Category: kmiz-local-news

Josie Anglin

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The KFC on Clark Lane in Columbia has passed its most-recent health inspection.

Last week, the fast food restaurant had repeat violations for having pots and pans that were soiled and not being cleaned correctly. The Columbia-Boone County Health Department went back Tuesday and determined there were no more violations. The inspection report said KFC was fined $110.

Glenn’s Cafe on South Eighth Street in downtown Columbia is also facing a fine by the Columbia-Boone County Health Department for not properly cleaning an ice machine.

The health department first saw the violation during a routine inspection on Wednesday, Feb. 18 –and it had not been fixed at Tuesday’s reinspection. Another inspection is scheduled for Monday.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

No injuries were reported by officials after a vehicle caught fire Wednesday near a Sunrise Beach restaurant, according to a social media post from the Sunrise Beach Fire Protection District.

Crews were called at 10:10 a.m. to Pappa’s Pit Stop on Highway 5 and found “a vehicle in close proximity to structures with the fuel tank ruptured,” the post says.

The post says the back of the vehicle was damaged and the owner’s belongings were salvaged.

Crews were on scene for about 40 minutes, the post says.  

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The city clerk of a Callaway County town has resigned.

John Joyce put in for his resignation on Feb. 6 and his last day as city clerk was Friday.

First Ward Alderwoman Katie Lawrence was named the acting city clerk.

The city declined to provide Joyce’s resignation letter. City attorney Nathan Nickolaus told ABC 17 News in an email the letter is a closed record “as it is part of his personnel file.”

Check back for updates.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

An Indianapolis man was charged Wednesday in western Missouri’s Lafayette County after a chase that ended with a crash on Interstate 70 in Cooper County.

Sawnen Wah, 18, was charged with second-degree assault on a special victim, aggravated fleeing a stop, first-degree vehicle tampering and driving without a license, a misdemeanor.

Wah was driving a Honda Civic that had been reported stolen out of Nebraska during the chase and crash, which brought traffic to a standstill in western Cooper County on Tuesday afternoon. Wah had driven away from a state trooper who tried to stop him at Oak Grove, according to a probable cause statement.

The chase reached high speeds, with Wah going nearly 100 mph after spike strips had deflated his driver’s side tires, the statement says. Wah almost lost control several times, troopers claim.

An Odessa police officer’s hand was injured by a spike strip as Wah drove through it, the statement says..

Wah lost control after hitting another spike strip near the Blackwater exit. The car rolled, and Wah was thrown from the vehicle. He was taken to University Hospital to be treated for his injuries, then taken to the Lafayette County Jail after his release late Tuesday, the statement says.

The crash stopped traffic temporarily in both directions.

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Marie Moyer

EDITOR’S NOTE: AI was used in background research for this article.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Lincoln University student-athlete accused of stabbing her boyfriend to death had her initial court appearance moved to Friday morning.

Denita Jackson, a senior sprinter for the school, is accused of killing 23-year-old Kevaughn Goldson, also a senior sprinter, during an argument on Monday.

The stabbing marks the third homicide investigation in Jefferson City since Jan. 1, a spike that local officials described as unusual for the community.

“We had drug dealing, so we would have policemen there, but we have never had a homicide in this street,” neighbor Carolyn Saucier. “In all those years, I felt safe in the evenings, I felt safe at night here, and I still feel safe, but I feel just it’s just weird to know that that happened four doors down.”

Saucier adds that the home where the scene occurred had a history of housing Lincoln University Track students. She called the attack “tragic.”

“It changes the neighborhood in a way, everybody knows what happened in that house,” Saucier said, I think the impact on us is just beginning, and think about the impact on Lincoln University, the track team.

According to court documents, Jackson told police she believed Goldson was having an affair with one of her roommates.

The night of the attack, Jackson had left for work late Sunday but returned home from work early Monday morning and found Goldson and a witness in the bed after using a hairclip to unlock a roommate’s door.

Jackson allegedly jumped onto the bed and grabbed Goldson by his shirt. She told investigators that Goldson kicked her in the stomach and started to choke her. Jackson then grabbed a knife from under the witness’s bed and stabbed Goldson in the back and chest, according to court documents.

After the incident, Jackson called 911 to report the stabbing. Goldson was taken by helicopter to University Hospital, where he died during surgery.

Criminal defense attorney T.J. Kirsch reviewed the case’s probably cause statement filed by Jefferson City Police to give his legal perspective on the attack.

Kirsch said it is too early in the case to predict how the defense and the state plan to take on the suit. Jackson could potentially claim self-defense however, her allegedly initiating the fight may harm the argument.

“There has to be evidence that the person reasonably believed deadly force was necessary to prevent serious physical injury, death or the commission of a forcible felony,” Kirsch said. “Somebody who is an initial aggressor, they can still claim self-defense if they made their intentions clear to retreat or to try to end the conflict.”

Kirsch adds that the decision would also be up to a jury.

Past histories of domestic issues may also be brought to court if the judge allows the evidence.

Jackson is being held in the Cole County jail without bond. Her arraignment is at 10 a.m.

ABC 17 News reached out to Lincoln University and the school’s athletic department but did not hear back.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

An Osage County shooting that killed a man nearly two weeks ago happened during an argument over an extramarital affair, according to a probable cause statement.

Clayton E. Johnson of Bland was charged Wednesday with first-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action in the Feb. 13 shooting that led to the death of 45-year-old Jarrod Compton. Compton was pronounced dead a few days later.

Deputies found Compton shot outside a mobile home on County Road 703, southeast of Linn. He was flown to a hospital in critical condition. A probable cause statement says Compton had been shot in the head.

Compton had been part of an argument over his alleged affair with the Johnson’s “paramour,” the statement says.

Osage County Sheriff Michael Bonham tells ABC 17 News that Compton’s wife wanted to confront Johnson’s girlfriend who Compton was allegedly having his affair with.

“The wife that was coming to confront also was married at one time to the suspect [Johnson],” Bohnam said.

Compton was taunting Johnson to come out of the residence, lifting his shirt to show Johnson that he didn’t have a gun, according to the statement.

Compton slipped going up the steps to the home’s front door and was shot when he got back up, witnesses, including a 13-year-old boy, allegedly told investigators.

“He lost his balance and his knee banged the door and apparently it wasn’t much after that that there was a shot fired,” Bonham said.

The boy also told investigators that Johnson had threatened to “shoot the victim between the eyes,” the statement says.

The boy told investigators that Compton did not try to open the door before being shot, the statement says. Johnson did not act in self-defense because the door to the residence was locked and Compton didn’t try to get inside, according to the statement.

Johnson was arrested at about 9 a.m. Wednesday, according to a release from Osage County Sheriff Michael Bonham.

No hearings have been set. Johnson was in the Osage County Jail on Wednesday on a $150,000 bond.

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Jazsmin Halliburton

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Disability rights advocates are set to hold a rally at the Capitol in Jefferson City Wednesday for the 25th annual Disability Rights Legislative Day.

In the Capitol rotunda at 11 a.m., advocates will celebrate the 25th annual event and speak on the progress that has been made over the past 25 years. According to a press release, advocacy will be centered around disability rights and the inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of community life and work.

Elected officials are set to speak at the rally, along with several self-advocates with disabilities, sharing their stories to educate legislators on issues that matter to them most.

This rally comes as Governor Mike Kehoe is suggesting $80.7 million in cuts to in-home care for the 2027 fiscal year budget.

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Josie Anglin

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services wants hotels to be inspected earlier due to the FIFA World Cup.

A notice from the Health Department said annual lodging inspections are typically done by Aug. 31. The FIFA World Cup will be playing games in Kansas City throughout June and July. The health department said finishing these inspections by May 31 will give hotels time to correct issues before the event.

On Tuesday, the Cole County Commission passed changes to its lodging ordinance. The county will now charge hotels for inspections, starting with $125 for smaller hotels and will get more expensive for larger hotels.

That new rule will go into effect on April 1.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

No warrant was served after Columbia police officers were seen in a standoff Tuesday evening on Sylvan Lane.

Officers were seen investigating an area of Sylvan Lane between Vandiver Drive and Quail Drive and were asking for someone to come out of a residence. Sylvan Lane was closed off as officers worked.

The Columbia Police Department wrote in a social media post that multiple officers were dispatched because of the “nature and severity of the call.”

“Upon arrival, officers secured the area while the incident was investigated. We evaluated the circumstances to determine whether a search warrant would be sought for the collection of potential evidence inside the residence,” the post says. “After careful assessment, we determined that a search warrant would not be pursued at that time.”

Officers left the scene at 8:30 p.m.

A CPD spokesman said earlier in the day that police were in the area in regards to an assault investigation.

Check back for updates.

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Matthew Sanders

EDITOR’S NOTE: Melissa Buchanan’s current job has been corrected.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Boone County’s top prosecutor wasted no time putting in his name for an associate circuit judge seat on Tuesday, while the term-limited state House member serving Jefferson City filed for Cole County clerk.

Boone County Prosecutor Roger Johnson signed his paperwork less than 30 minutes after filing opened at 8 a.m. Tuesday. Johnson, a Democrat, is running in the August primary to be the next Division 11 associate circuit judge.

Melissa Buchanan, formerly the state’s director of securities enforcement and now Boone County’s first assistant prosecutor, filed to run for prosecuting attorney as a Democrat — the only candidate to put in their name for Johnson’s current position on the first day of filing.

Several Boone County officeholders filed for reelection: Division 5 Associate Circuit Judge Kimberly Shaw, Division 10 Associate Circuit Judge Kayla Jackson-Williams, Presiding Commissioner Kip Kendrick, County Auditor Kyle Rieman, Circuit Clerk Sherry Terrell, County Clerk Brianna Lennon and Collector Brian McCollum.

Reiman was the only one to draw a challenger, with fellow Democrat Allen Bel-Long seeking the office.

Republican Josh Devine filed for reelection as Division 4 13th Circuit judge, serving Boone and Callaway counties.

In Cole County, term-limited House member Dave Griffith and Jefferson City Councilman Jeff Ahlers both filed as Republicans to replace retiring County Clerk Steve Korsmeyer. Term-limited state Sen. Mike Bernskoetter will run as a Republican for presiding commissioner.

Filing for the August primary will remain open through March 31.

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