlawful use of a weapon and armed criminal action.

Police confirmed last week that a youth was shot in the 4600 block of Rice Road, near Meadowvale Court. Police wrote on Thursday that the victim had a gunshot wound and was brought to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The Columbia Police Department has responded to several incidents involving youth this year, including other incidents of crime in May. CPD said it detained two juveniles on charges of first-degree robbery and armed criminal action in connection with a May 9 armed robbery.

Two juveniles also escaped from the Juvenile Justice Center in the Prathersville area earlier this month by allegedly climbing a recreation fence. Initial information said the two were being detained for charges of first-degree assault and murder. Two juveniles were also detained after a Downtown shooting in April.

A 16-year-old was also charged with several felonies earlier this year for his alleged involvement in a shooting near the Columbia mall in January. Court documents say Samiyon Myers was seen on security footage displaying a handgun and shooting it at a car with four people inside. Police in January said several juveniles were also detained in connection with the shooting.

According to data provided by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, 132 violent crimes have been reported within the Columbia Police Department’s jurisdiction this year. The largest age group of those arrested are youth ages 10-17 with 70 arrests, with the next-highest being 25-34 year olds with 64 arrests.

Violent crime within the data set includes murder (consisting of murder and non-negligent manslaughter), robbery, aggravated assault and rape. Victims are always individuals and one crime will be counted for each victim

Columbia’s Office of Violence Prevention administrator D’Markus Thomas-Brown told ABC 17 News after Wednesday’s arrest that he believes much of the violence is caused by trauma.

“Some of it is you know, adverse childhood experiences. I mean, all these things…if we’re not informed on what is driving an individual to act out in away that is really inhumane and then even the normalizing…I think as a society, we normalize violence,” Thomas-Brown said.

He said he believes much of the violence seen in youths is due to growing up in an environment where trauma was normalized. That is something his office is working to curb.

Thomas-Brown said mentorship plays a huge part in achieving that, but also said the city needs to look at the availability of firearms and substances. He also said the city needs to focus on looking at developmental trends as the city continues to grow.

Thomas-Brown said much of his work in his nearly two months has consisted of meeting with community and service organizations to figure out collaborative work and looking at what has been successful in other cities.

Education is something he said is key in preventing youth violence moving forward and working to identify gaps.

“Helping to educate the parents, and that’s not me particularly that’s me working in tandem with community-based organizations,” Thomas-Brown said. “That’s working with you know, we’re setting up a meeting with Columbia Public Schools where that’s me getting the permission out to these community-based organizations to focus on trauma informed community oriented system of care.”

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Cole County man was charged with a felony and a misdemeanor after he allegedly followed a teenager at the Jefferson City Target and put a cellphone under their skirt.

Christopher Whittle was charged on Wednesday with first-degree stalking and misdemeanor invasion of privacy. A warrant was issued for his arrest and no bond was set. He was not listed on the Cole County Jail roster on Wednesday afternoon. The probable cause statement lists his address as Eldon, but court records say he lives in Russellville.

Court documents say that police were called on Tuesday about a man taking pictures of a female in the store. The youth told police that she noticed the man standing behind her in the clothing section and saw him holding a cellphone under her skirt when she turned around, the statement says.

A Target employee had Whittle on the phone and Whittle spoke with police, the statement says. He allegedly denied the allegations.

Court documents say video reviewed by police showed Whittle lingering near the victim “for a short period of time before bending down and grabbing something from the bottom shelf with his right hand while reaching his left hand out, holding a cell phone.”

The victim turned around and Whittle pulled the phone away, court documents say video showed. He then put it back under the victim’s skirt when she turned back the other way, the statement says.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A trio of EF-1 tornadoes have been confirmed to have touched down in Benton County on Monday night, according to the National Weather Service.

The first tornado touched down at 7:24 p.m., wind speeds maxed out at 105 mph, with an unconfirmed width. For the second of the tornadoes it touched down at 7:28 p.m., wind speeds eclipsed 100 miles per hour, while the width was 100 yards. Speeds for the third one at 7:35 p.m. also hit 100 mph, with a width of 300 yards.

Reported damage included uprooted and snapped trees, along with downed power lines and several barns with varying degrees of damage.

There were 4,644 electricity customers in Benton County without power on Monday evening. The Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives map showed on Wednesday afternoon that 1,742 were still without power.

Among the current customers without power, 793 were from Central Missouri Electric Cooperative, 826 from the Osage Valley Electric Cooperative Association and 123 from Sac Osage Electric Cooperative. Hundreds are also still without power in Henry and Saint Clair counties.

Check back for updates.

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Matthew Sanders

President Donald Trump gave an address to House Republicans on Tuesday in which he encouraged them to pass his sweeping legislative agenda, including a budget and massive tax cuts.

However, some in the GOP are holding out because of the implications for the nation’s debt. Trump’s budget, including the tax cuts, is projected to increase the annual deficit.

Lawmakers told reporters Tuesday that Trump’s message was simple — it’s time to get his legislative agenda passed or face the consequences. With a tight majority in the House, Republicans can’t afford defections.

Do you think House Republicans should approve Trump’s agenda? Let us know by voting in the poll.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Two men and two teenaged juveniles were detained after they allegedly broke into the vacant hospital in Mexico, Missouri, on Friday night, according to a Tuesday press release from the Mexico Department of Public Safety.

The release says MPSD has been responding to the property at 620 East Monroe Street several times this month. The caretakers of the building have cameras installed and saw then men and youths on camera around 7:43 p.m. after an alert was sent, the release says.

Police later found Jarren Algiere, 32, of Hallsville, Connor Hardy, Jr., 18 of Columbia, and two more teenagers from Columbia. They were processed at MSPD and released, the release says.

Charges have not appeared on Casenet.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Two men were seriously injured on Tuesday afternoon after they were hit by a 2023 Chevrolet Suburban, according to a crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The crash occurred on Ohana Drive in Camden County near a community pool, the report says. A 48-year-old women from Little Rock, Arkansas, allegedly put the vehicle into drive instead of reverse and hit the men, the report says.

A 45-year-old man from Camdenton was flown to University Hospital and a 49-year-old Ulman man was brought to Lake Regional Hospital by ambulance, the report says.  

The Suburban had minor damage.

MSHP reports do not name those involved in crashes.

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ABC 17 News Team

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Jefferson City Council on Monday approved a plan to rezone a portion of Wildwood Drive for duplexes as well as a new subdivision.

The proposal was brought last month by a Florida-based company, looking to rezone 51.54 acres the 1200 block of Wildwood Drive from commercial zoning to high-density residential.

The plan calls for the development of as many as 70 duplexes in the area, as well as plans for an area called the Wildwood Estates Subdivision. 

The city has been working to increase housing units since a severe storm took out around 150 units in 2019.  

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Tuesday, May 27 will be the last day of class for students at Columbia Public Schools.

The district sent an email to parents on Tuesday reminding them that May 27 will be the final day and an early release.

On Feb. 17, Columbia Public Schools used the last of its allotted AMI days. The following day, the district had to declare a traditional snow day, requiring the addition of an extra school day to the calendar. Friday, May 23 will also be an early release day.

CPS announced the implementation of AMI days in December and adjusted its calendar earlier this school year to be in line with the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s incentive program under Senate Bill 727, which defines a school term as 169 days and a minimum of 1,044 instructional hours.

State guidelines also require schools to include at least 36 make-up hours—equivalent to five days—which can be added to the end of the school year, if necessary. 

“The district had been hopeful the passage of Senate Bill 68 would clarify calendar language approved in Senate Bill 727 last year allowing us to remove this day [Tuesday, May 27] from our calendar and still be eligible to receive the teacher salary incentive funds identified in the legislation,” the email to parents says. “However, the initial interpretation of Senate Bill 68 by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) this week does not allow us to drop the day from our calendar. The bill has also not yet been signed by Governor Kehoe. Further, our request for a waiver from the Commissioner, in light of the recent bill passage, has been denied.”

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