COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Mid-Missouri is taking steps toward curbing violence through collaborative efforts between local, state and federal agencies. The Violent Crime Abatement Team — which began on Jan. 1 — looks to discuss recent violent crimes and arrests in the area during monthly meetings at the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Discussions include sharing information about
Continue Reading
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) A groundbreaking was held Thursday for the Jefferson City River Market. The event at the former site of the Missouri State Penitentiary was attended by Mayor Ron Fitzwater and several other city officials. According to previous reporting, the Jefferson City Council approved a contract to build the site last year with
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Jefferson City man on Thursday was charged in Cole County with having child pornography. Austin Russell, 27, is being held at the Cole County Jail without bond. A court date has not been scheduled. The probable cause statement says the Boone County Sheriff’s Office Cyber Crimes Task Force received a tip
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Cole County man was charged with a felony and a misdemeanor after he allegedly followed a teenager at the Jefferson City Target and put a cellphone under their skirt. Christopher Whittle was charged on Wednesday with first-degree stalking and misdemeanor invasion of privacy. A warrant was issued for his arrest and
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A woman who was charged with murder in a fatal shooting at a Holts Summit apartment complex last month was indicted by a grand jury on Monday. Heather Smith, 37, of Holts Summit, was charged with second-degree murder, first-degree child endangerment, armed criminal action and three counts of unlawful use of a weapon. An arraignment is
Continue Reading
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) A memorial service Tuesday afternoon at the Missouri State Capitol honored former governor and U.S. Senator Christopher “Kit” Bond. A Missouri State Highway Patrol escort brought Bond to the Capitol beginning at 9 a.m. from St. Louis. A state memorial ceremony took place at noon in the first-floor rotunda of the
Continue Reading
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) State funding for a new juvenile center in Cole County is uncertain after the Missouri legislature failed to pass House Bill 19 on Wednesday. About $4 million of the more than $14 million project would have come from the state. The project has been in works since 2022 and would have
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Holts Summit man was charged on Friday with several felonies after he allegedly sexually assaulted a woman in 2023. Jeffrey Wilcox, 28, was charged with first-degree sodomy, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon. He is being held at the Callaway County Jail without bond. A court date has
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order ending federal funding for NPR and PBS, public broadcasting stations in Mid-Missouri stations are bracing for impact. Trump alleged in Thursday’s executive order that public stations were biased and “government funding of news media in this environment is not only outdated and unnecessary
Continue Reading
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) Editor’s Note: The driver’s hometown was corrected after a source error. A Russellville man was seriously injured on Thursday morning after he was hit by a car in Cole County. According to a crash report from Jefferson City Police, the crash happened at 12:50 a.m. in the 200 block of Highway
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Holts Summit man pleaded guilty on Monday to three felonies and was sentenced to 21 years in prison. Freeman Myron Larnerd, 54, pleaded guilty to child enticement of a youth younger than 15 years old and two counts of child porn possession. He is being held at Callaway County Jail. Court
Continue Reading COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A lower bond has been set for a woman who is accused of shooting and killing a woman at a Holts Summit apartment complex earlier this month. Heather M. Smith, 37, was charged with second-degree murder, child endangerment, armed criminal action and three counts of unlawful use of a weapon. Her bond was
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) An Ashland man was charged on Wednesday with second-degree sodomy for an incident that allegedly occurred in May 2024. A warrant was used for Frederick Sage and a $20,000 bond was set. His information did not appear on the Cole County Jail’s online roster on Friday. Court documents say that the victim
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Severe storms this past Sunday resulted in multiple tornado touchdowns in the area, including an EF-1 that was reported in Columbia. A lot of power outages were reported around Mid-Missouri, with some lasting days. Columbia’s recycling facility was destroyed in the storm, prompting the city to pause curbside pickup and close its
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Boone County and the University of Missouri are looking for recycling alternatives after the recent Sunday storm took out Columbia’s recycling facilities. Because the Columbia processing plant is the county’s main facility, Boone County had to suspend operations at its own recycling drop-off sites. “The City’s loss is to a lesser extent
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Severe storms impacted much of Mid-Missouri on Sunday, and a lot of areas are still feeling the effects. A number of roads in Cole County are closed because of flooding, according to an email from Cole County Public Works. Closures on Monday include the: 11100 block of North Branch Road 5500 block
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A new trial date has been set for a man accused of killing his classmate in 1991. William “Chris” Niemet, of Fulton, is accused of killing his classmate, Greg Jones, in April 1991 in Russellville. Jones was 14. Niemet also would have been 14 at the time. Niemet was charged in 2020 with first-degree murder. Court
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Holts Summit man was sentenced to 91 years in prison on Friday for several sex crimes. Mitchell Dean Fox III, 28, was found guilty on Feb. 7 of three counts of first-degree sodomy one count of first-degree rape, one count of second-degree domestic assault, one count of third-degree domestic assault, one
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The death penalty is no longer an option in the case of a Jefferson City man accused of stabbing the mother of his child to death. Sergio Sayles was charged in 2023 with first-degree murder, armed criminal action, tampering with evidence, misdemeanor second-degree stalking and misdemeanor second-degree harassment. The venue for the
Continue Reading
Editor’s note: The victim’s age was updated after the sheriff’s office updated the age on its Facebook post. COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Callaway County Sheriff’s Office has identified the woman killed in a Sunday shooting in Holts Summit. The sheriff’s office wrote in a Tuesday social media post that the victim is Kara Dills, 37,
Continue Reading