Category: kmiz-local-news

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A New Bloomfield man was charged on Thursday in Callaway County with child sex crimes after authorities say he sexually abused a child in April.

Sean James Flanery, 19, was charged with first-degree sodomy of a victim younger than 12 years old and two counts of second-degree child molestation of a child younger than 12 years old. He is being held at the Callaway County Jail without bond. An initial court appearance was held on Friday morning.

The probable cause statement says the youth told a parent that Flanery sexually abused them the night of April 30. The parent allegedly would have Flanery routinely watched their child while they worked overnight, court documents say.

The parent came back to the residence the morning of May 1 and found the youth with Flanery in his bed, court documents say. The victim described the assault to the parent and investigators.

Flanery was interviewed on Thursday, and first allegedly claimed he “did not have much interaction” with the victim until admitting that he would “take care of” the victim while the parent was away, the statement says.

Flanery allegedly told police that he “decided to have Victim One stay in his bedroom to watch a children’s cartoon and have a ‘slumber party,’” court documents say. He first allegedly told law enforcement that he did not remember where the victim slept before admitting they slept in his bed, and claimed “it was possible” he could have touched the victim.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man was charged Thursday with seven felonies for allegedly being the driver in a weekend shooting at the Interstate 70/Highway 63 connector in Columbia.

Mechoal L. Lewis, 52, of Columbia, was in the Boone County Jail on Friday without bond after being charged with first-degree assault, three counts of armed criminal action, two counts of illegal gun possession and one count of unlawful use of a weapon.

The investigation that led to the charges started when police were called to the Break Time store on Conley Road, where they found a man with a gunshot wound to the mouth, according to a probable cause statement. Witnesses told police they had seen a man flee from a car on the connector, according to the statement. The car was then unoccupied and crashed into a median.

Police said Sunday that the victim’s wounds were not life-threatening.

Officers say they found a bullet hole in the front passenger door, a tooth in the backseat and a digital scale with fentanyl residue in the rented Toyota Corolla.

One witness told police that she heard five or six gunshots while she was in traffic, then saw the unoccupied Corolla roll past her car. The Corolla even scraped the witness’s vehicle, the statement says.

Another witness allegedly saw a person in another car shooting a rifle at the Corolla.

During the investigation, police found a second black Toyota that witnesses and Flock cameras had helped place at the scene. The car had bullet holes and blood on it, according to the statement.

Police then found a third car involved in the shooting, a gray Hyundai Elantra, that was driven by Lewis, according to the statement. Lewis admitted to driving the car on Sunday, but gave statements about his whereabouts that were contradicted by Flock camera hits on the car’s license plate, police say.

The statement says Lewis admitted to driving the car during the shooting, saying others in the vehicle did the shooting, after he was confronted with video evidence. Lewis allegedly told police the shooting was retaliation for a shooting at a duplex earlier Sunday.

Lewis’ first hearing is set for 1 p.m. Friday.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

University of Missouri Health Care’s South Providence Medical Building will close early Friday because of problems with its air conditioning.

MU Health Care stated in a news release that the building will close at noon Friday and be closed through the weekend, but the pharmacy will remain open.

MU Health Care is contacting patients with appointments to discuss telehealth or rescheduling.

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Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 19-year-old Pilot Grove woman suffered serious injuries in a Cooper County crash Thursday.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the woman was driving a 2011 Toyota Camry southbound on Route JJ, south of Lee Road at 11:50 a.m., when she drove through water in the road. The woman began to hydroplane, went off the road and overturned.

The woman was taken to Bothwell Regional Health Center by Pettis County EMS with serious injuries.

She was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash, according to online crash reports.

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Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Several law enforcement vehicles from multiple departments responded to a burglary alarm at the U.S. Geological Survey Environmental Research Center in Columbia Friday morning.

Just before 5:15 a.m., ABC 17 News crews on scene saw around 20 law enforcement vehicles with the Columbia Police Department, Boone County Sheriff’s Office and University of Missouri Police Department staged outside the research center in the 4200 block of E. New Haven Road.

Columbia Police Sgt. Josh McCulloch told ABC 17 News on scene that officers responded to a burglary alarm and found someone inside the building who was not authorized to be there.

The person was arrested. Law enforcement then searched the rest of the facility and found no other people inside.

McCulloch said more information should be released later in the day.

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Steven Lambson

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) will host briefings for local governments and non-profit agencies who want assistance from a recent federal disaster declaration.

The federal disaster declaration relates to destructive storms that happened across the state from June 4 to June 18. The severe weather included flash flooding, tornadoes and straight-line winds.

The briefings are scheduled from August 11 to August 13, and will cover eligibility details, the federal reimbursement process, documentation requirements and other information.

The mid-Missouri counties covered in the disaster declaration include Callaway, Camden, Gasconade, Linn, Macon, Miller, Moniteau, Morgan, and Osage Counties.

There will be briefing in Linn on August 12 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Osage County 911/Emergency Management Agency at 205 East Main Street.

Thursday’s briefings include one at the Mark Twain Museum Gallery in Hannibal at 120 North Main Street, and one at the Camden County Emergency Management Agency at 12 VFW Road in Camdenton. Both are from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The briefings are not for the general public. They will focus on getting assistance to repair damaged public infrastructure like roads and bridges, as well as reimbursement for emergency response and recovery.

For those who are unable to attend a briefing, a recorded video and other important information will be available online at https://sema.dps.mo.gov/programs/state_public_assistance.php (video will be located under DR-4929 tab). For questions about the applicant briefings or Public Assistance program, please call (573) 526-9378.

For additional resources and information about disaster recovery in Missouri, please visit recovery.mo.gov.

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Steven Lambson

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Firefighters responded to reports of smoke in a downtown building Thursday night, and found it was related to a cooking “incident.”

The fire was reported shortly before 9:30 p.m. in the 800 block of East Broadway. Crews arrived and found no flames, but reported enough smoke to set off several fire alarms.

No one was hurt, and a portion of Broadway was closed while firefighters worked to ventilate the building.

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Euphenie Andre

CALLAWAY COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Callaway County Emergency Management officials said first responders handled several weather-related incidents Thursday as heavy rainfall quickly led to flooded roads and hazardous driving conditions across the county.

Officials reported water covering portions of Interstate 70 between mile markers 147 and 148. Crews also responded to reports of gravel and debris from nearby road construction washing onto the interstate, creating additional hazards for drivers.

Early Thursday morning, County Road 258 received about four inches of rain in about 30 minutes, according to emergency management officals. The intense rainfall caused flash flooding that temporarily left some residents unable to leave the area.

The flooding washed out approximately 150 feet of the roadway. Callaway County Road and Bridge crews responded, and once water levels receded, workers were able to make the road accessible to drivers again.

Emergency Management spokeswoman Michelle Kidwell said one of the more serious incidents happened in Kingdom City near the intersection of U.S. 54 and Old Highway 40.

First responders conducted a water rescue after a vehicle was found nearly submerged. One woman was safely rescued from the vehicle and was not injured.

Flooding was also reported along portions of U.S. 54 between Fulton and New Bloomfield. Officials said the amount of water in that area was unusual and created dangerous driving conditions.

Kidwell is reminding drivers to avoid traveling through flooded roadways. She said drivers cannot always tell how deep the water is or whether the road underneath has been damaged or washed away.

Officials encourage drivers to turn around and find another route if they encounter water covering the roadway.

They also advise motorists to remain alert for debris, washed-out shoulders and rapidly changing road conditions following severe weather.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia Fire Department confirmed in a Thursday social media post that Tuesday’s fire at the new McDonald’s on Providence Road in Columbia was caused by “improperly discarded smoking materials.”

The fire at 200 South Providence Road led to two firefighters needing to be treated for heat-related illness.  

Providence Road was shut down in the area while first responders worked. The fire at the building went from the main floor into the attic.

No one who was in the building when the fire started was injured, officials said in previous reporting. The restaurant is still closed.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A group has filed a lawsuit against Secretary of State Denny Hoskins in their attempt to protect Missouri’s initiative petition process in its current form.

Claire Harris, Jamie Howard and Eric Bonner – who are residents of Greene, Cole and St. Louis counties, respectively – wrote that they signed a petition that would have protected the state’s current initiative petition process, and claimed there were enough signatures to put it to a vote.

Hoskins had indicated during a Tuesday press conference that the petition was insufficient – which he also announced for a petition challenging tje new congressional map. People Not Politicians followed up with a lawsuit of their own over that issue.

Harris, Howard and Bonner declare in their lawsuit that the petition they submitted was sufficient and claimed Hoskins’ decision was unconstitutional and they are seeking to get the measure on the November ballot.

Respect Missouri Voters – the group who filed the lawsuit – shared a statement to ABC 17 News.

“For 118 years, Missourians have relied on citizen initiatives to take issues directly to the people, independent of the legislature,” co-founder Benjamin Singer wrote in the statement. “We are confident the courts will uphold the law, protect the integrity of Missouri’s initiative process, and ensure Missourians retain their constitutional right to make their voices heard.”

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