Category: kmiz-local-news

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Lohman man pleaded guilty on Wednesday to federal child sex abuse material charges, according to a press release from the Department of Justice.

Anthony Dale Pitts-Fugate, 33, pleaded guilty to two counts of producing child sex abuse materials in separate cases. Charges were filed in 2023.

The release says an undercover agent for the FBI was monitoring aa “public online group” that were sending child sex abuse materials to each other, which included Pitts-Fugate sending images of a young child.

The release says Pitts-Fugate contacted a 16-year-old girl and requested sexual images from the youth. FBI agents applied for a search warrant for his SnapChat accounts and determined Pitts-Fugate portrayed himself as a 16-year-old to convince minors to give him child sex abuse materials, the release says.

Court documents in previous reporting claim Pitts-Fugate sent child sex abuse materials to an undercover FBI agent in a KIK chatroom.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The siblings of a man killed in a fire at a home for disabled people in Fayette have sued, claiming negligence by the company that operated the facility caused their brother’s death.

Connie Mallick and Robert Bittle filed the lawsuit Tuesday against Linda Perkins Home, Inc., over the death of their brother, Donald Bittle. Bittle was one of two residents who died in the January 2026 fire; an employee also died.

Bittle was determined to be fully disabled in September 2023 and lived at the home, the suit states.

The group home did not have working smoke detectors on the top level, where Bittle’s room was located. The lawsuit also claims that the home was not built with proper gypsum fire barriers between its foam insulation and interior walls, causing the fire to spread quickly.

Donald Bittle died of smoke inhalation.

The home was also lacking an interior stairway, “leaving upper-level residents with no interior path of egress to safety,” the lawsuit states.

The siblings have requested a trial by jury.

The Department of Mental Health had certified the individualized supported living facility in 2024, according to an email from spokeswoman Debra Walker. ISLs are recertified every two years. Walker’s email says in 2024, “there were no fire safety or environmental concerns.”

A 2023 federal review of individualized supported living facilities in Missouri found some areas of oversight could be improved. The report said the state does not require providers to conduct periodic background checks on staff and found some facilities were missing documentation related to staff training and reviews.

A fire marshal’s investigation stated the cause was undetermined.

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Matthew Sanders

HUNTSVILLE, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Randolph County judge denied bond Wednesday for one of six suspects in the death of a Moberly teenager.

Julian Mason, 26, made his first court appearance in the death of Kayla Huff before Judge Mason Gebhardt. Mason is charged with kidnapping, tampering with evidence, second-degree burglary and first-degree property damage.

Mason pleaded not guilty Wednesday. His defense also asked for a $25,000 bond, which Gebhardt denied, saying Mason was a flight risk.

Huff, 16, was last seen May 6 before her body was found about a week later after an extensive search of Rudolf Bennitt Conservation Area.

Five adults and a minor have been charged with crimes ranging from murder to evidence tampering in Huff’s death. Alayna Mason, 20, is charged with first-degree murder and allegedly told police that she and other suspects beat and shot Huff before putting her in a car trunk and dumping her body.

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Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A California, Missouri, woman suffered serious injuries in a crash involving a semi truck in Moniteau County on Wednesday night.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, a 52-year-old California woman was driving a 2004 Chrysler PT Cruiser west on Highway 50 at Route H just south of Clarksburg at 8:55 p.m. in Moniteau County. A 57-year-old Columbia man, also heading westbound, was driving a 2026 Peterbilt 579 semi-truck and was attempting to pass the woman; she then made a left turn and collided with the semi.

The woman was flown to University Hospital with serious injuries. The male driver was not injured.

Both drivers were wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash, according to the report.

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Matthew Sanders

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Jefferson City man was sentenced Tuesday to seven years in prison for a homicide outside of a bar.

Kamari Balton had been charged with murder in the August 2024 death of 49-year-old Rafael Ayala at Twisted Chicks, a Jefferson City bar. The owner told ABC 17 News at the time that the incident happened outside the business.

Balton pleaded guilty in May to involuntary manslaughter.

Police released few details about the case, such as how Ayala died and the possible motivation, and prosecutors used the grand jury to indict Balton, keeping details out of public charging documents.

The amended complaint in the case says Balton caused Ayala’s death by “striking” him.

Judge Brian Stumpe sentenced Balton to seven years in prison with credit for time served.

Balton remained in the Cole County Jail on Wednesday. He’s been in jail since September 2024, according to jail records.

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Matthew Sanders

The ceasefire based on a “memorandum of understanding” between the United States and Iran might be on its shakiest ground yet.

The week started with Iran firing on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, which led to an American military response against Iranian targets. It’s the most significant outbreak of fighting since the two countries reached an agreement to stop hostilities.

The U.S. also reimposed oil sanctions against Iran, striking another blow against the spirit of the memorandum.

Do you support this new round of military strikes? Let us know by voting in the poll.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 22-year-old Eldon woman was seriously injured in a crash on Tuesday on Highway 42 near Pine Tree Lane in Miller County, according to a crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The report says the woman drove her 2018 Chevrolet Equinox eastbound when it went off the road and hit a tree.

The woman had serious injuries and was brought to Lake Regional Hospital by ambulance, the report says. She was wearing a seatbelt, according to the report.

The vehicle was totaled.

MSHP reports do not name those involved in crashes.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 69-year-old man from Linn died Tuesday night in an ATV cash near a residence in Osage County, according to a crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The report says the crash occurred as a 2025 Honda Rancher started to slide and then overturned. The man was ejected from the vehicle. He was not wearing a helmet, the report says.

He was pronounced dead at the scene by the Osage County coroner, according to the report. The man’s body was brought to Morton Funeral Home, according to the report.

MSHP reports do not name those involved in crashes.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Kansas man was arrested and charged after a short chase on Tuesday that began in Cooper County and ended just before the Stadium Boulevard exit on Interstate 70 in Columbia.

Jonathan Myles, 36, of Topeka, Kansas, was charged in Cooper County with aggravated fleeing, first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, misdemeanor speeding and an infraction of endangering a highway worker. He is being held at the Cooper County Jail on a $100,000 bond. A court date has not been set.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol wrote on Troop F’s social media that a plane was used to find Myles’ Dodge Durango. MSHP wrote that Myles was wanted out of Kansas on suspicion of child endangerment. New charges have not appeared in Kansas online court records as of Tuesday evening.

The probable cause statement says that the gray Dodge with temporary tags from Kansas was found on the shoulder of the rest area at the 104-mile marker of I-70. Myles allegedly sped off eastward after seeing the trooper, the statement says.

Myles’ vehicle allegedly went 96 miles per hour at one point through a 55-mph construction zone, the statement says.

Spike strips were used near the 121-mile marker and Myles stopped the vehicle while it was smoking at mile marker 123, which is just west of the Stadium Boulevard exit in Columbia.

Myles’ 2-year-old son was found inside the vehicle “unrestrained,” court documents say.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Cole County Commission on Tuesday unanimously approved a contract for a strategic assessment study of emergency communications.

The consulting contract with TUSA will cost $29,725. A packet from the county shows TUSA have assisted agencies in Jasper, Grundy, Johnson, Christian, Jackson, Platte, Clay, Gentry and Newton counties as well as the University of Missouri-Kansas City, North Kansas City Pleasant Valley, Raytown, Riverside, Independence, Kansas City, Lexington, Liberty, Gladstone and Grandview.

TUSA will evaluate whether Cole County EMS Emergency Communications Center can “feasibly assume dispatch services for the County Sheriff,” the packet says.

The study is expected to help the county get a better idea on expenses, which includes money paid to Jefferson City.  The study is expected to last 145 project hours at an hourly rate of $205.

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