Court and Trials Archives

Columbia family sues Boone County over investigation into man’s death

June 30, 2020 6:33 PM Lucas Geisler

A Columbia family claims Boone County is breaking the state’s open records law in their year-long fight to get records involving a man’s death.

Charles Erickson asks for another chance to rehear murder conviction

June 23, 2020 10:45 PM Katie Greathouse

Attorneys for Charles Erickson filed an appeal Tuesday asking a court to let him out of prison. “This petition was a very long time coming,” Landon Magnusson, Erickson’s attorney, said. “We are very excited to have another chance at obtaining justice for Charles Erickson after sixteen years in prison as an innocent man.” Erickson was sentenced to 25

Man pleads guilty to murder in Cole County double killing

June 23, 2020 1:55 PM Matt Ragsdale

The Cole County Prosecuting Attorney said Tuesday a man charged with murdering a man and woman in 2016 pleaded guilty to first-degree murder.

Man accused of setting fires inside two Jefferson City apartments

June 22, 2020 7:08 PM Katie Greathouse

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) Prosecutors charged a man with seven felonies and two misdemeanors after he allegedly broke into apartments on Jackson Street and started fires. According to court documents, Robert Keeton Jr. went inside of an apartment around 6:40 p.m. Thursday while the resident was still inside. Keeton started destroying the person’s property and

Woman accused of stealing thousands of dollars worth of jewelry

June 11, 2020 6:04 PM Katie Greathouse

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Columbia woman is accused of stealing nearly $37,000 worth of jewelry from a home she had been cleaning. Prosecutors charged Stephanie Hood on Thursday with felony stealing and two counts of possession of a controlled substance. According to court documents, the victims noticed several items were stolen from their home. The

Columbia police officer claims qualified immunity in appeal over high school student’s lawsuit

June 10, 2020 7:59 PM Lucas Geisler

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Columbia police officer is appealing a court’s decision not to dismiss her from a lawsuit over the basis of qualified immunity. Attorney David Baker said the city of Columbia would appeal Judge Nanette Laughrey’s decision to leave Officer Keisha Edwards in a lawsuit over a Rock Bridge High School student’s claims

Missouri man sentenced to 20 years in prison after investigation led to Iceland

June 10, 2020 9:10 AM Matt Ragsdale

A Missouri man was sentenced to 60 years in prison after pleading guilty to more than a dozen charges including rape and sodomy.

Man sentenced in Boone County child assault case

June 10, 2020 7:52 AM Katie Greathouse

A man pleaded guilty to an assault charge in a Boone County child assault case after originally being charged with rape.

Moberly police arrest woman in connection with Boone County stealing case

June 9, 2020 10:49 PM Katie Greathouse

The Moberly Police Department arrested a woman Tuesday in connection with a felony stealing investigation in Boone County.

Columbia man sentenced to 10 years in prison for 2018 killing

June 9, 2020 11:28 AM Matt Ragsdale

A Columbia man was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Friday after he pleaded guilty to murder in the 2018 killing of a teenager.

Prosecutors charge man after standoff in Cole County

June 5, 2020 6:53 PM Katie Greathouse

Prosecutors charged a man after a standoff with Cole County deputies on Tuesday night.

Former CPS employee sentenced for assaulting student

June 5, 2020 6:52 PM Katie Greathouse

A former Columbia Public Schools employee pleaded guilty three years after he was accused of inappropriately touching a middle school student with a disability.

Local attorney weighs in on new charges in George Floyd case

June 4, 2020 12:22 AM Zach Boetto

COLUMBIA Mo. (KMIZ) Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office upgraded charges Wednesday against the former Minneapolis police officers allegedly responsible for George Floyd’s death. ABC 17 spoke with local attorney and former Cole County prosecutor Bill Tackett about what the next steps are in the case. Tackett said there are a couple of things the

Woman charged in attempted kidnapping investigation

May 14, 2020 9:34 PM Katie Greathouse

MONROE COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ) Authorities arrested a New Hampshire woman for allegedly planning to kidnap a child in Monroe County. According to a news release, Erica Johnson, 20, came to Monroe County from Boston on April 25 to meet an 11-year-old. Johnson allegedly talked to the child for about four months over social media and

University of Missouri to pay $175,000 to settle open records lawsuit

May 13, 2020 8:23 PM Associated Press

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) The University of Missouri will pay $175,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by an animal rights group over a public records request. The Beagle Freedom Project asked the university for records pertaining to cats and dogs used for research. The university initially said the group would need to pay $82,222 for the

Columbia man accused of child abuse

May 11, 2020 9:59 PM Katie Greathouse

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Boon County prosecutors charged a Columbia man in connection with a child abuse investigation. According to a probable cause statement, Columbia police officers responded to University Hospital for a report of a three-month-old child with rib fractures. Doctors believed the child had new fractures and healing fractures. Investigators looked over medical records

Jefferson City man accused of child sex crimes

May 6, 2020 9:02 AM Katie Greathouse

Deputies with the Cole County Sheriff’s Department arrested a Jefferson City man suspected of child sex crimes Tuesday afternoon.

Two plead guilty in alleged deadly drug ring

May 5, 2020 5:47 PM Matthew Sanders

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) A man from Columbia and another from California pleaded guilty Tuesday in connection with what authorities have labeled a deadly marijuana-trafficking conspiracy. Nawel Girma, 25, of Columbia and Cody Brent Davis, 31, of California, pleaded guilty in separate federal court appearances in Jefferson City, the U.S. attorney’s office said in a

Moberly man pleads guilty to role in deadly robbery

April 30, 2020 7:18 PM Katie Greathouse

MOBERLY, Mo. (KMIZ) A Moberly man admitted to his role in a 2018 double homicide on Thursday. Travis Koenig pleaded guilty to second-degree robbery in a hearing on Zoom. Koenig is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 23, according to online court records. Court documents in the case said the killings were the result of a

Man accused of shooting at van on I-70

April 9, 2020 10:34 PM Katie Greathouse

Troopers arrested a Boonville man accused of shooting at a van on Interstate 70.