Category: kmiz-local-news

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia man was arrested and charged after he allegedly fired a gun in a mobile home park while he was drunk on Monday evening.

Phillip Etheridge, 36, was charged on Tuesday with unlawful use of a weapon. He is being held at the Boone County Jail and the state has requested his bond be set at $10,000.

The probable cause statement says police were called at 7:16 p.m. to a mobile home park on New Haven Road after one of the victims heard gun shots while they were doing yard work. Etheridge allegedly was seen swinging his arms while he was holding a gun, the statement says. He allegedly walked by the residence multiple times while saying “I hope you don’t look my way,” the statement says.

A second victim heard gunshots after seeing Etheridge pull a gun from his pants and waive it, court documents say. That victim allegedly said she heard Etheridge make a threat, the statement says.

Etheridge allegedly told police that he became mad after one of the victims called him something insulting, the statement says. He allegedly admitted to firing one shot.

The police officer noted in the probable cause statement that Etheridge appeared to be intoxicated and had two small bottles of Fireball on him when he was detained.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A St. Joseph woman was charged with a pair of felonies after she allegedly kicked a 7-year-old boy into a pool on Saturday in Sedalia.

Penny Badgett, born in 1963, was charged with child abuse and endangering the welfare of a child. She was held at the Pettis County Jail on a 24-hour hold and was released, according to Monday court filings. A warrant was issued on Monday and a $15,000 bond was set.

The probable cause statement says police were called to a hotel after 8 p.m. Saturday. Badgett allegedly kicked a 7-year-old boy into a pool that was 5-and-a-half-feet deep, the statement says. She did not know the youth beforehand.

Badgett was confronted by the child’s aunt and Badgett allegedly told the woman that she kicked the youth because he “was mean to another child,” the statement says. Police reviewed video, which allegedly showed Badgett standing behind the child, waited for him to sit down and then using her foot to push him into the pool, court documents say.

Police went to Badgett’s room and she allegedly said, “I know what this is about, I pushed him,” court documents say.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Kansas City man has been charged with four felonies after he allegedly assaulted a victim who was in a wheelchair.

Arthur Wayne Hooks, 71, was charged on Tuesday with second-degree assault of a special victim, two counts of armed criminal action and one count of unlawful use of a weapon. He is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond.

The probable cause statement says someone on May 3 brought the victim to a police officer’s vehicle that was parked at the Eagle Stop at 1704 North Providence Road.

The victim allegedly told police they were assaulted by Hooks after they refused to have sex with him, court documents say. The victim was evaluated by EMS and police noted multiple injuries in the probable cause statement.

Police found Hooks with a 9-inch knife when he was arrested, the statement says.

Hooks was allegedly recorded on video telling police that he attacked the wheelchair-bound victim in self-defense, court documents say.

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Alison Patton

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A bill that could change who has the final say on high school sports and activities appeals is sitting on the governor’s desk after months of back-and-forth with the private nonprofit that organizes many of Missouri’s interscholastic activities. 

Senate Bill 863 would create a governor-appointed oversight commission for the Missouri State High School Activities Association. The five-member commission would have the final say on appeals that have either exhausted MSHSAA’s appeals process or were made directly with the board. 

The oversight board is supposed to be an independent voice for students and their families, so that it’s not just MSHSAA making decisions, say its supporters. 

“What people felt like is when they went through the appeals process through MSHSAA, that MSHSAA was making judgment calls on their officials,” bill sponsor Sen. Jason Bean (R-Holcomb) said. 

The bill has changed considerably since it was introduced in December, when it included more oversight over MSHSAA. MSHSAA released a statement noting the bill and a Senate substitute bill looked like a possible “government takeover.” 

“We’re happy with the final version,” MSHSAA’s Executive Director Jennifer Rukstad told ABC 17 News in an interview. “Being a private nonprofit, ultimately, no government interference would be ideal.” 

Rukstad said that MSHSAA isn’t opposed to having an oversight commission. 

“If we can figure out ways to be as fair as possible, and if our state government wants to have some say in that, ultimately, it’s not a bad thing,” Rukstad said. 

The bill was approved by both chambers and sent to the governor’s desk in late April and is now awaiting his signature. Kehoe said the bill is being reviewed by his office now. 

“They just wanted some accountability, parents, coaches, teachers, etc., as well as the student athletes,” Kehoe said. “We believe this bill gives a little more accountability and still allows us to have a great system here in Missouri.” 

The bill is one of Kehoe’s legislative priorities, and he announced his support during his State of the State Address in January. If signed, the oversight commission would begin reviewing appeals in the 2027-28 school year. 

After avoiding what appeared to be a brief attempt at a total state takeover of high school sports, MSHSAA also faces a discrimination lawsuit over a board policy. 

Tune into ABC 17 News at 6 p.m. on Thursday to learn more about the state’s oversight of MSHSAA. 

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Matthew Sanders

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Callaway County man has made an Alford plea to reduced charges in a 2017 Cole County homicide.

Zacchaeus D. Silva pleaded guilty earlier this month to accessory to second-degree assault in the beating death of Jerry Robertson on April 20, 2017, court records show. Silva had been indicted with second-degree murder, first-degree assault, armed criminal action, evidence tampering and witness tampering charges.

An Alford plea is one in which a defendant does not explicitly admit guilt, but acknowledges the state has the evidence to obtain a conviction.

Sentencing is set for July 13 before Judge Daniel Green.

A co-defendant, Robert Thrasher, was sentenced to 18 years in prison after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter in 2022.

Thrasher is incarcerated at Moberly Correctional Center.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

EDITOR’S NOTE: An erroneous reference to a 120-day jail sentence has been removed.

A Boonville woman who pleaded guilty last month to embezzling from a Cooper County nonprofit was sentenced to serve 30 days in jail.

Judge Jeff Mittelhauser sentenced Jennifer Waibel last week to 30 days in jail and five years of probation after she pleaded guilty to a single count of felony theft. Waibel has a case still pending in Boone County, with a June 1 hearing scheduled. She is charged with three felonies in the Boone County case.

Waibel was accused in Cooper County of stealing $49,661.36 from Unlimited Opportunities by spending the money in several transactions from June 16 to Aug. 31, 2023, which included several multi-thousand-dollar purchases at Walmart locations in Boonville, Columbia and Madison, Georgia.

In the Boone County case, she’s accused of spending $13,650 on gift cards while using 10 company credit cards from Impact Support Services, located on Chapel Hill Road in Columbia.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Boone County Commission on Tuesday voted unanimously to put a 3/8-cent sales tax on the November ballot.

Sheriff Dwayne Carey appeared before the commission last week to make his pitch for the tax. The commission was initially considering it for the August ballot, but moved it to November at Carey’s urging after the City of Columbia put a 1-cent sales tax for public safety on the August ballot.

“Over the long weekend, I felt like we needed more time to educate voters and make sure that we were getting correct information out there versus it being incorrect and so the extra two months going to November will help us do that,” Carey said.

The primary purpose of the Boone County tax is to pay for a new jail. Boone County Auditor Kyle Rieman estimated that, based on current 1/8-cent collections from the Prop L tax in 2025, the tax increase would start in 2027 and generate at least $17 million annually.

“We have Prop L already, which supports not only the sheriff’s office, about 70%, but it supports the prosecutor’s office, It already supports the alternatives to incarceration and court services,” Carey said. “It’s just a good fit versus a property tax or something else.”

The commission also planned to use the extra time to review current prevention resources and to strategize the budget if jail construction begins.

“Assisted outpatient treatment, that’s one of the tools that we need to be looking at to say, ‘how do we put somebody back into the community to keep that person stable, to keep that person safe and not have detained in our jail?'” District II Commissioner Janet Thompson said. “It’s tools like utilizing the work that’s being done across the state to say, ‘do we have sufficient housing?'”

“We certainly have work to do,” Boone County Presiding Commissioner Kip Kendrick said. “The sheriff and his team to try to figure out how we’re going to manage this budget over the next several years, how we’re going to be able to anticipate if this number continues to increase and what we can do from our end.”

According to prior reporting, it cost over $2.5 million in 2025 to house inmates. It cost around $499,000 for housing in 2022.

Boone County is paying to house about 180 inmates outside of the county. According to prior reporting, the cost to house out-of-county detainees from January to March this year was around $1.12 million.

The new jail plans to have around 570 beds. It will also have accommodations for inmates certified by the Department of Mental Health and juvenile inmates, which the current jail does not have. If approved this November, Carey expects the jail to be built within 4-5 years.

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Steven Lambson

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Several Columbia police officers responded to the Woodstock Mobile Home Park on New Haven Road on Monday.

An ABC 17 News crew saw at least five Columbia Police Department patrol cars at the scene shortly before 8 p.m. The Columbia Fire Department confirmed several of its crews responded to the same scene but deferred to CPD for details on what happened.

A police sergeant at the scene confirmed someone fired at least one gunshot during what he described as a dispute between neighbors. No injuries were reported, and one person has been detained.

This is a developing story, we will update you as more information becomes available.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Boonville man was charged on Friday with a pair of felonies after authorities claim he broke into a building by crawling through a hole that housed an office air conditioning unit.

Joshua Allen Kautzman was charged with second-degree burglary and first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle. A warrant was issued and a $25,000 bond was set. He is not listed on the Cooper County Jail’s roster, but court documents say he was detained in Illinois.

The probable cause statement says an employee of a business – whose identity was redacted, but court documents say is located in the 1400 block of West Ashley Road — reported a white Chevrolet 1500 was stolen when they arrived to work on Thursday, May 21.

The statement says the employee found an air conditioning unit on the floor of the main office. They reviewed video and saw the unit fell around 9:25 p.m. on Wednesday, May 20, court documents allege. Kautzman was allegedly seen crawling through the hole into the business at 5:37 a.m.

The Chevrolet was found at 7:24 a.m. Friday in Benton, Illinois, the statement says. Kautzman allegedly admitted to pushing in the air conditioning unit, entering the business, taking keys and stealing the vehicle, court documents say.

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Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Hundreds of parade-goers on Monday packed East Broadway in downtown Columbia for the Gold Star Memorial Day Parade.

Parade founder Sherry Wyatt marked the second year since the event’s return after a six-year hiatus, honoring fallen service members on Memorial Day.

“This is extremely important to us because the greatest sacrifice that any of us can give, of course, is our lives for the people who love and we care for, defending the freedom of our country,” Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 280 and parade member Charlie Brown said. “The families that are affected by that, our Gold Star families, are worthy of the highest honors that we can give.”

The Gold Star title honors the immediate family members who have experienced losing an active-duty military service member.

“To have all of these people to support us and to love on us, it’s been wonderful,” Gold Star family member Rhonda Fingar said.

Rhonda and David Fingar were in the parade honoring their son and U.S. Army Specialist Jason Fingar. Jason Fingar enlisted in 2008 and served in Afghanistan before being killed in action on May 22, 2010, after his military vehicle hit an IED.

“Jason was the first person in the convoy,” Rhonda Fingar said. “Even though he passed, he saved all those people that were behind him.”

“He was the moral compass,” David Fingar said. “He didn’t want to have that attention of, ‘he’s someone important.'”

The parade was also organized with the USTF Veterans Foundation and featured chapters for the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association, American Legion Riders, and Mid-Missouri Vietnam Vets and the Nurses Honor Guard of Mid-Missouri, among other groups.

“My son went to Afghanistan and he also came home, so we have a lot to be thankful for and I definitely like to honor those who didn’t make it back,” Parade-attendee Sarah Brilhante said.

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