Month: February 2015

Just one day after a Columbia woman is sent to prison for a deadly wrong-way crash, one of the jurors who convicted her is speaking out, saying the jury made a mistake. This jury convicted Kelli Smith last month of involuntary manslaughter for a crash that killed Thomas Sullivan in 2012. And one juror, who

MoDOT will be closing a portion of a major highway in Cole County later this week as crews continue to work on the Lafayette Street Interchange. MoDOT officials said Thursday this is a rare event, and they don’t shut down heavily-traveled roads like this very often. Funding issues will keep projects like this few and

Thursday afternoon Blair Oaks head football coach Brad Drehle is resigning after nine years on the sideline with the Falcons. Drehle told his team after school Thursday that he retired and will be taking the head coaching position at Waynesville High School. The head coach will continue his responsibilities as the A+ coordinator and science

Scammers are using malware to extort money from unsuspecting smartphone users. This virus, known as “ransomware,” freezes up your phone until you pay to unlock it. Ransomware can be downloaded by visiting a malicious or compromised website, clicking on a malicious advertisement/link, or opening a malicious attachment via email. It can also be downloaded through

A 17-year-old Sedalia teen was arrested Thursday after Sedalia Police searched a home at 1505 S. Barrett Avenue. Officers eventually forced their way into the house and detained three people without incident after finding high-grade marijuana, prescription pills, drug paraphernalia, and drug packaging materials. Police said they had enough evidence to determine one of the

A Hallsville man was convicted Wednesday on two counts of statutory sodomy. A jury recommended 36-year-old Jeremy Jennings receive ten years in prison on each count. Jennings’ victim was 4 years old when the incidents happened in 2013. A judge has scheduled a March 16 sentencing date.

The University of Missouri system board of curators voted to increase tuition by under 1 percent on all four campuses during a meeting in Columbia Thursday morning. That will bring undergraduate tuition in the next academic year to $9,335 for over 77,000 students in the UM system, which marks an all-time high. Board members also

A reportfrom the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) into the death investigation of Columbia firefighter Lt. Bruce Britt was released Tuesday afternoon. Britt was killed on Feb. 22, 2014, when he was attempting to evacuate the University Village Apartment complex after a reported roof collapse. Britt died when a balcony collapsed beneath

Arctic air settles over Mid-Missouri Thursday but quickly shifts to the east by Friday. A ridge of high pressure aloft will build as we head into the weekend, compressing the air and producing warmer temperatures. At the same time, winds will shift to the south ushering in warmer air. Afternoon temperatures Thursday will stay mainly

Web Extra: Number one recruit in Kansas, AJ Harris on National Signing Day committing the University of Missouri football program.

Web Extra: Winnetonka running back, safety Marquise Doherty on National Signing Day after committing to the University of Missouri football program

A Columbia woman convicted of involuntary manslaughter for a wrong-way crash learned Wednesday she’ll spend 5 years in prison. Kelli Smith was convicted in December after a week-long jury trial and hours of deliberation. A main point of argument throughout the trial was whether she was given the date rape drug and raped before the

Some faculty at the University of Missouri are proposing a change to Title IX rules. Currently, the university does not allow a lawyer for faculty accused of sexual harassment of discrimination. Two law school professors wrote up a petition to amend this, asking that faculty be allowed an attorney for such cases. So far, they

Wintry weather has already caused dozens of accidents in Mid-Missouri Wednesday. Snow started moving into the area at around noon, and near the I-70 corridor by 1:00 p.m. Most of the snow was out of the Columbia area by Wednesday night. Boone County Joint Communications told ABC 17 News there were 44 accidents in and

A judge has sentenced a Jefferson City man to 15 years in prison on drug charges. Wednesday,59-year-old Ronald Russell pleaded guilty topossession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute in Cole County Circuit Court. In March of 2014, the Jefferson City Police Department SWAT team and members of the MUSTANG Drug Task Force found

A Dixon woman is charged with murder after her teenage daughter died from a drug overdose. According to the Maries County Sheriff, 49-year-old Starletta Blevins-Moore gave her 16-year-old daughter a controlled substance on December 24, 2014. The daughter then overdosed and died. While investigating Blevins-Moore’s home in Dixon, deputies reported finding unspecified controlled substances and

Jefferson City Police finished a sweep of Central Motor Bank downtown Wednesday afternoon after they were called for a bomb threat. The call came from the bank at around 11:00 a.m. The bank made a decision to evacuate all staff as a precaution while Capitol Police’s Explosive Detection K-9 unit searched the building. The building

A Jefferson City man is awaiting sentencing after a Cole County jury found him guilty of first degree burglary. According to the Cole County prosecutor, Antwain Stewart walked into a stranger’s home through the back door, took off his pants and tried to get in bed with a woman who was asleep. The woman woke

Two people were arrested after an early morning burglary in the 900 block of Boonville Road in Jefferson City. When officers got to the scene, they saw a pickup truck leaving and stopped it. Officers searched the truck and saw several parts that belonged to the homeowner where the burglary alarm was triggered. After searching

Police got a call early Wednesday when people heard a gunshot near Elizabeth and Buena Vista streets around 1:30 a.m. Officers arrived on scene and saw a car leaving the area. When they tried stopping it, the driver jumped out and ran into a nearby creek, where he fell down. Investigators found a fully-loaded .38