Category: kmiz-local-news

Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Jefferson City man has been convicted after he stabbed the mother of his child to death.

Sergio Sayles was found guilty on all three counts Thursday in a Boone County courtroom.

Boone County Judge Brouck Jacobs gave his verdict in the case against a Jefferson City man shortly after hearing the closing arguments.

Sayles, 39, was convicted on charges of first-degree murder, armed criminal action and tampering with evidence related to the death of Jasmine King in April 2023. Two misdemeanor counts were dismissed before the trial started.

A final disposition hearing is set for Dec. 1.

In April 2023, police found Jasmine King dead from multiple stab wounds in her home on West Ashley Street. Witness statements and surveillance video reportedly connected Sayles to the crime scene, and police recovered the murder weapon and some of Sayles’ belongings in a trash bag at McClung Park.

King had previously reported harassment and stalking by Sayles, including a complaint in 2021 where she alleged that Sayles threatened to shoot her.

Closing statements were given on both sides on Thursday. The state highlighted deliberation and intent in the crime as King was stabbed at least 25 times. The state argued that stab wounds and defensive wounds showed a prolonged struggle and Sayles had time to think about what he was doing.

The state also circled back to Sayles’ interview with police, saying he showed no remorse or shock after finding out King had been murdered and he didn’t ask questions about what happened either. The prosecution says that’s because Sayles already knew what happened to King.

The State said Sayles’ alibi wasn’t consistent either and that cell phone mapping puts him in and around the area of King’s apartment at the time of her murder.

Sayles’ ring with King’s blood found on it, his clothes with King’s blood and his DNA found on them. The knife investigators believe to be the murder weapon was also highlighted by prosecutors in closing statements.

The state said Sayles and King had been consistently communicating for days, but his last message to King the morning of her murder went unread. They said Sayles did not attempt to reach out to King after that final message because he knew she was already dead.

The state was firm in its claim that every lead detectives followed in the case led back to Sayles.

In closing statements by the defense, they argued the case against Sayles is ‘infected’ with bias and misconduct. They revisited evidence, like his car, being destroyed by the Jefferson City Police Department when a court order was in place for its preservation.

In the car, where Sayles was living at the time of the murder, police found two pairs of jeans with possible stains and three pairs of shoes they wanted to test for DNA. After the search, the car was destroyed by the towing company.

Sayles’ defense said Jeremy Bowman, a former JCPD detective who led the case, decided Sayles was guilty from the beginning and failed to pursue other obvious leads.

The defense said there was no info on the seizure of Sayles’ ring and more than an hour in between the photo of other evidence and the photo of the ring, so there is no way to tell when King’s blood got on the ring. They also said the ring was not properly secured and left in Bowman’s desk for days. The ring didn’t make it to the evidence lab until one week after the murder.

In its rebuttal, the state said Bowman had secured the ring in an evidence bag and kept it in a secure drawer in his desk.

Sayles’ counsel painted a healthy narrative around Sayles and King’s relationship as co-parents. They described how the day before King’s murder, she and Sayles were on good terms and celebrated Easter together with their daughter, along with an Easter egg hunt. They said King would also invite Sayles to stay at her apartment from time to time.

The defense also said there is reasonable doubt in the timeline of events surrounding King’s murder. They said her time of death is unknown and that no evidence was presented around when King got home from work that morning. They also noted her body was not found until 5:30 that evening.

What is known, according to the defense, is that Sayles spoke with King on the phone at 6:41 a.m. the day she died. Sayles alleges that he fell asleep and phone records show he texted King an hour later that he was going to the park.

The defense said Sayles was at the park the morning of the murder at 8:07 a.m. and spent the day there writing music. His lawyers say that is not the behavior of a person who just stabbed someone to death.

The defense then circled back to Sayles’ interview with the police. They said Sayles talked about jasmine in the present tense during his interview and was cooperative. He also gave consent to officers to search his phone. The defense also said that no officers noted wounds or scratches on Sayles, even though King is said to have fought her attacker.

The defense said no blood was found on Sayles body or in his hair when he was first arrested the day of the murder. Sayles’ DNA and fingerprints were also not found on the knife and no evidence was presented that Sayles owned the knife, according to the defense.

In response, the state said blood was on Sergio based on the ring recovered and that the investigation shows King’s killer tried to clean themselves off in her kitchen sink.

The defense introduced alternative theories in their closing statement. They said a long, brown, wavy hair was found on the murder weapon and that a man with similar hair had come into the Break Time where King worked multiple times during her last shift. They said King told the man information about her apartment and when she was getting off work.

They also suggested the clothing and knife recovered from the trash can at McClung Park were placed after Sayles arrest. They said the park was left unmonitored and unsealed for 6 hours after he was taken into custody. Two officers found the items when they went back to the park to search after midnight on April 11, 2023.

The state said officers saw Sayles at the park earlier in the day, walking towards the park’s bathroom with something in his hand, believed to be the knife wrapped in clothing that was found, and then saw him moments later without it in his hand. The state explained that one of the officers did a brief search of the area after that, but did not locate the clothes at that time. The state explained that the officer did not know what he was looking for in the initial search and that the clothes found were black, potentially hard to see in a black garbage bag with a quick glance.

The state remained firm that the investigation was not ‘botched’ and the defense has no grounds for their claims of fabrication. Prosecutors said Sayles was angry at King for making a life on her own and that his anger led him to kill her.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A University of Missouri student was charged with several felonies after he allegedly strangled someone at a residence hall who blocked him on Snapchat.

Maxwell Warren, 18, of Overland Park, Kansas, was charged on Tuesday with first-degree burglary, second-degree domestic assault, first-degree domestic assault and misdemeanor fourth-degree assault. He is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond.

Warren appeared for a hearing on Wednesday by video from the jail, according to court records. He waived his arraignment and pleaded not guilty. A bond hearing was scheduled for 1 p.m. Monday, Nov. 10, while a preliminary hearing was set for 9 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 9. A notice to a public defender was filed and Warren’s eligibility will be determined.

The probable cause statement says the victim had blocked Warren on the social media application Snapchat on Sept. 26. Warren went over to the victim’s residence hall to confront the victim the same day. The victim cracked open the door and Warren forced his way into their dorm room, the statement says.

Warren then allegedly started strangling the victim while demanding they add him back on Snapchat immediately, the statement says. The victim unblocked Warren after the assault, the statement says.

Warren allegedly sent a message to the victim on Instagram acknowledging the assault on Sept. 28 and then threatened to hurt the victim again on Sept. 30, court documents say. Warren then allegedly assaulted the victim in their dorm room again on Oct. 29, the statement says. That time, the victim allegedly lost consciousness after they were strangled.

In a second probable cause statement, a witness reported seeing Warren assault a woman near Virginia Avenue Garage. Warren claimed he was assaulted first, but video footage supposedly did not support his claim, the statement says.

A University of Missouri spokesman wrote in a Wednesday evening statement that Warren has been banned from campus.

“Maxwell Warren is barred from the University of Missouri campus, classes and other university activities pending further investigation into allegations surrounding the criminal charges against him,” a statement from school spokesman Christopher Ave says. “The university does not tolerate acts of violence and holds accountable anyone found to violate the law or university policies.  If Warren is released from jail and attempts to enter Mizzou’s campus, he is subject to arrest.”

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Disaster Recovery Centers will be open in several counties around the state this week that were approved for FEMA assistance last month for storms that caused damage in the spring.

A press release from FEMA says a recovery center will be open in Cooper County at the Pilot Grove Community Center from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Thursday and 8 a.m.-6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The community center is located at 300 Progress Ave.

Those who experienced disaster-related damage may be eligible for FEMA assistance.

FEMA wrote in the release that people should bring their insurance policy number, a current phone number and email address, address at the time of the disaster and address where you are currently staying, your Social Security number, a list of damage and losses, banking information for direct deposit and receipts for disaster-related items.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The man who robbed a northeast Columbia business early Wednesday remained at large by afternoon.

Police say a man wearing black clothing went into the business in the 1600 block of Towne Drive, put a pink drawstring bag on the counter and demanded money. He displayed a pistol tucked into his waistband and then jumped over the counter, according to a Columbia Police Department news release.

Police did not name the business.

The man got away and was still free on Wednesday afternoon, the release says.

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Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The destruction of suspected killer Sergio Sayles’ car was out of the Jefferson City Police Department’s hands, officers testified Wednesday during the bench trial for the murder of Jasmine King.

Sayles’ car, which was also his home at the time of King’s killing, has been a point of contention throughout the trial.

Before the trial began on Monday, the defense renewed a request to dismiss the case, arguing that Sayles’ car, evidence in the case, was destroyed after his arrest, but the judge denied this motion.

JCDP detective Lt. Steve Weaver testified Wednesday that police searched the car after it was transported to the station’s garage. Police were on the lookout for any items that could have been related to the case, like potential weapons or items with blood.

Weaver said DNA swabs and fingerprints were taken from the car.

JCPD detective Andrew Rogers also searched the car, taking photos of both the exterior and interior and any notable items that were pulled from the car.

“It contained a lot of stuff, very cluttered,” Rogers said.

Police ended up confiscating two pairs of jeans with possible stains and three pairs of shoes. Rogers added that the search felt “normal.”

When questioned about the destruction of the car, Weaver said the JCPD has no protocol or practice to notify the owner of a confiscated vehicle. Sayles’ car was removed by a towing company after Jeremy Bowman, the former JCPD detective who led Sayles’ case, deemed it that it was no evidence.

Weaver added that the towing company ultimately decides whether a vehicle is destroyed. The defense questioned Weaver about his knowledge of Sayles’ family contacting JCPD for Sayles’ car, to which he said he was not aware of the communication.

“It’s a case-by-case,” Weaver said. “To my knowledge, there is no policy about that, there is no practice about that.”

The defense also questioned detectives on the validity of a ring that connected Sayles to the crime. Bowman alleged Tuesday that the ring was collected from Sayles by an officer at the station when he was interrogated on April 10.

JCPD Evidence Technician Teresa Weaver later testified on Wednesday that the ring was recorded as evidence property on April 17, a week after it was allegedly collected.

Following Wednesday’s hearing, the defense motioned to dismiss the case, specifically for Sayles’ charge of first-degree murder, claiming the state did not have enough evidence of premeditation to prove Sayles was guilty.

The motion was later denied.

In April 2023, police found Jasmine King dead from multiple stab wounds in her home on West Ashley Street. Witness statements and surveillance video reportedly connected Sayles to the crime scene, and police recovered the murder weapon and some of Sayles’ belongings in a trash bag at McClung Park.

King had previously reported harassment and stalking by Sayles, including a complaint in 2021 where she alleged that Sayles threatened to shoot her.

Closing statements and Judge Brouck Jacobs’ decision are expected on Thursday.

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Haley Swaino

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Despite no flurries in Wednesday’s forecast, Columbia residents might have seen snowplow trucks traveling across the city.

Columbia’s Public Works Department held its annual Dry Snow Run training exercise on Wednesday to prepare for the upcoming winter season.

This winter, the department will add five new snow-capable trucks to its fleet to improve reliability and efficiency.

Public Works engineering and operations manager Richard Stone, who is in charge of snow response on city streets, told ABC 17 News in October that the department has about 30 vehicles that it uses for regular snow maintenance.

He said the new trucks will replace aging snow removal equipment. Two are expected to arrive in November and three in January.

The dry snow run began at the Grissum Building on Lakeview Avenue around 10 a.m., with snowplow drivers and staff from multiple city departments reviewing safety procedures and practicing designated snow routes.

Stone said it’s also an opportunity to get new drivers behind the wheel alongside more experienced drivers for training.

“We do have some some newer drivers, so we try to pair those up with veteran drivers, give them a chance to look at the equipment, understand the operations of the equipment,” Stone said. “We’ll also do some some individual training sessions with those drivers beyond the dry snow run.”

The exercise helps every driver familiarize themselves with routes, identify new traffic patterns or construction zones, and ensure equipment is ready before the first snowfall.

“[Drivers] look for medians, speed humps, anything that could provide difficulty during winter weather, get used to the intersections that are there,” Stone said. “Also, take a look at some of the cul-de-sacs, try to figure out where you would put snow within a cul-de-sac, because there’s generally driveways, mailboxes, inlets that you have to avoid. And then there could be parked car.”

Columbia’s Street Division maintains about 1,465 lane miles of roads and 1,100 cul-de-sacs each winter, with priority routes covering more than 691 lane miles.

When snowfall is less than 4 inches, crews focus on clearing priority routes and may address neighborhood streets during regular business hours if conditions allow. When snowfall exceeds 4 inches, crews operate around the clock to restore near-normal conditions on major roads before moving into residential areas. The city deems streets passable when a front-wheel-drive vehicle can safely travel one lane below the posted speed limit.

For more information on Columbia’s snow operations and response priorities, visit CoMoSnow.com.

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Jazsmin Halliburton

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The family of the man killed in a shooting in Jefferson City demanded answers from law enforcement in a news conference Wednesday morning.

On the steps of the Cole County Courthouse, the family of Erik Spencer II spoke to the public regarding the investigation into his death. The family is asking for transparency and accountability, along with answers.

Jefferson City police revealed Spencer’s name Tuesday after he was killed Saturday night in a parking lot near the Old Navy on Missouri Boulevard. Spencer was a graduate of Lincoln University. However, the Jefferson City Police Department has not released the shooter’s name pending a decision from the prosecutor on whether charges will be filed.

ABC 17 News obtained the incident report from Saturday night. The report begins with a call to 911 at 7:52 p.m.. The caller told dispatch they witnessed a male assaulting a female in a red car. The caller and operator noted they were able to hear screaming coming from the car. The report then says the caller saw the woman try to leave the car while the screaming continued.

At 7:54 p.m., a gunshot is listed in the report, with the caller yelling “gun.” Seconds later, the caller tells the dispatcher a man had been shot and that the windows of the Old Navy store had also been shot out.

The report says the gunshot victim, later confirmed to be Spencer, was still breathing at 7:57 p.m. and that a licensed nurse was on scene trying to help. At 7:58 p.m., EMS arrived, and law enforcement secured a gun at the scene. At 8:02 p.m., CPR was in progress, and EMS was evaluating life-saving measures. Spencer’s time of death was not listed in the report, but police said he died at the scene.

A Buick sedan and a Hyundai sedan were towed from the scene. A black Audi was also secured and searched at the Jefferson City Police Department. Police recovered one gun from the scene.

According to police, the suspected shooter is cooperating with the investigation.

Redacted incident reportDownload

ABC 17 News has confirmed that a state employee was questioned by police regarding the incident and released. That person is currently on administrative leave and has not been detained. No charges have been filed in the case.

Cole County Prosecutor Locke Thompson, who has been in Boone County this week trying a murder case, said he will get a full briefing on the case Thursday. From there, Thompson said he will evaluate any other leads that may need to be followed. He said the “complexities” of the investigation could stall a decision.

In a social media post, Spencer’s family said they are frustrated by the lack of information from the Jefferson City Police Department.

Lincoln University acknowledged Spencer’s death in a Wednesday social media post.

“Unfortunately, Erik Spencer II, a former student, tragically lost his life in an incident off campus. We offer our condolences to Erik’s family and friends,” the post reads. “We encourage those in our campus community to utilize the resources available to students and employees as you deal with grief and other emotions following this tragedy.”

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Hallsville voters approved a number of measures on Tuesday.

There was a 25% voter turnout for this election, according to information from the county clerk’s office.

Voters overwhelmingly approved to stay with the four-day school week students have been doing the past few years. “Yes” took home 75% of the vote.

Voters once again approved a proposition that allows the district to borrow $6.5 million to improve buildings and infrastructure, including a multi-use sports field. Voters approved the same bond issueback in April, but State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick refused to certify the result, citing issues with how the notice of election was posted. The measure passed this time with 75% of the vote.

 “These results show that our community believes in our direction,” Superintendent Tyler Walker said in a statement. “The passage of both measures allows us to focus on what matters most, safe facilities, excellent staff, and opportunities that improve lives through learning.”

Fayette voters keep police marshal elected position

Several local elections are being held around Mid-Missouri on Tuesday.

Among the early results include the Fayette election, which asked voters if they city should convert the police marshal – which is an elected position – to an appointed police chief.

Voters rejected the measure 169 votes to 134.

Additional races

Pettis, Morgan, Cooper and Benton counties voted on State Fair Community College asking to increase its operating tax levy by 10 cents per $100 of assessed value.

Voters in all four counties rejected the measure with 3,172 “no” votes vs. 1,656 votes that were in favor.

Macks Creek voters approved a $1.5 million bond issue to pay for repairs and renovations at their school district with 85.6% of the vote.

The Morgan County R-1 school district’s proposed operating tax levy failed with 67.7% of voters saying “no.”

The City of Marceline in Linn County had its $30 million bond approved by 75.9% of voters. The bond will be used to improve the combined water and sewer system. There were 126 voters who approved it, compared to 40 who voted against. Three voters were eligible in Chariton County, but none cast a ballot.

Maries County voters will decide whether to implement a 1-cent sales tax to pay for emergency dispatching. The tax would replace a 15% tax on landline phones. At 8:20 p.m., 90% of the vote was in, and “Yes” led 502 votes to 257.

Check back for updates.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A portion of both eastbound lanes of Interstate 70 closed on Tuesday night after a crash was reported.

The crash was reported at 7 p.m. in the eastbound lane, according to a Boone County Joint Communications notification. Joint Communications later reported that both eastbound lanes were closed at mile marker 130.

Information from the Missouri Department of Transportation indicated that the closure could last roughly an hour.

Joint Communications wrote at 7:46 p.m. that one lane was reopened, and another update was sent at 7:51 p.m. stating that both lanes were open.

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Olivia Hayes

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Jefferson City residents voted Tuesday on whether the city’s lodging tax will be extended an additional 25 years.

Voters approved the measure with 53.9% of the vote. There was a 15.61% voter turnout this election. There were 4,397 total votes cast, with 2,371 in favor and 2,026 against.

The lodging tax is a 7% tax paid by visitors staying in hotel and motel rooms, as well as short-term rentals. Voters first approved the tax in 2011, lasting until 2035. The tax was extended through 2060.

The city uses 3% of the tax to fund its Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, the other 4% goes into the city’s Conference Center Fund. Since 2011, the tax has brought in around $13 million to the Conference Center Fund.

At the end of October, the Jefferson City Lodging Association filed a lawsuit against the city over the tax saying it violates Missouri law. In response, an attorney for the city filed a motion to dismiss the case saying the association doesn’t have standing to sue.

Check back for updates.

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