Category: kmiz-local-news

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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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A large police presence was seen near a south Columbia apartment on Thursday evening.

An ABC 17 News photographer saw a line of Columbia Police Department vehicles near Forest Village Apartments on South Providence Road, just away from the intersection with Green Meadows Road.

The photographer saw at least 12 police officers in the area at 7:50 p.m. Police used a loudspeaker to tell a man in an apartment to come out.

Police tape started coming down at 10:24 p.m. and some officers began leaving shortly after.

CPD Assistant Chief Paul Dickinson told ABC 17 News in a text message that police were called to the area for a disturbance.

Neighbors told ABC 17 News that this is a rare occurrence for the area.

Officers at the scene did not comment.

Check back for updates.

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Erika McGuire

COLUMBIA, MO. (KMIZ)

Water in Columbia still had discoloration Thursday afternoon following the recent switch from the city’s main central water line to a secondary west line.

City of Columbia Utilities Spokesman Jason West said the city made the switch Tuesday evening due to low tide. The city was originally going to close off service for a short period of time while installing a flow meter.

“Unfortunately there were some hiccups in that, to be able to not have a disruption in service we went to the secondary line and thats what caused the abnormal amount of pressure through that line, more pressure than it sees in a day” West said.

“The situation was caused by an interruption to service, moving from the main central line to the west line that is not in service as the central line,” West said.

According to West, the west line was cleaned a few months ago but more water being pushed through forced out settled sediment, including calcium and magnesium, which led to the brown discoloration.

“Now that it’s rushing water more than normal caused some sediment to come off and get into the flow so that’s what causing the discoloration, its actually more because of an update that was being made to the water treatment plant more than anything else,” West said.

The city has switched back to the central line, however the west line or “secondary line” is still in use as it feeds some parts of the city.

The discoloration should clear up toward the end of Thursday, West said.

On April 30, the city said water main flushing would happen for two weeks each day starting on May 5. But, West said that was separate from this situation.

A similar outcome is possible. The city says if you see brown water you can flush your own water lines for a few minutes or boil it.

ABC 17 News conducted a water test used a H2O Ok Drink Water Analysis Kit bought from Home Depot.

The water tested was from the kitchen sink at ABC 17 News’s office on Business Loop 70. According to its maker, LabTech, the test meets EPA standards. The first tested for total hardness, total chlorine, alkalinity, pH and nitrite.

The test required a test strip to be placed in the water testing tube for two seconds, give it a shake and wait 30 seconds before comparing it to the color chart. Results from our test were as followed:

Total Hardness: 100, slightly above the “OK” range

Total Chlorine: 0-0.5, within the “OK” range

Alkalinity: Between 80-120, considered safe

pH Level: Between 5-6, within the “OK” range

Nitrite and Copper: Both tested at zero, considered in the “OK” range

Iron: Measured at 1, above the “OK” threshold.

Overall the test found the water is safe despite the brown coloring.

The city says water tests are conducted daily from randomly selected locations through Columbia. It takes about 24-28 hours to get results back, according to West.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

An ambulance that was stolen on Thursday from Phelps Health Hospital in Rolla was recovered in St. James, according to a press release from Phelps Health.

The vehicle started heading eastbound on Interstate 44. The release says that law enforcement used spike strips to stop and recover the ambulance. No injuries or additional public property damage was reported. The person accused of stealing the vehicle was not named in the release.

“Phelps Health is fully cooperating with local law enforcement in the investigation and remains committed to providing a safe environment for its patients, staff and community,” the release says.

A Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop I spokeswoman said spikes were deployed at mile marker 200 on Interstate 44.

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Madison Stuerman

FULTON, Mo. (KMIZ)

Charges have been dropped against one of the three people accused in the deadly shooting of a Fulton teenager in July.

Callaway County prosecutor Sandra Colhour confirmed Thursday that charges were dropped against Emmanuel Brown of Holts Summit.

Colhour said in an email that the charges were dropped around April 15 due to “information gathered in the course of the ongoing investigation.” His case was set to go to trial on May 13.

Brown was facing charges of first-degree accessory to murder and armed criminal action. He was one of three people charged in the death of Jakiem Braggs, 19, on July 16.

The cases against Mitchell Henderson Jr. and Quiara Walton remain open and active. Both are charged with first-degree murder. Henderson is also charged with illegal gun possession and armed criminal action.

Fulton police responded to a report of a shooting in the 1200 block of Kathy Street on July 16 and found Braggs shot in the street.

Four people were originally arrested and charged for the shooting, but charges were dropped against one of them several days after the shooting. Police said investigators learned the initial reports about that person were not accurate and they were not involved in the shooting.

Court documents say Walton “lured” Braggs to the area. Braggs was driving to the residence and was “ambushed while driving,” the statement says.

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Matthew Sanders

The Department of Health and Senior Services on Wednesday introduced a pilot program to collect information about autism.

The program would harvest data from Medicare and Medicaid, including insurance claims, medical records and smartwatch data. It’s part of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s pledge to find the causes of autism by September.

The plan has drawn pushback from autism and privacy advocates.

Do you have concerns about the program? Let us know by voting in the poll.

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Jazsmin Halliburton

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Conference Committee will reconvene on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. after a late night of discussions over the state budget, as the deadline looms to have all spending bills approved by Friday.

The Senate planned on working late Wednesday, so the Conference Committee hearing could not start until they were finished. The hearing did not begin until 8:40 p.m. and adjourned just before 11:30 p.m.

Thursday’s initial meeting was planned for 10:30 a.m., but had a recess at around 11:30 a.m. and then moved to the afternoon.

“Appreciate all conversations and I think we’re pretty close on finishing this thing up, so give us a couple of hours and we’ll back,” co chair of the committee Sen. Lincoln Hough (R-Springfield) said before adjournment.

There was supposed to be a hearing Wednesday morning, but it went into recess less than a minute after it began. That is because the committee could not be in conference while sessions are taking place in either chamber.

This comes as the Missouri House of Representatives and the Senate work to finalize the state budget bill before Friday’s deadline.

Of the 17 budget appropriations, only HB 14 has been truly agreed on by both the House and Senate and is ready for the governor’s approval. The final agreement for HB 14 was a little under $2 million for supplemental opportunities like grants, refunds, and extra expenses across state government departments. The remaining bills are left for budget discussions in the committee.

The Senate budget is about $50 million more than the one the House approved. The Senate Appropriation Committee’s plan included $300 million more for public schools than was recommended by Governor Mike Kehoe. The Missouri House of Representatives passed a $47.9 billion state budget on April 3.

Hough said that despite the increased budget, there is still over $1 billion left in reserves.

“This is all about compromise, it’s all about working with your colleagues,” Hough said. “A lot of people have a lot of priorities and a lot of programs they want to see funded and it’s still coming together, but I feel pretty good about the end product right now.”

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A former Macon County Sheriff’s deputy was charged on Thursday with several felonies after he allegedly assaulted his girlfriend.

Brody Clarence Lewis, 26, of Tina, Missouri, was charged in Macon County with second-degree domestic assault, third-degree domestic assault, unlawful use of a weapon and misdemeanor fourth-degree domestic assault. He is being held at the Randolph County Jail without bond. A court date has not been set.

According to the probable cause statement, the Missouri State Highway Patrol was notified by the Macon County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday that Lewis was accused of assaulting his girlfriend. The Macon County Sheriff’s Office asked MSHP to investigate the claims. Law enforcement met with the woman at Troop B headquarters and she had several bruises.

Lewis is described as a deputy in the probable cause statement, but is referred to as a former deputy in a Missouri State Highway Patrol press release. The Macon County Sheriff’s Office also shared the release on its social media.

The woman allegedly told troopers that she had fought off multiple assaults from Lewis since December, including 10-15 times over the past three weeks.

She allegedly described a February encounter where Lewis called her a demeaning name, she slapped him and he choked her, court documents say. She allegedly said that he also pointed a gun at her “in an angry and threatening manner” up to five times and also threatened to kill himself at least once, the statement says.

Lewis allegedly assaulted the woman on Monday after learning items from the woman’s previous relationship were in her home, the statement says. Lewis allegedly punched the victim in the back of her head and kicked her in her back, the statement says. The victim told law enforcement that she was afraid Lewis would kill her while he kneeled on her, court documents say.

An incident where Lewis threatened the woman with a baton was also described in court documents.

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