Category: kmiz-local-news

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A former youth minister was charged on Wednesday in Cole County with sex crimes.

Robert Ferguson, 27, of Jefferson City, was charged with child enticement, nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images and attempted sexual exploitation of a minor. He is being held at the Cole County Jail without bond. A court date has not been scheduled.

The probable cause statement says one of the victims was an adult. She allegedly started speaking with law enforcement in May after learning that Ferguson had sent images and videos of her nude to other people, court documents say.

The victim sent multiple screenshots of a phone and was worried that Ferguson may have also been speaking to minors, the statement says. Several of the phone numbers that Ferguson communicated with were determined to be people who were members of their church, the statement says.

Police wrote that additional screenshots allegedly showed that he tried posing as a teenager and refused to identify himself to a youth. He also allegedly tried to get that same youth to show him nude photographs.

Ferguson allegedly admitted to sending nude files of the woman and lying about his identity to the youth, the statement says.

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 42-year-old man from Danville, Illinois, was found dead after a crash occurred at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday on Route J in Montgomery County at Loutre Valley Lane, a Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report says.

An MSHP spokesman wrote in an email the crash was reported the next day. The report says the rider was pronounced dead at the scene at 11:17 a.m. Wednesday.

The report says the man’s 1992 Harley Davison Sportster 883 was heading southbound when it went off the left side of the road and hit an embankment. The rider was ejected from the vehicle and hit a concrete culvert twice, the report says.

The report says the man did not wear a helmet. His body was brought to Schlanker Funeral Home in Montgomery City, according to the report.

MSHP reports do not name those involved in crashes.

Click here to follow the original article.

Sutton Parker

COLUMBIA MO. (KMIZ)

Columbia College officially auctioned off nine properties on Wednesday afternoon.

The Atterberry Auction & Realty Group was tasked with the auction and said that in total nine properties, 21 units, a vacant lot and a building near Columbia College and downtown were auctioned.

The auction opened on June 11, and potential buyers were able to submit bids through the realty group’s website. The bidding then closed on Wednesday afternoon.

In total, Columbia College made around $2 million from the sale.

Eight of the properties listed are located near the Lyons Street and North Eighth Street intersection.

Neeley Current has lived on Lyons Street for 20 years and said she has seen a lot of change on the street over time, and the sale is just another one.

“I have seen a lot of change over the period of time from single housing units shifting to apartment complexes, and I feel a lot of uncertainty that it will turn into one apartment complex, and it will be turned into large apartment buildings,” she said.

Current added she is concerned about private equity firms coming in and shifting her neighborhood from single-home housing to larger apartments.

“I hope they don’t just drastically shift our neighborhood from primmarley low income single housing to larger apartments,” she said.

As for what comes next, Atterberry Auction and Realty said that we will have to wait around 30 days for the properties to officially close. Due to the transactions still pending, they said they are not able to disclose who bought the properties or what they believe the properties might be used for.

They add the names of the buyers will be part of a public record as soon as the deal is finalized.

Looking at the numbers, the property that sold for the most was the former Columbia College Student Support Services building.

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

No one is in custody yet after two shootings in Northeast Columbia Wednesday.

The Columbia Police Department taped off a parking lot at The Greens apartments, on Clark Lane, east of the Highway 63/Interstate 70 Connector. An ABC 17 News photographer saw at least 13 CPD patrol vehicles.

Police responded at 4 p.m. in the 51000 block of Clark Lane. One juvenile male was found shot multiple times and is in serious condition, according to Columbia Police Department spokesman Brian McNeill. Police later wrote in a social media post that the boy’s injuries were not life-threatening.

Police also received a call for shots fired at the 1300 block of Godas Drive, McNeill said.. A man was found on Keene Street with non-life-threatening injuries and was brought to an area hospital. CPD later wrote in a social media post that that man also had serious injuries.

Police have not confirmed if the scenes are connected. No suspects are in custody, but McNeill said there is no threat to the public.

A neighbor – who wished to not be identified out of fears of possible retaliation – told ABC 17 News they heard noises that sounded like fireworks at first, but then determined shots were fired after return fire was heard. The neighbor said the incident occurred between 3:30-4 p.m. and that a male had been hit.

A woman who said she lived in the same building as the Clark Lane victim, named Monique Rufus, said she saw a red car pull up to the teen boy and shoot 13 to 15 times at him. Rufus said the boy tried to return fire but his gun jammed.

 “He was literally right there and then boo, boo, boo, boo, boo, boo, boo it happened,” Rufus said. “I flew in between the cars and got up under there because I just was wondering when was it going to stop?”

Police were unable to confirm if the two scenes were connected in any way. They also did not confirm if the red car Rufus referenced was a vehicle of interest.

An updated Wednesday night from Columbia Police said both victims injuries did not end up being life-threatening.

The scene on Godas and The Greens were still active at 7 p.m. A yard on Godas was seen taped off by police.

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Marshall man who was accused of shooting and injuring two Pettis County deputies last year was sentenced to more than 22 years in federal prison, according to a Wednesday press release from the Department of Justice.

James Joseph Elsea, 63, pleaded guilty in January to two counts of illegal gun and drug possession and illegally shooting a gun while committing a drug trafficking offense, the release says. He was sentenced to 265 months in prison followed by supervised release.

According to court documents in previous reporting, deputies served a “no-knock” warrant for a drug investigation on Friday, May 2, 2025 at a house in the 27000 block of Route BB. Court documents said that Elsea is “known to be armed.”

Two law enforcement members were shot and Elsea allegedly called 911 to say he shot someone, the release and previous reporting says. One deputy was hit above their knee and the other was shot near their calf. One SWAT member returned fire, court documents in previous reporting say.

Click here to follow the original article.

Haley Swaino

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A new $18.6 million facility built to support people experiencing hardship and homelessness is set to open its doors in Columbia in late July.

Construction on the Voluntary Action Center’s Opportunity Campus began in February 2024. Ahead of its opening, members of the public are invited to an open house Thursday to tour the resource center and shelter.

According to Columbia’s 2025 State of Homelessness Report, 309 people experienced homelessness last year. The city’s homeless population has hovered around the 300 mark for at least three years, with 323 reported in 2024 and 270 in 2023. The report was not done during the pandemic from 2020-22.

Services will be provided to more than 7,000 people a year through the over 30,000-square-foot shelter facility, according to local nonprofit VAC. It will include 150 beds, an overflow bed area with private rooms for sick individuals, a commercial kitchen and dining room area, showers and more.

VAC Executive Director Ed Stansberry said the sleeping area will typically split into six sections each night.

“Our vision is that we’ll have pet owners in one section. We do accept pets. We’ll have veterans in an area because they have a certain set of needs about situational awareness. And if there’s PTSD involved, we need to be sensitive to that. An area for loud snorers or sleep talkers, men, women. And then we also know that there’s a significant portion of the unsheltered population that is on the autism spectrum,” Stansberry said. “Many times an environment like this is just way too much stimulus. So one of the areas will be like a sensory deprivation area where we might give them a little cocoon around their bed and maybe some different lighting or sound machines or aroma.”

The Opportunity Campus is made up of two buildings— the Cindy Mustard Resource Center and The Hub. The campus brings together local resources with Waypoint Shelter beds, Campus Companions kennels and the New Day Columbia day center (formerly Turning Point). Loaves and Fishes Soup Kitchen will also provide dinner service.

“Room at the Inn as of January 1 dissolved,” Stansberry said. “We absorbed their employees and have been running the Ashley Street overnight shelter.”

Once the Opportunity Campus officially opens, he said the shelter on Ashley Street in Columbia will start to close.

While most Missouri shelters turn away pets, Stansberry said that might make more potential visitors open to coming to the Opportunity Campus.

The facility will offer a veterinary exam area, pet washing station, indoor/outdoor kennel runs and more.

“So if the fur baby needs a bath, or if they need a flea bath, or if they need a rabies shot, or if they have a minor wound care, we can do that here for them,” Stansberry said.

People will also have access to an on-site medical center run by Centerstone, formerly Burrell.

“That will provide primary care as well as mental health and substance abuse treatment,” Standberry said.

He said Centerstone is on its way to becoming a federally qualified health clinic, which allows them to have a sliding scale of fees based on their patients income— and also subsidizes them.

“When they go for health care, They tend to go to the emergency room, the most expensive place to access our health care system,” Stansberry said.

The Opportunity Campus will offer more ADA accessible showers than are currently available across Columbia shelters.

“We greatly expanded the number of showers that are available to our unsheltered neighbors,” Stansberry said. “Ashley Street [formerly Room at the Inn shelter] right now has two showers and Wilkes Boulevard United Methodist Church [formerly Turning Point shelter] has two showers. So you can imagine the logistical nightmare that it is with two showers to get 150 people through the shower. You can’t do it.”

The shelter also houses mail delivery and laundry services and provides computer access and secure storage spaces.

“One of the misconceptions is that folks who live in shelter don’t have jobs,” Stansberry said. “That’s not true. A lot of them get up and go to work in the morning. And so it’s important for them to have their clothes clean and also to be showered.”

VAC believes the Opportunity Campus will transform the Boone County community.

“The communities that are most successful at addressing homelessness have a radical level of collaboration. And I think that’s what we’ve set ourselves up with here,” Stansberry said. “Our homeless neighbors tend to get covered by a blanket. You know, they’re all this or they’re all that. And that’s just not true. They’re each individuals just like we are. And they each have their own story. All of them have suffered some level of trauma, even just living on the streets is a certain level of trauma.”

The VAC Opportunity Campus is located in the 1300 block of Bowling Street in Columbia.

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Mexican national who pleaded guilty in December to illegally reentering the country and being an illegal alien with a gun was sentenced on Wednesday, according to a press release from the Department of Justice.

Israel Ramirez-Jaramillo, 34, was sentenced to two years in federal prison. The release says he was living in Osage Beach.

Ramirez-Jaramillo was arrested by Osage Beach police officers on April 20, 2025, after he fired a shot into the air during an argument with his girlfriend at their apartment, according to a U.S. attorney’s news release.

Officers found the gun inside a toilet that Ramirez-Jaramillo was sitting on, previous reporting says.

He had been removed from the country twice in 2011, previous reporting says.

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A teacher who was arrested on suspicion of having sexual misconduct with a student has resigned, according to a Wednesday social media post from the Iberia R-5 School District.

The Board of Education met in a closed session on Tuesday and voted to accept Casey Mason’s resignation, which is retroactive to May 12.

Mason was arrested on May 12, but Miller County Prosecutor Robert Seek opted not to file charge, claiming it did not apply because the alleged victim was 18 years old, previous reporting shows.

The school at the time had stated Mason resigned.

The Wednesday social media post from the school said it could not discuss the details of the Board’s action because it was considered “confidential personnel information.”

Click here to follow the original article.

Erika McGuire

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Public education efforts are underway by the Columbia Police Department as the city’s new median ordinance is set to take effect July 1.

CPD Lt. Clint Sinclair, who is overseeing the implementation, said education efforts began the first week of April, providing a three-month window before the law takes effect.

“I think we’re somewhere between 60 and 70 officers on patrol,” Sinclair said. “We pushed our directive saying, ‘Hey, if you’re on patrol and you see conduct that will violate the ordinance when it goes into effect, go ahead and stop and have a conversation with them,’ and then we also have some of our specialty assignments that work with community partners,”

Officers have been provided with a flyer they can distribute, and resource providers are also using the materials as part of the public education effort.

A flyer used to educate the public on the city’s new median ordinance created by the City of Columbia.

The city has also created a webpage outlining the ordinance’s criteria and identifying the areas where it applies, along with sharing videos on CPD’s social media pages.

“We’ve been working on reducing pedestrian fatalities for a long time, and this is another step in that direction,” Sinclair said.

When enforcement begins on July 1, Sinclair said officers will focus on warnings and education before issuing citations for repeat violations.

“We’re always looking for voluntary compliance first, and I would anticipate, as with most things, we try to get people warnings, and it’s the repeated behavior, the repeated conduct that then we’re looking at maybe a citation,” Sinclair said. “Part of the early campaign now is to maybe give those warnings now and give time for people to prepare for the ordinance to come into effect,”

Sinclair said the ordinance is not based on what a person is doing while standing on a median, but rather on their location. City leaders have been adamant about that aspect of the law so that it withstands First Amendment scrutiny.

“It doesn’t talk about panhandling or protesting or demonstrating. It’s just strictly where you are in the roadway, and it doesn’t matter what you’re doing in a median,” Sinclair said. “If you’re asking for money, if you’re protesting something, if you’re fundraising, none of that matters.”

According to the city’s website, remaining on a narrow median after two light cycles will be considered a violation. Officers will address violators and ask for voluntary compliance before writing a ticket.

Sinclair said officers will not put handcuffs on people or take them into custody just for violating the ordinance.

High-priority areas

The 47 identified crash areas where data shows the highest risk of pedestrian-vehicle crashes are where officers will prioritize enforcement, according to the city.

Some of those areas include:

College Avenue and University Avenue

College Avenue and Rollins Avenue

Stadium Boulevard and Monk Drive/Champions Drive

Business Loop 70 and Providence Road.

“We anticipate this being a complaint-driven or work-driven ordinance, meaning that people will be calling in non-emergency or reporting violations,” Sinclair said.

Those who violate the ordinance can face a fine up to $500, but Sinclair says no one would face jail time for a violation.

ABC 17 News rode along in Sinclair’s patrol vehicle to observe the city’s education efforts. During the ride-along, Sinclair contacted two people on medians that would be off-limits under the ordinance. Both said they were already aware of the ordinance and its requirements.

Zachary Gramke, who said he relies on medians to get by day-to-day, said he learned about the ordinance through word of mouth. While standing on a median on College Avenue, which would be in violation of the ordinance, he questioned the policy, saying it limits access to public space.

“It’s a public space, it would be against my rights to remove me unless I’m breaking the law,” Gramke said. “It definitely puts me in touch with people I wouldn’t be able to get in touch with anyway,”

Gramke said he makes anywhere from nothing to $40 a day on medians and will need to find a new location once the ordinance takes effect.

“I may find a different place, but I guess it comes down to how hungry I am. I have 95 cents in my pocket, and my next meal is not promised. I guess I would do whatever I have to do to eat,” Gramke said.

Gramke believes the city should be focused on bigger issues rather than a median ordinance.

‘I think we’ll have to keep them busy with something else. We should be worried about bigger things like downtown shootings and things like that,” Gramke added.

The Columbia City Council passed the ordinance Feb. 2 on a 5-2 vote. Ward 1 Councilwoman Valerie Carroll and Ward 2 Councilwoman Vera Elwood voted against the measure, while Mayor Barbara Buffaloe was among those who voted in favor.

The ordinance regulates road crossing and traffic islands for both motorists and pedestrians at intersections with speed limits of 35 mph or higher, average daily traffic volumes of at least 15,000 vehicles, or medians narrower than 6 feet.

A City of Columbia map pinpoints medians greater than 6 feet wide and marks roads with higher speeds and traffic volumes.

Several intersections in the city are affected, with the five busiest intersections being:

Providence Road and Stadium Boulevard

Providence Road and Broadway

Broadway and Stadium Boulevard

Broadway and College Avenue

Broadway and Old Highway 63

Drivers can no longer hand items to pedestrians from their vehicles. The ordinance also prohibits drivers from stopping in travel lanes in a way that creates a traffic hazard or allowing occupants to exit a vehicle in a travel lane or major corridor intersection, except during an emergency.

Motivated by safety

The city first proposed the ordinance after hiring George L. Crawford & Associates to conduct a street and intersection safety study.

According to the study, between 2019 and 2023, Boone County experienced 3.1% of the state’s pedestrian fatal crashes. During the same period, 20.4% of deadly crashes in the county involved pedestrians, which is above both the national average of 18.7% and the state average of 11.9%.

In Columbia, between 2019 and 2023, the study found the city experienced 2.6% of all pedestrian deaths within Missouri, representing 76% of Boone County pedestrian deaths. It also found that 32% of deadly crashes in Columbia were pedestrian-related, well above both state and national rates.

Local Motion, a Columbia-based group that advocates for transportation equity, said it was initially against the ordinance and was not in favor of its naming.

The group said it is encouraged by the city’s focus on pedestrian safety but believes the ordinance does not address some of the community’s biggest transportation needs, and there were better approaches to improving pedestrian safety rather than regulating pedestrian behavior.

“In our opinion, the ordinance didn’t include some of the things that we felt like were the biggest priorities for improving that like, Complete Streets policy update, which is happening now,” Local Motion CEO Mike Burden said. “Improving and investing more in sidewalks and sidewalk infrastructure, having leading pedestrian intervals that really prioritize pedestrians getting through intersections, having larger refugee island so that folks who need more time crossing a major intersection have an adequate space.”

Click here to follow the original article.

Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 26-year-old Dixon man was seriously hurt in a Pulaski County crash just after 2 p.m. Tuesday.

According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report, the man was driving a 2012 Ford F150 south on Highway 28 at Highway O when he went off the right side of the road.

The truck returned to the road and began to skid. The truck then went off the left side of the road, hit a ditch and overturned before hitting a construction sign and a culvert. The truck came to a stop on its top.

The man was flown to University Hospital with serious injuries. The report states the man was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.

Click here to follow the original article.