Category: kmiz-local-news

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Holts Summit man was charged on Friday with several felonies after he allegedly sexually assaulted a woman in 2023.

Jeffrey Wilcox, 28, was charged with first-degree sodomy, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon. He is being held at the Callaway County Jail without bond. A court date has not been set.

According to the probable cause statement, the victim reported the assault to Holts Summit police on July 1, 2023. The assault allegedly occurred the day before. The victim allegedly rejected Wilcox’s advances until Wilcox pulled out a gun, the statement says.

The loaded gun was allegedly sitting on a bed and was pointed at the victim, the statement says. A searched warrant was obtained for Wilcox’s DNA and was sent to the Missouri State Highway Patrol Crime Lab, court documents say.

DNA from Wilson allegedly matched a sample that was in the sexual assault kit, court documents say.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Another man has pleaded guilty to a lesser murder charge in a June 2023 fatal shooting on Dove Drive.

Jajuan Crockett, 23, of Columbia, pleaded guilty on Friday to second-degree murder, tampering with a motor vehicle, two counts of stealing and one count of tampering with evidence. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

He was previously charged with first-degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon, armed criminal action, first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle, accessory to stealing, stealing more than $750 and tampering with evidence.

Crockett appeared in court by video. He is being held at South Central Correctional Center and is serving a six-year sentence in an unrelated case.

In court Friday, the state said it agreed to the 10-year sentence because it could not confirm whether Crockett was in either vehicle allegedly used in the shooting and he was not the shooter. However, prosecutors noted that he used his home as a meeting point and to dispose of evidence, according to court documents.

Court documents filed last month say Deazes Turner, Deljuan Turner and Alqueze Jones shot and killed Deshon Houston, 33, on June 26, 2023, from a white 2017 Ford Explorer driven by Ja’Shaun Barney; while Bryton Allen also shot at Houston from an Acura MDX driven by Damarkus Williams.

Investigators linked seven suspects to the shooting through witness descriptions of two vehicles and data from a stolen SUV that crashed while fleeing the scene. Both sides had more than 100 witnesses ready to go for this case if it went to trial.

On June 26, 2023, police found Houston shot in the head outside a home in the 3200 block of Dove Drive. Witnesses reported seeing the gunmen firing at Houston and another man through the sunroof of one of the vehicles. 

Several men have taken plea deals in the shooting. Deljuan Turner pleaded guilty in November to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 21 years in prison. Jones, 21, pleaded guilty that same month to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 21 years in prison.

Allen, 22, pleaded guilty in July 2024 to second-degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon and was sentenced to 20 years. He was also sentenced to four years in prison in an unrelated case where he pleaded guilty to resisting arrest in 2021.

Deazes Turner, 22, pleaded guilty last month to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 21 years in prison.

Barney, 20, is charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon and first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle. He is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond and has a hearing scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Thursday, June 5.

Williams, 20, is charged with first-degree murder, three counts of armed criminal action and two counts of unlawful use of a weapon. He is being held at the Boone County Jail and has a hearing scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Monday, June 30.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Sedalia man who is accused of firing a gun at a woman on Wednesday has been charged with multiple felonies.

Josiah Willis, 21, was charged with first-degree assault, unlawful use of a weapon and armed criminal action. He is being held at the Pettis County Jail on a $35,000 bond. Willis appeared for an arraignment on Friday by video from the jail. A counsel status hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 20.

The probable cause statement says that police were called to a residence at 6:29 p.m. for a domestic disturbance and were told that Willis just left in a convertible. Police saw blood on the door of the home and the floor, as well as a broken window and glass on the floor, the statement says.

A woman allegedly told Willis to leave her home because he cheated on her daughter and he punched out a window on his way out, the statement says. Other people near the home said Willis pulled out a gun after, but those inside the house didn’t see it, the statement says.

Willis came back to the home while police were there and started arguing with officers, the statement says. Police found a gun and shell casings and determined that four shots had been fired, court documents say.

One of the women stated they went to find Willis about an hour before to get him to gather his belongings from the residence, the statement says. The woman “pinged” Willis’ phone and found him on private property in a wooded area on Missouri Avenue behind Hubbard Park, court documents say.

Willis allegedly fired a shot in the air when the woman arrived, court documents say. She decided to leave and Willis fired two or three more rounds at the woman, court documents say. Residents in the area also heard gunshots, police wrote.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 17-year-old boy was seriously injured after he was hit by a vehicle on Thursday night on Route J in Camden County, according to a crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The youth was flown to University Hospital, the report says.

The crash occurred when a 2017 Nissan Rogue – driven by a 26-year-old Roach, Missouri, man – hit the boy in the roadway, the report says.

The vehicle was totaled. No other injuries were reported.

MSHP reports do not name those involved in crashes.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man accused of stealing an ambulance from Phelps Health Hospital in Rolla on Thursday has been charged.

Jason Johnson, 44, of Bland, Missouri, was charged on Friday with first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle and aggravated fleeing. He is being held at the Phelps County Jail.

According to the probable cause statement, the ambulance was going to be used to bring a patient to another hospital “for a higher level of care” when Johnson took it.

The statement says that Johnson drove the ambulance on Interstate 44 while evading law enforcement. Johnson allegedly weaved in and out of traffic while going 10-18 miles over the speed limit, the statement says.

A Thursday press release from Phelps Health says law enforcement used spike strips to stop the vehicle in St. James.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 39-year-old Higbee man was seriously injured in a crash after midnight Friday morning on Route A, about three miles south of Moberly, according to a Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report.

The report says that the man was riding a 2021 Harley Davison southbound when it went off the roadway. The man was ejected from the vehicle, the report says.

The man was not wearing a helmet and was brought to University Hospital by ambulance, the report says.

The bike had extensive damage.

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Maria Schneider

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man was sentenced to life in prison Friday after being found guilty of killing an 88-year-old woman in 2021.

Lyle Miller, 68, of Madison, Missouri, was convicted by a jury in March of second-degree murder and tampering with evidence in the December 2021 death of Betty Hayes, 88.  Miller was arrested in July 2023.

According to court documents in previous reporting, a witness told investigators they saw Miller driving away quickly from Madison the night Hayes went missing. Her remains were eventually found in a pond.

Investigators believe Miller was angry with Hayes over unpaid work he had done for her.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia man who was arrested in relation to a large police response that occurred Thursday at Forest Village Apartments has been charged.

Ramelus Bradley, 19, was charged in Boone County on Friday with unlawful use of a weapon, third-degree domestic assault and misdemeanor fourth-degree domestic assault. He is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond.

According to the probable cause statement filed by the Columbia Police Department, the victim called dispatchers saying that Bradley was outside her residence with a gun. She called using a friend’s phone and claimed that Bradley took her phone and tried to steal her vehicle, the statement says.

Bradley was allegedly upset with what he saw on the victim’s phone and pushed her into a closet, court documents say. Her 2-year-old son was in the apartment at the time, court documents say.

Bradley allegedly ran out of the apartment to get the vehicle, but the victim jumped on the roof of the vehicle so he wouldn’t leave, the statement says. Bradley allegedly pulled the woman off the vehicle and then she got into the vehicle’s backseat, the statement says.

The statement then says Bradley drove to a parking lot near Mizzou Arena, threatened the woman with a gun and choked her. Bradley then allegedly drove the woman back to the apartment and told her to get her son because he was going to leave, court documents allege. A probable cause statement filed by MUPD says that Bradley allegedly threatened to kill the victim.

The woman got on top of the vehicle again and was able to get into the driver’s seat, the statement says. When the woman drove away, she saw Bradley holding a key and her cellphone, court docs say.

Bradley allegedly told police later that he pushed the victim on the bed and the grabbed her arms and moved her into a closet after she fought back, the statement says. Bradley also allegedly denied pulling out a gun and strangling the victim. MUPD wrote that they did not “observe injuries to the victim’s neck.”

The statement says that Bradley left the area prior to police arriving. However, police were on the scene for several hours and ABC 17 News reporters heard police calling out his name and telling him to come out of the apartment.

A press release from the Columbia Police Department says that Bradley was arrested in the 2500 block of Quail Drive. Jail records indicate that he booked into the jail at 2:17 a.m. Friday.

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Matthew Sanders

A new pope was chosen on Thursday. And for the first time in centuries of church history, he’s an American.

Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected pontiff and chose the name Leo XIV before greeting the faithful in St. Peter’s Square. Leo has already drawn comparisons to his predecessor, Pope Francis.

He’s the first American ever to head the Vatican. And while that is historic, Leo has a varied international biography, and the pontiff is selected to guide the faithful around the world.

Do you think the pope’s nationality matters? Vote in the poll.

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Marie Moyer

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The state budget is on its way for approval with its next stop at the Missouri House and Senate floors after the Conference Committee on Budget adjourned Thursday night at around 5:50 p.m.

Notable additions ahead of Friday’s deadline included an approval for almost $500 million to go to the state’s Department of Education’s Missouri School Funding Formula and $100 million for the state treasury to give to the Missouri Empowerment Scholarship Accounts fund.

The Missouri School Funding Formula was a program formed to ensure that funds were available in all districts, including charter schools, to provide education to students.

The MOScholars fund gives organizations tax credits for donations to approved nonprofit educational organizations, which include public, private and charter schools.

According to the budget, $50 million will go directly into the scholarship fund while the other $50 million will go to additional spending. This was met with some points of contention in the committee with some seeing this as the government directly funding private or charter schools. Others believed that scholarship opportunities were important, no matter what institution.

“I think this is fiscally irresponsible and quite frankly, I think it’s shameful to put $50 million into funds that can directly discriminate against the students they are supposed to be serving,” Committee member Sen. Maggie Nurrenbern (D-Kansas City) said.

“We’re talking about education for children and I care about our children, no matter where they are and whatever help we can give them and their parents, that’s what we should do,” Committee member Rep. Marlene Terry (D-St. Louis) said.

Conference Committee cochair Sen. Lincoln Hough (R-Springfield) expects the floor vote to go quickly.

“Most of the time, not a lot of conversation, mainly because we’ve done our work,” Hough said. “We’ve, tried to try to address as many of the priorities that the members have and so most of the time, this thing gets in a pretty good situation by the end of it.”

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