Category: kmiz-local-news

Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Prosecutors charged a Holts Summit woman Thursday with six felonies in a shooting that killed one person and left two others injured.

Heather M. Smith, 37, was charged with second-degree murder, child endangerment, armed criminal action and three counts of unlawful use of a weapon. She was in the Callaway County Jail without bond on Friday morning. Smith is accused of shooting and killing 37-year-old Kara Dills.

Court documents 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 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. Documents say that her 8-year-old son was standing next to her during the altercation.

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.

Former Cole County prosecutor Bill Tackett said he doesn’t see a self-defense argument in Smith’s favor.

“You can only use self-defense in a case where there is an aggressor, and you can only use the force that is being used against you,” Tackett said. “If it’s not lethal, you can’t use lethal force.”

Although Dills hurt Smith first and pistol-whipped her, as court documents describe the incident, Tackett said it doesn’t justify murder and it all comes down to timing.

“The victim had pistol-whipped or assaulted the defendant early in the argument, that’s separate,” Tackett said. “You can’t say ‘oh you assaulted me last Monday, so now I am going to use lethal force on you.’ It has to be immediate.”

Jones was later charged with fourth-degree assault for failure to listen to deputies.

Smith tried to return to the victim but was stopped by a witness, the documents say.

Investigators found the gun used in the shooting at Smith’s home. She was arrested Friday morning in a traffic stop outside Holts Summit.

A celebration of life was held for Dills on Friday afternoon.

Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The University of Missouri will host two ceremonies on Friday to celebrate its Meat Science Education and Training Laboratory and Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Lab.

The university will celebrate the groundbreaking of The Michael L. Parson Meat Science Education and Training Laboratory from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. at 1024 Ashland Road in Columbia. According to a press release, the laboratory will further enhance the capabilities of the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources by providing new tools and technology for leaders and workers in the meat processing industry. Former Missouri governor Mike Parson, whom the building is named after, will be a speaker at the ceremony.

The second ceremony will be the grand opening of phase one of the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Lab and break ground for phase two of the project. This event will be from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at 1520 East Rollins Street in Columbia.

There will be several speakers for Friday’s events, including university president Mun Choi and Governor Mike Kehoe.

Mitchell Kaminski

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A witness to a weekend shooting at Columbia’s Cosmo Park that left two people hospitalized says police were already at the park before gunfire erupted.

Initial information suggests the gathering included fraternity and sorority members from Jefferson City and Columbia. Police do not currently have anyone in custody. Royal Lyon, a sophomore at Lincoln University, said he first heard about the event from a group of friends.

Lyon said he arrived at the park around 9:30 p.m. Saturday and estimated the crowd at more than 1,000 people. He described the event as a mix of University of Missouri and LU students until, according to him, “outsiders” showed up and started causing problems.

“We all were celebrating but there was a huge explosion or gun shots, I don’t know what it was and that’s when the shots rang out,” Lyon said. “What ends up happening is a lot of locals joined and from speculation that were locals, they got into it with each other over rap beef at the party and they sent each other. That’s kind of how it unfolded.” 

However, Columbia Police Dispatch logs show that officers were in the area for a “peace disturbance” at 9:55 pm. Then at 10:33 p.m., they responded to a call of shots fired in the same location. 

Assistant Chief Matt Stephens says CPD is looking into the earlier call to see what happened. He says generally, officers aren’t aware of the details of park reservations, noting that the shooting happened while the park was open to the public.

Stephens said that the first call to police was made by someone who drove by the park and saw the large crowd.

Lyon claims that police initially showed up because someone had called saying the party was getting out of hand.

“They (police) said they (the group) had the pavilion until midnight, there is nothing we can do,” Lyon said. 

However, Columbia Parks and Recreation said the event organizers did not reserve the shelter for Saturday night’s gathering.

According to dispatch logs, Cosmo Park has been the subject of 54 police calls so far this year, with 23 of those coming in the past month-and-a-half. During the past year, there have been 236 calls to the park, but only four have resulted in police reports, including Saturday’s shooting.

Lyon tells ABC 17 News that he does not want to return to the park. 

“There was just a lot of chaos, chaos at that moment because it was dark. You couldn’t find anyone.  You know, again, you had those shots that just rang out, out of nowhere. It sounded like machine guns on top of that,” he said 

As the scene cleared, officers reportedly stopped and searched vehicles, causing long lines as attendees attempted to leave the park. Lyon was not one of them. 

“I was the first car to leave. I went across the street because I was still trying to retrieve some friends that were in the party. One of them didn’t even have a cell phone. So I’m like  ‘I might  have to go back inside the party to go retrieve them.’ But I got word that they were OK seconds later and had to proceed on,” Lyon said. 

On Monday, officers returned to the scene to continue their investigation. Police focused much of their search around a large picnic shelter and surrounding soccer fields. Investigators were seen collecting evidence, taking photographs and using a K-9 to aid in the search.

“The men and women of the Columbia Police Officers Association are committed to holding these violent criminals accountable for their actions. These incidents are all too frequent and we look forward to a time when we have a fully staffed police department, which will enable us to more effectively focus on the violent criminals who continue to victimize our community,” a CPOA spokesman wrote in a statement to ABC 17 News.

The City of Columbia currently has job postings for a Park Safety Supervisor and park security staff. Columbia Parks and Recreation said police are responsible for overseeing park security operations.

Check back for updates.

Erika McGuire

The University of Missouri says it’s continuing to make safety a top priority for people on and around campus.

UM System President Mun Choi said during a news conference Thursday after a meeting of the board of curators that leaders at the University of Missouri and the Columbia Police Department are working to increase patrols downtown after a violent weekend that saw five people shot.

Choi said criminals need to know that Columbia isn’t a place for gunplay.

Mayor Barbara Buffalo said she called a meeting with CPD and MU to figure out ways to work together.

Choi said the University of Missouri is a safe campus, and safety is a high priority for everyone. He noted there have been two incidents involving guns near campus so far this year and stressed the importance of surveillance cameras to hold people accountable.

“I believe that the actions that we have taken as a university, as well as the city, have helped in reducing the number of incidents that occur,” Choi said.

MU sent out alerts over the weekend of the shootings and the initial one had an error and did not have the location. Choi said the university is re-evaluating how it alerts the campus and making some changes.

CPD Assistant Chief Mark Fitzgerald said the department uses overtime to staff extra officers downtown, and some of those officers were among the first to respond to a shooting downtown on March 30.

“We will be continuing this downtown overtime detail going forward into the foreseeable future,” Fitzgerald wrote in response to emailed questions.