Category: kmiz-local-news

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A dead person who was found earlier this week in a vacant building in New Florence was a missing woman from El Paso, Texas, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a Friday night social media post.

The name of the woman was not shared by law enforcement, though the sheriff’s office stated that the 37-year-old woman was reported missing on Feb. 5. A cause of death has not yet been determined and the investigation is ongoing, the post says.

The woman’s body was found on Tuesday at a vacant building in the 400 block of Booneslick Road in New Florence. She was found  “in the bay area of the vacant building,” law enforcement shared on Wednesday.

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Lucas Geisler

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) –

A federal judge in California approved a settlement in a lawsuit against the NCAA on Friday, paving the way for major changes in the way college sports operate.

Judge Claudia Wilken approved the settlement between the college sports governing body and current and former student-athletes. The athletes sued over claims the NCAA illegally limited their ability to earn money while playing sports in college. The settlement order allows for the 389,700 athletes to collect a portion of the $2.8 billion settlement as back damages.

The settlement now requires schools starting July 1 to share revenue directly with student-athletes, as opposed to the current name, image and likeness model schools currently use. It creates a $20.5 million cap for schools to use when paying players in the upcoming school year. Schools can use the money across sports however they’d like.

University of Missouri Athletic Director Laird Veatch said in April that most of that money would go toward football and men’s basketball. Veatch said the school was also committing $3 million for 60 new scholarships, with most of them going to women’s sports.

The Southeastern Conference posted on X that the agreement “represents a significant milestone for the meaningful support of our student-athletes and a pivotal step toward establishing long-term sustainability for college sports, two of the [SEC]’s top priorities.”

pic.twitter.com/ZPt5pP75ik

— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) June 7, 2025

MU Athletics spokesman Dave Matter told ABC 17 News that the school was waiting on guidance from the Southeastern Conference on public statements.

Veatch and MU Athletics have been publicly telling fans and boosters for months about the financial impact the settlement would have on the program. Veatch mentioned that ticket prices would likely go up and season-ticket holder tiers and benefits would also change.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

One of the candidates in Columbia’s Ward 2 race has been endorsed by a former council member.

Vera Elwood announced in a Friday evening press release that former Ward 2 Councilwoman Andrea Waner has signed off on her campaign.

“I wholeheartedly endorse Vera for Second Ward City Council and can’t wait to watch her lead,” Waner was quoted in the release.

This is the second former Ward 2 council member to support a current candidate. Former Ward 2 Councilwoman Lisa Meyer asked candidate Ken Rice to run for the seat, according to a previous press release from Rice’s campaign.

The city called for a special election on Aug. 5 after Meyer announced that she would step down on May 16. 

Waner served as the Ward 2 councilperson from 2021-23 and announced her resignation in October 2023 after she moved out of the ward. Rachel Proffitt was picked by the council to represent the ward until Meyer won the subsequent election.

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Mitchell Kaminski

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Boone County is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to house inmates in jails across Mid-Missouri, as local officials continue to struggle with overcrowding and a growing backlog of detainees awaiting mental health evaluations.

From Jan.-10May 23, the county had spent $461,235 to house detainees in other counties, according to Capt. Brian Leer of the Boone County Sheriff’s Office.

“Currently, we are paying to house 113 detainees in other county jails,” Leer told ABC 17 in an email on May 22. 

As of June 6, the Sheriff’s Office is paying to house 111 detainees in other county jails, with detainees held in facilities in Callaway, Cooper, Howard, Macon, Miller, Montgomery and Randolph counties.

However, not all detainees classified as “out of county” are housed in jail beds funded by Boone County. Some are held by U.S. Marshals or in hospitals, juvenile centers or mental health facilities. Defense attorneys say the dispersal of detainees is making it harder to represent clients effectively.

“I’ve got clients in Randolph County and I’ve got clients in Miller County,” Columbia defense attorney Ben Faber said. “So we got guys an hour north, we got guys an hour south. If I set aside a day to meet with clients, that’s a lot of windshield time just to do my job.”

Faber said the system is overburdened, and the strain extends beyond attorneys.

 “It’s just creating more work and less office time, which means that cases are not being handled as quickly as you want them to,” Faber said. “I call it a gridlock situation sometimes.” 

Faber added that limited visiting hours at some rural jails — such as Randolph County’s 4 p.m. closure — make it harder to meet clients face to face.

One of the biggest drivers of overcrowding, according to Boone County Commissioner Janet Thompson, is the bottleneck at the Missouri Department of Mental Health.

Thompson said the Department of Mental Health has not removed individuals from the county jail when their competency to proceed is in question. When someone’s competency is challenged, a defense attorney, judge or prosecutor can request a mental health evaluation to determine whether the individual is competent to stand trial.

“What’s happened in our jail and in jails across Missouri is that process has happened and then they have been adjudicated incompetent to proceed, and at that point the Department of Mental Health does not take them,” Thompson said. “Instead, we have over 400 people across the state of Missouri who are sitting in county jails waiting for a bed at DMH. That’s part of the problem that we have and one of the things that’s impacting our jail overcrowding.”

Leer confirmed that “at least 10 individuals” in the Boone County Jail are currently awaiting transfer to the Department of Mental Health.

Defendants with serious mental health issues must be housed alone, further limiting available space.

“When we have somebody who has serious mental health issues, we cannot double-bunk them. You can’t have somebody else in there with them. It’s a safety issue,” Thompson said.

Boone County holds quarterly jail overcrowding meetings that include the presiding judge, court administrators, representatives from Adult Services and circuit courts, the sheriff’s office, a county commissioner and the auditor. The group discusses strategies for managing limited jail space and rising costs.

Despite these efforts, the financial burden continues to climb. 

“Looking at past usage and trying to anticipate what we’re going to need for every year, we have blown through that amount every year since I’ve been on the commission,” Thompson said. 

When the county exceeds its budget, it’s forced to tap into its general fund.

Faber, who echoed Thompson’s concerns on the Department of Mental Health backlog, said the problem reflects broader dysfunction in Missouri’s criminal justice and mental health systems. 

“It’s a systemic problem. It probably starts with crime. But the system doesn’t appear to be able to handle the numbers that it has right now.  And we’re not seeing adaptations to make actual systemic changes,” Faber said.  “What we’re seeing is just sort of Band-Aids and  short-term fixes.”

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man pulled out a gun and robbed a business Thursday afternoon in the 100 block of West Business Loop 70, according to a Friday press release from the Columbia Police Department.

Police wrote that they were called around 12:15 p.m. for an armed robbery. The name of the business was not listed in the release. The clerk allegedly told police that a male wearing a black Nike jacket and black pants pulled out a gun and threatened her, the release says.

The man allegedly ran away with cash and merchandise from the business, the release says.

Dispatch logs show a report of a robbery at 12:16 p.m. Thursday in the 100 block of West Business Loop 70.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The former general manager of Fulton Wurst Haus and Butchery was charged on Friday after she was accused of embezzling $343,711.31 from the business over the course of nearly two years.

Tonya Clarke, 50, of Mokane, was charged with two counts of stealing more than $25,000, three counts of stealing more than $750 and one count of misdemeanor stealing. She is being held at the Callaway County Jail without bond. A court date has not been set.

The probable cause statement says the victims – the owners of the business – indicated that several unauthorized transactions from their bank account were made from February 2023-December 2024.

Court documents list several transactions occurring from the account, which include checks made to a business that was owned by Clarke, a trust agreement, debit purchases from Walmart and various transactions worth thousands of dollars noted as “payment,” among other cash withdrawals. Clarke would also allegedly pay herself regularly more than her declared salary, the statement says.

Clarke allegedly told deputies “conflicting statements,” while acknowledging she was one of the few people with access to the account.

“Clarke also stated during the interview that if she wanted to steal from him I could have and covered it up,” the deputy wrote in court documents.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Camdenton man was charged with four counts of driving while intoxicated in connection with a crash on May 16 that led to two people having serious injuries.

Phillip Peterson, 54, was charged on Friday with two counts of DWI causing serious injuries and a pair of counts of DWI causing injuries. He was booked into the Camden County Jail at 1:16 p.m. and was released at 2:15 p.m., according to online jail records. He had a $100,000 bond. A court date has not been scheduled.

A Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report shows that the three-vehicle crash occurred at 3:25 p.m. May 16 on Highway 54 near Sunny Slope Road.

The report claims a 2010 BMW 335I – driven by Peterson – tried exiting from Cedar Heights and pulled into the path of a 2023 Ford F250 – driven by a 26-year-old Urbana, Missouri, man — that was heading westbound and hit it head-on. The Ford then hit a 2022 Toyota Rav4 head-on, the report says. The Toyota was driven by a 59-year-old Plato, Missouri, woman.

Peterson and the driver and passenger of the Ford had minor injuries, the report says. Peterson was brought to Lake Regional Hospital by ambulance, while the other two were brought to Dallas County Family Medical Center in a private vehicle, the report says.

The driver of the Toyota and her passenger – a 46-year-old woman from Richland, Missouri – had serious injuries, the report says. The driver was flown to University Hospital, while the passenger was brought to Lake Regional Hospital by ambulance, the report says.

Everyone involved in the crash except the driver of the Ford wore seatbelts, according to the report. All three vehicles were totaled.

The probable cause statement says that Peterson allegedly told troopers that he was looking in the opposite direction and didn’t see the Ford coming. He allegedly said he was tired, but not impaired, the statement says. Court documents say that a breath test was done at the scene and his blood alcohol content was .10, which is above the legal limit to drive.

Peterson allegedly denied drinking that day, but claimed he drank “a lot” the day before, the statement says.

The statement also says that a witness saw the BMW pull in front of the Ford, causing the crash.

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Katie Greathouse

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Prosecutors charged a Columbia man Friday in connection with a shots fired incident and for having a stolen gun.

Z’Kardia Williams, 19, was charged with two counts of armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon, misdemeanor fourth-degree assault, shooting at a building, resisting arrest and stealing. He is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond. A hearing has not been scheduled. Court documents allege the charges stem from multiple incidents.

The first incident happened on May 11. Investigators wrote in a probable cause statement that Williams pointed a gun at someone after that person asked him to leave a home. Williams also allegedly threatened to “shoot the house up,” court documents say.

The second incident happened early Thursday morning, according to another probable cause statement. Williams is accused of firing a round through a wall at an apartment complex on Clark Lane. Investigators wrote that they found what appeared to be multiple bullet holes at the scene. Two of the bullet holes were in a bathroom of the home and a shell casing was found in a trash bag, the statement says.

Multiple witnesses reported hearing a loud “boom,” court documents say. A person described as a witness allegedly kicked Williams out of their apartment and showed law enforcement a conversation from a messaging app where Williams and the witness discussed him shooting the gun, the statement says. Williams alleged in the messages that the gun was broke, court documents say.

According to court documents, officers went to arrest Williams just before 2 p.m. that same day at a home in the 4600 block of Alan Lane. Police said Williams jumped out of a window on the second floor. An officer pointed a gun at Williams, and it took multiple officers to handcuff him as he resisted, the statement says.

Police wrote in a probable cause statement that Williams told a detective he had cleared the pistol six times before pointing it at a mirror and firing it once. He said he left the home immediately after.

According to a probable cause statement, investigators served a search warrant at the home on Alan Lane. Officers found a gun in the garage that had been reported stolen in Columbia in April. Police wrote the weapon had ammunition that matched the evidence found at the shooting scene.

Online court records show Williams is currently on probation for previously being found with a stolen gun.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

More than 500 Three Rivers Electric Cooperative customers were without power on Friday afternoon.

The Co-op serves parts of seven counties, including Cole, Franklin, Gasconade, Maries, Miller, Moniteau and Osage. Its outage map showed 544 customers without power, primarily in Maries County, but the outage included parts of Osage and Miller counties.

The outage was resolved before 4:30 p.m. and was first reported at 1:28 p.m.

Three Rivers wrote on its social medial that was aware of the outage.

“We’re aware that several members are currently without power. Our crews are assigned and working hard to safely restore service as quickly as possible,” the post reads.

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Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Multiple events are planned in Mid-Missouri on Friday to honor the soldiers who lost their lives 81 years ago on D-Day, June 6, 1944.

In front of the Boone County Courthouse, the United States Exercise Tiger Foundation will host a ceremony to commemorate the 81st anniversary of D-Day.

United States Navy Recruits will place 200 flags in the lawn of the courthouse; 137 flags for the names on the Memorial wall, 48 Missourians killed on D-Day and 15 US Coast Guard sailors who lost their lives as well. Several Mid-Missouri veterans will be honored and every veteran who attends will receive a medal.

In preparation for the weather, the event will be moved inside if it starts to rain.

A D-Day Veteran’s rally will be taking place at the State Capitol in Jefferson City from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. on the south steps. According to a press release, this rally will honor the heroes of D-Day and all veterans who sacrificed everything to defeat fascism abroad. This rally will also serve as a peaceful protest against fascism and in solidarity with the D-Day rally scheduled to take place in Washington, D.C.

There will also be a Unite for Veterans and America’s Communities rally in Platte City from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on State Route 92 and Kentucky Ave.

Free donuts will be given to veterans, military, family and staff at the Truman VA Hospital from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Friday.

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