Category: kmiz-local-news

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Lohman man who was indicted on a child sex crime on Oct. 15 is now in the custody of the Cooper County Sheriff’s Office.

Martin Stoecker, 21, is charged with two counts of child enticement and two counts of giving liquor to a minor, according to a press release from the sheriff’s office. He is being held at the Cooper County Jail on a $150,000 bond.

Stoecker is accused of trying to entice two youth for sex after he gave them alcohol in the Pilot Grove area, the release says. He was located in Lincoln, Nebraska, on Oct. 22 and was arrested by the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office.

He was brought to the Cooper County Jail on Thursday and awaits arraignment.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia man who is charged with felony murder in the 2023 shooting death of a child has a trial scheduled for the spring.

Larry Brownlee Jr., 31, was charged with illegal gun possession, second-degree felony murder and armed criminal action. He is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond. A judge on Wednesday scheduled a pretrial conference for 9 a.m. Friday, March 30, 2026 and the trial starts 9 a.m. Tuesday, April 7, 2026.  

Police responded on Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023 to the area of Leeway Drive and Blue Ridge Road, according to previous reporting. A 3-year-old boy had been shot in the torso and two adults were rushing him to Columbia Fire Station No. 9 for help, according to a press release at the time.

Police then took the child to a local hospital, where he later died. Court documents indicated the mother of the child gave conflicting statements.

Investigators found blood on the steps and landing of an apartment where the mother lived, the probable cause statement in previous reporting says. She told police when she was interviewed again that she was in the kitchen when she heard a gunshot in the bedroom, according to the statement.

Court documents claimed Brownlee repeatedly asked the mother not to tell the police he shot her son.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 12-year-old boy was found in a storm sewer on Thursday evening along West Broadway in Columbia near the library.

First responders initially shut down the road near Parkway Drive and McBaine Avenue around 5 p.m. to look for a 12-year-old boy. A Columbia Fire Department spokeswoman wrote that firefighters were called for a “search and rescue involving a child who may have run off into a storm water system.”

First responders were able to get rope down in the sewer and and pulled the child out after several hours. CFD Assistant Chief Lester Shewmake described the process of getting the boy out.

“We were able to get some rope down there. We got a camera and some wheels that we were able to take. He (the child) was able to grab the rope and our crews were able to get him out,” Shewmake said. “He’s safe, warm, in an ambulance and I think he’s going to go get checked out.”

Shewmake described some of the initial calls indicated that someone saw the child go into the pipe.

“The reports earlier today is that he might have gotten in there when he first ran off. But we couldn’t confirm there. We did look in there and obviously some of the areas are pretty small, so trying to get in that area … (which) is why we needed assistance of our utility departments from the city to help us out,” he said.

Shewmake said firefighters got assistance from the city’s utilities department, which included the use of maps and cameras.

Firefighters, police and EMS were seen gathered around access points of the sewer around 8:15 p.m. First responders closed off the street again around that time as they worked.

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Euphenie Andre

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

After months of cardboard recyclables being tossed in with the landfill, cardboard recycling for City of Columbia customers could return as soon as next week.

A city utilities spokesman said equipment repairs are still underway at the Material Recovery Facility, which was destroyed by an EF-1 tornado on April 20.

Currently, the baler at the facility is processing commercial cardboard, but city officials say they are just days away from expanding operations to include residential cardboard. Utilities spokesman Jason West said on Thursday afternoon that residents could see their cardboard collected and diverted from the landfill as soon as next week.

“Recycling collections for Columbia residents have not stopped. Residents are asked to place their recyclable plastics and metals in the complementary blue bags to be collected from their curb every other week. Paper materials, cardboard boxes, and other similar items may be collected in a separate container on the same day as the blue bags,” West wrote in an email.

It’s been seven months since the tornado tore through the MRF. In June, City Council members projected that rebuilding a permanent facility would cost between $26.47 million-$26.71 million and take 30 months to build a permanent structure. 

City leaders reviewed three options for the new facility:

Rebuild on the current MRF site, reusing any structure that survived the storm. Officials note this could save the city over $500,000 in demolition costs, although most of the building cannot be salvaged.

Construct the facility at the Landfill Operations Center.

Build on an open gravel lot just west of the city’s Administration building.

Utilities spokesman Matthew Nestor said on Thursday evening the city plans to rebuild on the original MRF site, which would allow room for future expansion.

The city in July announced it would partner with Federal Recycling and Waste Solutions in Jefferson City.

West told ABC 17 that while the baler is currently handling commercial cardboard, a few equipment parts still need adjustments before residential pickup can fully resume.

“The baler is operating now, still needs some tweaks to make it fully functional, as some of the parts have been sitting idle for a bit.” West said in an email.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

State utility regulators have set a date for the public to give feedback on Ameren Missouri’s plans for a solar field in southeastern Callaway County.

The utility plans to build a 250-megawatt solar field called the Reform Solar Project. It would be built on land the utility loaned to the state as part of the Reform Conservation Area near Ameren’s nuclear plant. Plans include a 345-kV switching station, according to a Public Service Commission news release.

The PSC has set a 6 p.m. Jan. 6, 2026, meeting at Legends Rec-Plex for the public to comment on the proposal. The hearing will start with a question-and-answer session, then utility regulators will hear public testimony.

A virtual hearing will take place at noon on Jan. 8, 2026. Contact the PSC for information on how to take part in the virtual meeting via Cisco WebEx.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A former police officer who shot and killed a 13-pound, blind-and-deaf dog last year in Sturgeon has been charged with a misdemeanor.

Myron Woodson, of Moberly, was charged on Thursday with misdemeanor first-degree trespassing for an alleged incident that occurred on Sept. 29. A court appearance is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Monday at the Boone County Courthouse.

Court documents say Woodson was trespassed from a property owned by Bluffs Boone Retirement Home days prior.

The probable cause statement says Woodson arrived at the location on Sept. 24 as a “court document server to serve civil court papers” to a resident, but the manager was not sure how Woodson entered the building. The manager allegedly told Woodson to leave, but “Woodson acted as if he was some kind of Officer, and threatened to get” the victim arrested, the statement says.

Woodson arrived at the location again on Sept. 29 and was told to leave the property, the statement says. Police allegedly called Woodson and Woodson asked if he was trespassed, the statement says. Police told him to not go back to the property.

Woodson then went back to the property again and refused to leave when the manager told him to, but then stood by his vehicle, court documents say. Woodson allegedly told police he could not be arrested because he’s a “process server for Cole County,” the statement says.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Versailles man was charged with a child sex crime after he was accused of trying to entice who he thought was a 15-year-old girl.

Thomas Burrows, 67, was charged with child enticement and is being held at the Morgan County Jail on a $250,000 bond. An arraignment is scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday at the Morgan County Courthouse.

The probable cause statement says the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office received a phone call on Monday alleging that Burrows had been having sexual in nature conversations with a child. Thomas allegedly believed he was sending messages to a 15-year-old in Hannibal and had talked about meeting the child, the statement says.

Law enforcement spoke with Thomas on Tuesday, where he alleged he stopped talking to the other person when he learned their age. Deputies reviewed messages on Thomas’ phone, which allegedly showed he was not telling the truth.

The probable cause statement details several inappropriate messages allegedly sent between the two parties, including several messages occurring after the other person claimed to be 15 years old.

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Alison Patton

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Cole County judge was supposed to hear arguments Thursday on a redistricting lawsuit filed by a group that wants to get the governor’s “Missouri First” map on the 2026 ballot, but an intervenor stepped in and was granted a judge change.

Put Missouri First is a political group backing the new congressional map, and has now pushed the trial to Nov. 21.

People Not Politicians attorney Chuck Hatfield said intervenors can be anyone who has a stake in the lawsuit.

An attorney for Put Missouri First said the stake for his client is campaign money and advocacy–as in wanting to protect the congressional map.

According to the Missouri Ethics Commission, the group received $50,000 from the National Republican Congressional Committee and another $50,000 from the Republican National Committee. Put Missouri First received both contributions on Nov. 5.

Hatfield said Thursday’s actions were out of line.

“The shenanigans that are happening here are unprecedented. They’re ridiculous and they’re undemocratic,” Hatfield said.

People Not Politicians sued Secretary of State Denny Hoskins for failing to approve a referendum to overturn the new congressional map passed by the Missouri General Assembly.

The group argues this is illegal because the form was rejected — not for its content, but because the governor didn’t sign the new congressional maps into law, which People Not Politicians says is the problem.

The state argues this lawsuit is no longer relevant because Hoskins has already approved the referendum for circulation, according to pretrial briefs.

People Not Politicians Executive Director Richard von Glahn said 92,000 people signed the referendum petition before Hoskins approved it.

“Because of these delays and tactics, they’re not sure if they should sign the petition a second time or not, and the secretary of state has insinuated that if they do, they’re breaking the law,” von Glahn said.

Hoskins approved the exact ballot language that was submitted before and was rejected. von Glahn said signatures can be collected as soon as it’s submitted.

Shortly after approving the referendum, Hoskins filed a federal lawsuit to stop the petition from circulating, arguing that a referendum can’t be done on congressional redistricting. A federal judge is set to hear those arguments in November.

When Hoskins approved the referendum, he said in a press release that any signatures collected before approval are invalid. People Not Politicians will argue in Thursday’s trial that signatures can be collected once the form has been submitted.

The state will argue that it is a moot point because signatures haven’t been submitted yet, according to the pretrial brief.

The new congressional map is likely to cut out a Democratic seat in Congress.

During Wednesday’s trial, on a separate redistricting lawsuit, the state claimed the lawsuit was a political matter, saying the plaintiffs were upset with the state’s move to redistrict and the political gains in Congress.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia teen has been charged with murder for a May deadly shooting just outside the city limits.

Anthony K. Marine, 17, was charged Thursday with second-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon in the death of a person identified in a probable cause statement by the initials Z.N.

Marine, who was a minor at the time of the shooting, admitted to a detective that he and his friends had gathered to watch a fight when he shot Z.N. in the chest, then ran from the scene, according to a probable cause statement. Marine allegedly said he hid the gun.

The Boone County Sheriff’s Office said at the time of the shooting that a 16-year-old had been detained.

The teen suspect and the victim were part of groups that had met up for two youths to fight that evening in the 1300 block of North Frideriki Drive, according to a Boone County Sheriff’s Office news release. An 18-year-old man was found unresponsive and not breathing outside a home with a gunshot wound and died at the scene.

The sheriff’s office says a video also put Marine at the scene, firing a shot at Z.N. and running away.

Marine was in the Boone County Jail on Thursday evening with no bond.

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