Court and Trials Archives

TUESDAY UPDATES: Pettis County reporting two more COVID-19 related deaths

November 17, 2020 9:38 AM ABC 17 News Team

Check back for updates on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Missouri high court reviews new public union restrictions

November 17, 2020 3:04 PM Associated Press

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri Supreme Court is deciding whether new restrictions on public unions can be enacted. Judges on Tuesday heard arguments in the case. At issue is a 2018 law requiring public unions to get permission every year to deduct dues from workers’ paychecks. Public safety unions are exempt. A judge last

Judge finds Missouri parolees treated unconstitutionally

November 13, 2020 3:09 PM Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A federal judge says Missouri is still unconstitutionally sending parolees back to prison, despite the state’s claims that it fixed systemic issues. Kansas City’s KCUR-FM on Friday reported the judge is ordering Missouri to take action. At issue is how Missouri’s parole board often sends parolees to prison without informing

Sunrise Beach Fire Chief petitions court to fill board position

November 5, 2020 10:58 PM Karl Wehmhoener

SUNRISE BEACH, Mo. (KMIZ) Sunrise Beach Fire Protection District Fire Chief Joseph LaPlant has petitioned the Circuit Court of Camden County to fill a vacant board position that the Sunrise Beach Fire Protection District board hasn’t filled since June of this year. According to a press release, Board Director Brian Layman resigned from the Board

New York man accused of exploiting Missouri sisters pleads guilty to child porn charge

November 3, 2020 4:56 PM Matt Ragsdale

A New York man pleaded guilty to a charge of attempting to produce child pornography on Tuesday.

Conviction and 10-year sentence upheld in payday loan scam

November 3, 2020 3:19 PM Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — An appeals court has upheld the conviction and 10-year sentence for a businessman who ran a $220 million predatory payday lending operation that cheated over a half-million people nationwide. The ruling Tuesday by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals followed the 2018 sentencing of Richard Moseley Sr., of Kansas City,

Columbia man found guilty in baby’s death

October 29, 2020 5:57 PM ABC 17 News Team

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Columbia man has been found guilty in the death of his six-month-old daughter. The Boone County Prosecutor’s office told ABC 17 News that just after 5 p.m. Corativa Smith was found guilty of child abuse in the death of his baby girl. He was arrested in March 2018. According to court

Holts Summit teen sentenced to 6 years in prison after pleading guilty to accessory murder charge

October 29, 2020 8:55 AM Matt Ragsdale

A Holts Summit teen was sentenced to six years in prsion on Wednesday after pleading guilty to a felony murder charge.

Boone County man pleads guilty to voluntary manslaughter for June 2019 shooting

October 28, 2020 4:00 PM Karl Wehmhoener

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Boone County man entered a guilty plea last week for a June 2019 shooting and a judge sentenced him to 12 years in a Missouri prison. Derrick Petty pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and armed criminal action on Oct. 23. Petty will serve 12 years for the crime. Judge Brouck Jacobs

Gun-wielding St. Louis couple seek prosecutor’s removal

October 28, 2020 3:04 PM Associated Press

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A St. Louis couple facing felony charges for waving guns at racial injustice protesters who marched near their home will be in court Wednesday asking a judge to remove the city’s top prosecutor from the case. A grand jury earlier this month indicted Mark McCloskey and his wife, Patricia, on charges

Jefferson City man convicted of 2017 murder

October 23, 2020 8:30 AM Matt Ragsdale

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) A jury convicted a Jefferson City man of second-degree murder linked to a 2017 killing on Thursday. The Cole County Prosecutor said a sentencing date has not yet been decided. Jeffery Millens was found guilty of murder, armed criminal action and unlawful possession of a firearm, Locke Thompson said. Millens is

Gov. Parson appoints William P. Devoy as Associate Circuit Judge for 9th Judicial Circuit

October 22, 2020 4:16 PM Karl Wehmhoener

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) Governor Mike Parson appointed William P. Devoy as Associate Circuit Judge for the 9th Judicial Circuit. The 9th Judicial Circuit serves Chariton, Linn & Sullivan county. Devoy will fill the Associate Circuit Judge vacancy created by the death of the Honorable Scot T. Othic. Devoy, of Brookfield, is currently an Attorney

Governor Parson Appoints Judge Kelly C. Broniec to the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District

October 19, 2020 7:48 PM Karl Wehmhoener

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) Gov. Mike Parson appointed Judge Kelly C. Broniec to the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District. Judge Broniec will succeed Judge Roy L. Richter who retired in July. Judge Broniec holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from William Woods University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Missouri-Columbia

Death penalty reinstated in 1996 double killing in Missouri

October 19, 2020 8:02 PM Associated Press

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A man convicted of killing an eastern Missouri couple in 1996 will once again face the death penalty. A federal appeals court on Monday reinstated the death penalty against Carmen Deck, who robbed and killed James and Zelma Long at their De Soto home. Deck has been sentenced to death three

Man accused of 2015 Moniteau County murder sentenced to 25 years in prison

October 16, 2020 2:44 PM Matt Ragsdale

The man accused of a 2015 murder in Moniteau County was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Friday.

Columbia Man sentenced for 2018 fatal crash

October 15, 2020 10:46 PM Karl Wehmhoener

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) William Lalka was sentenced last Friday to a suspended sentence after an Oct. 2018 fatal wreck on Stadium Boulevard near Blackfoot Road. As ABC 17 News reported in Oct. 2018, 26-year-old Andrew Helmreich died after the the car went off the street. According to court records, Lalka made a plea for two

Missouri Supreme Court upholds ballot notarization law

October 9, 2020 5:10 PM Associated Press

The Missouri Supreme Court has upheld a new state law that requires people wanting to vote remotely this year to have their ballot notarized unless they meet certain criteria. The NAACP and the League of Women Voters had urged the court to require the state to count all mail-in and absentee ballots this year without

Joseph Elledge pleads not guilty to three felony charges.

Court to consider reduced bond for Columbia man accused of wife’s murder

October 9, 2020 3:26 PM Zola Crowder

Joseph Elledge is in the Boone County Jail without bond on a first-degree murder charge in the disappearance of Mengqi Ji.

Hearing scheduled for man accused of murdering missing Columbia mother

October 9, 2020 4:50 AM Ben Fein

Joseph Elledge, who was charged with murdering his wife Mengqi Ji in February, has court hearings scheduled Friday.

Pettis County man pleads guilty to Medicaid fraud, must pay over $6,000 in restitution

October 6, 2020 4:13 PM Karl Wehmhoener

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced that a Pettis County man pled guilty to the class D felony of Violations Involving Health Care Payments after submitting false timesheets. According to the release, Sherwin Marshall submitted false timesheets for allegedly receiving personal care services and no services were ever provided. Marshall convinced