Billboards promoting ‘safe online exchanges’ seen around Missouri after Columbia man’s shooting death
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Several billboards in Mid-Missouri are promoting safer online exchanges.
Viewers may see those billboards from the group "Justice For Joshua Grey" across the area. Grey died in a 2018 Virginia shooting after setting up the sale of a cellphone on the internet.
The new billboards in Missouri come after Michael Ryan Burke was shot to death on Jan. 18 in the 1400 block of Ridgemont Court. Court documents allege Burke had used Facebook Marketplace to arrange to arrange a cellphone sale.
Tim Ketchum, of Lamar Advertising, says people need to think about safe places to set up online exchanges.
"It's something that our community and all of us need to be aware of, because none of us are really absent of this happening in our life because it's so prevalent that these platforms are used,” he said.
There will be nine electronic billboards around Columbia: One in Ashland, one near Jefferson City, one near Boonville and six around the Lake of the Ozarks. Since Columbia doesn't allow electronic billboards, they are having static ads printed and placed in the city soon. Another seven will appear in Kansas City and Springfield, each, Ketchum said.
Three adults and a juvenile were charged in Burke’s shooting death.
Alexis Baumann, 18, of Hallsville; and Kobe Aust and Joseph Crane, both 18, of Columbia; were all charged with first-degree robbery, armed criminal action, felony murder and armed criminal action. All three people are being held at the Boone County Jail without bond.
The juvenile has not been named, but is the person described as the shooter in court documents.
A confined docket hearing for Aust was scheduled for Tuesday at the Boone County Courthouse and he was denied bond. A bond review is scheduled again for Feb. 10.
Hearings were held last week for Baumann and Crane, and they were denied bond. Crane and Aust have a preliminary hearing scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday, March 5. Baumann has a preliminary hearing scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday, March 10.
