Category: kmiz-local-news

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A convicted sex offender on Monday pleaded guilty to keeping artificially generated child pornography on his cellphone.

Charles Hooton, 64, of Columbia, pleaded guilty to four counts of child porn possession and one count of failing to register as a sex offender. He was sentenced to seven years in prison.

The probable cause statement in previous reporting says police were called on May 18 about a report of Hooton having child porn after a woman saw a number of images while using his cellphone.

Hooton spoke with police on July 24 and let them go through his phone, court documents say. He allegedly admitted to using an AI app to generate the explicit images, the statement says. Police wrote that more than 130 AI-generated images were found on Hooton’s phone.

Hooton’s web history also included several websites that had “teen,” “boy” and other related phrases in the name, court documents say.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Boone County dog breeder accused of animal abuse is facing a significant number of felony charges after she was indicted by a grand jury on Friday.

Melissa Sanders, 26, of Columbia, is now charged with 29 counts of animal abuse. All of the counts are felonies. She was previously charged with three felony counts and 15 misdemeanor counts of animal abuse.

An arraignment for the new set of charges is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Monday. She is being held at the Phelps County Jail without bond, though she is listed on Boone County’s online jail roster.

During a hearing on Thursday, a Judge Kayla Jackson-Williams said she would consider a bond and ordered a detention study to be done. A hearing on that decision was scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 30. A lawyer for the state had argued that Sanders is a flight risk because she is involved in a relationship with someone from Texas.

Sanders ran Magnum Opus German Shepherds and a number of dead dogs, including a dozen dog skulls, were found at the property of the business when law enforcement served a search warrant, according to court documents in previous reporting. Several malnourished dogs were also found at the property.

Court documents say at least two living dogs that were found were on the brink of death.

The living dogs were turned over to the Central Missouri Humane Society after Sanders was arrested. Owners of the dogs were contacted and reunited with the animals.

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Keriana Gamboa

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Boone County Commission on Thursdays approved the finalized budget for the 2026 fiscal year.

Including money being using from the American Rescue Plan Act, expenditures for the new fiscal year are expected to total $156 million.

Officials say the budget will allow for pay raises for some county employees.

Presiding Commissioner Kip Kendrick says the new pay plan is a different approach to county compensation. As part of the restructuring, positions have been grouped into job “families” like law enforcement, IT, administration, and engineering to ensure pay stays competitive across different fields.

 The new system breaks pay into three components:

Cost-of-living increases

Step raises that move employees toward market-pay levels

Discretionary pay for performance, promotions and other merit-based factors

Boone County Auditor Kyle Rieman said the new pay structure also helps communicate to employees why they are receiving a pay increase or why they may not in certain cases.

Kendrick said the county will continue updating the plan as the county grows to make sure employees’ pay remains competitive. 

“We’ll be able to kind of touch that each and every year. And so this is a more interactive pay plan and something that we can, you know, likely keep on top of better, from our end at the county level, to make sure that it, you know, that it moves forward, that it doesn’t remain stagnant,” Kendrick said. 

In late 2023, the county hired McGrath Consulting Group to review salaries and found 51% of the nearly 500 county employees were being paid below market levels. 

The findings prompted a complete overhaul of the county’s pay policy, aimed at aligning employee salaries more closely with market rates.

Rieman said the county has budgeted $3.9 million to implement the new pay plan and cover 2026 pay increases.

He also adds the proposed revenue projection is $121 million, when not including American Rescue Plan Act money.

Kendrick added while this year’s budget isn’t as large as usual, the county has set aside enough reserve funds to cover major capital projects.

“We will spend more than we’re taking in next year. But our reserves allow us to do that. We’ve been planning these large capital projects for a number of years,” Kendrick said. Large projects such as the, eight megahertz system by the time that’s fully implemented from helping by the radios to building new towers is probably a little over a $20 million project.”

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Librarians at the University of Missouri in Columbia voted last week to unionize, according to a Friday press release from LiUNA 955, a union that represents several employee groups in Mid-Missouri.

“We are hopeful that the UM System voluntarily recognizes our union and bargains in good faith.” engineering librarian Noël Kopriva said in the release.

The release says the workers filed with the State Board of Mediation on Friday, Dec. 12. An MU spokesman told ABC 17 News that the university has received the petition.

“The University received the petition filed with the Missouri Board of Mediation by the Laborers’ International Union of North America, Local 955, on December 12, 2025, and is aware of today’s press release,” a statement from MU spokesman Travis Zimpfer says. “Local 955 seeks to be the exclusive bargaining representative of certain employees affiliated with the Mizzou libraries. The University is reviewing the petition and press release and will follow the law in these proceedings.”

Taira Meadowcroft, a health science librarian, was quoted in the release says workers voted to unionize to “improve MU Libraries.”

“Some of our staff barely make above minimum wage and that harms our ability to deliver effective service to our users – the researchers, students, staff and faculty that keep this University running,” Meadowcroft was quoted in the release.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Central Missouri Humane Society announced in a Friday press release that it is halting its intake of cats because of “the presence of a contagious upper respiratory illness within the shelter.”

CMHS will waive adoption fees for all cats through Friday, Dec. 26.

“Reducing our feline population is one of the most effective ways we can slow the spread of illness and keep cats comfortable while they recover,” CMHS Executive Director Julie Aber was quoted in the release. “Adoption or even temporary fostering makes an immediate difference for our feline population.”

The release says the fees are waived for cats at the shelter on Big Bear Boulevard and claims all cats there are spayed/neutered, are up to date on vaccinations and microchipped.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man has been charged with a pair of felonies after authorities claim he stole $15,000 from an elderly woman in a cryptocurrency scam.

Charles Burri, 29, of Columbia, was charged on Thursday in Boone County with financially exploiting an elderly person and stealing more than $750. A warrant was requested on Thursday. He is not listed on the Boone County Jail roster and police wrote in the probable cause statement that Burri is “avoiding law enforcement contact.”

The probable cause statement says police received an email from the 71-year-old victim on Nov. 20 that claimed she invested $15,000 with Burri Asset Management on July 1. Burri allegedly “offered her returns from various crypto investments,” the statement says.

When the victim asked for her money back, Burri allegedly claimed he would give it back, but then stopped communicating with the victim, the statement says.

Court documents say a subpoena of Burri’s bank account showed a $10,000 deposit was made on July 2.

The probable cause statement claims Burri is “suspected in other crimes related to stealing by deceit.”

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Two people have been charged with felonies after authorities claim a Jefferson City mother gave alcohol to her child and provided the youth to a 32-year-old man.

Michael Alexander, 32, of Jefferson City, was charged on Thursday in Cole County with first-degree rape, while Lorretta Wilhelm, 40, also of Jefferson City, was charged with first-degree rape and first-degree endangering the welfare of a child.

Both people are being held at the Cole County Jail without bond and arraignments were scheduled for Friday morning.

The probable cause statement says the father of the victim called police on Dec. 14 after learning his child was sexually abused the night before.

Wilhelm allegedly picked up the victim from a friend’s home on Dec. 13, gave the child alcohol, picked up Alexander and rented a hotel room for the two, court documents say. The victim had allegedly vomited from being intoxicated before entering the hotel room, the statement says.  

An older sibling of the victim went to the hotel to take the victim away after learning they were there, the statement says. The victim allegedly told the sibling they had intercourse with Alexander, the statement says.

Wilhelm allegedly admitted to having alcohol in her vehicle, but denied handing booze to the youth, the statement says. She also allegedly denied knowing Alexander’s age, according to court documents.

Alexander denied having a sexual encounter with the youth, according to court documents.

Video from the hotel allegedly showed Wilhelm paying for a room and Alexander carrying the victim to the room, the statement says.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 61-year-old man from Dixon was charged with a felony after authorities say he drunkenly crashed his truck into a motorcycle on Wednesday.

Benjamin Shoemaker was charged on Thursday in Maries County with driving while intoxicated leading to a crash that caused serious injury. He is being held without bond. A court date has not been scheduled.

A Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report says the driver of a 2000 GMC Sonoma was heading southbound on Highway 28 in Maries County when he failed to year to a 2023 Honda Rebel 1100 motorcycle that was entering the highway and hit it.

The motorcycle rider – a 48-year-old man from Dixon – had serious injuries and was flown to University Hospital in Columbia, the report says. The man wore a helmet, the report says.

The probable cause statement says Shoemaker admitted to fault in the cash. A trooper smelled alcohol on Shoemaker and requested he take multiple sobriety tests, which were refused. Shoemaker allegedly took a breath test, but did not blow hard enough to register a reading, the statement says.

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Lucas Geisler

Editor’s note: A source error led to Smith’s name to be initially spelled incorrectly. The name has since been corrected.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The woman at the center of a Columbia AMBER Alert on Thursday is now charged with three felonies.

The Boone County Prosecutor’s Office charged 24-year-old Joy A. Smith with two counts of second-degree kidnapping and tampering with a motor vehicle. Smith is being held in jail without bond.

Smith was arrested near Higginsville in Lafayette County on Thursday afternoon, about an hour west of Columbia. The Missouri State Highway Patrol issued an AMBER Alert for two children in the car with Smith.

New court documents claim Smith drove away from the Welcome Inn on Providence Road in Columbia on Thursday with the 1-year-old and 3-year-old in the car.

A woman claimed she was driving Smith to a relative’s house with the children in the car, and stopped at the Welcome Inn to speak with the children’s father. The woman said Smith drove the car away while she was outside.

Smith is currently in custody at the Lafayette County jail, according to documents.

MSHP released bodycam video of the arrest later on Friday on its Facebook page.

The Columbia Police Department responded to the 911 call around 3:45 p.m. Thursday.

Lieutenant Clint Sinclair said CPD and other law enforcement agencies, like MSHP Troops A and F, used flock cameras to track down Smith.

Sinclair said flock cameras record license plate information and vehicle descriptions, allowing law enforcement to track where the car traveled.

CPD also used emergency GPS locations to track Smith, Sinclair said. Along with other tactics like monitoring social media and checking in at frequent places Smith might go.

According to MSHP, Smith was stopped about 15 minutes after the AMBER Alert.

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Jazsmin Halliburton

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Cole County’s top prosecutor and the Jefferson City police chief detailed the investigation into a shooting in a commercial parking lot that resulted in no charges during a news conference Friday.

Prosecuting Attorney Locke Thompson and Jefferson City Police Department Chief Eric Wilde expressed sympathy to the family of Erik Spencer II, who was shot during a confrontation Nov. 1 in a parking lot outside Old Navy.

“Everybody in this room I think is mourning for Erik Spencer, including me. This has been tough,” Wilde said. “But we have to operate within the rules of criminal justice. We have to operate in accordance with the laws of the state of Missouri.”

Wilde said no video existed of the shooting or the events leading up to the shooting, so police had to rely on eyewitness statements.

He said those eyewitnesses said Spencer was physically assaulting a woman, including pulling her out of a car, on the west side of the Chilli’s restaurant before he was confronted and shot. He had already thrown the woman to the ground several times, Wilde said.

“The victim eventually or initially escaped from Erik Spencer, she attempts to get in her vehicle but she’s blocked by spencer and she tries to drive away,” Wilde said.

According to police, the woman then drove her vehicle a few feet away getting closer to the Old Navy.

Witnesses told police Spencer then threw her phone on the ground two times.

The shooter, Spencer Scrivner , a Missouri Department of Corrections Officer, was in a vehicle in the same parking lot and near the Chili’s restaurant. After he witnessed the physical altercation, Wilde says Scrivner pulled a firearm out of his vehicle and approached Spencer.

Scrivner claims when he approached him, Spencer made movements towards his waistband and threatened to shoot him. Scrivner then shot Spencer four times.

“Witnesses also report Scrivner kneeled next to Erik Spencer and attempts to provide aid. In an interview, it indicates he intervened in the situation on behalf of the domestic violence victim and shooting was done in defense of the domestic violence victim and himself when is received a threat from Erik Spencer,” Wilde said.

On Thursday, Thompson said in a news release that no charges will be filed against Scrivner for the Nov. 1 shooting.

Thompson said a grand jury declined to indict Scrivner for manslaughter, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon. The grand jury found Scrivner’s actions were done “in lawful defense of another,” Thompson wrote in a news release.

Thompson said on Friday that under Missouri law, a reasonable person in that position can use deadly force if they believe that doing so is necessary to prevent death or serious injury. However, both Thompson and Wilde reiterated the decision does not mean law enforcement agrees with what occurred.

“It does not mean we stand up here today to condone the shooter’s actions. Regardless of how things played out, Eric Spencer was a beloved son, brother, and uncle,” Thompson said. “No matter the circumstances, his death is a tragedy and our condolences go out to his parents, sisters, and other family and friends.”

Thompson also said charges of unlawful use of a weapon and armed criminal action– which the grand jury also considered– no longer applied since it was found that he acted out of self-defense. He also said it would have been hard to prove that Scrivner knowingly shot toward other stores in the area.

“The only thing we would have been able to prove at that point was that he was knowingly shooting at Erik Spencer,” Thompson said.

Wilde said that the reported assault victim gave inconsistent statements in the investigation. Thompson said she first claimed the confrontation with Spencer was not physical.

Thompson said the grand jury made the decision not to charge the shooter, and that he had no input in that decision.

Thompson said Friday that Scrivner told investigators Spencer had threatened to shoot him. Spencer did not have a weapon, Wilde said. Four shots were fired, he said.

“It was hard to say he was unarmed when he has the ability to strike, kick or punch,” Wilde said. “But armed with a firearm? No. Armed with an edged weapon like a knife or blunt instrument? No.”

ABC 17 News asked Thompson and Wilde if they thought four shots were excessive in this case.

“It ultimately comes down to the decision of the shooter,” Wilde said. “Officers are trained and we are trained to fire until we perceive a threat no longer exists,”

“I would say generally speaking in a lot of the weapon offense cases we see four shots is not a lot,” Thompson said.

Scrivner, was put on leave from the DOC during the investigation. Police said his statement remained the same throughout the several times he was interviewed.

The Spencer family has called for transparency and criminal charges during multiple public appearances.

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