Court and Trials Archives

Manslaughter charge filed after Columbia crash victim dies

November 20, 2019 12:12 PM Matthew Sanders

A Boone County prosecutor filed a manslaughter charge Wednesday against a woman accused of causing a crash that killed a man who was picking up cones after a bike race.

Jury hands down Jefferson City post-tornado looting conviction

November 19, 2019 3:45 PM Matthew Sanders

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) A Cole County jury on Tuesday convicted a Kansas City man accused of post-tornado looting. The jury found Adam S. Brandt, 40, guilty of unlawful gun possession, unlawful use of a weapon, drug possession and two counts of receiving stolen property, Cole County Prosecuting Attorney Locke Thompson said in a news

Former School of the Osage teacher pleads guilty in sodomy case

November 19, 2019 12:41 PM Madison Fleck

MILLER COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ) A former School of the Osage teacher pleaded guilty to statutory sodomy of a person less than 14 years old on Tuesday. Mark Edwards, of Eldon, was accused of touching a student inappropriately on two separate occasions in April 2018. A detective with the sheriff’s office looked at the school bus

Trial begins for man accused in 2018 Waffle House killing

November 19, 2019 4:14 AM Brittany Wiley

The trial of a man accused in a deadly 2018 shooting at a Columbia Waffle House is scheduled to start Tuesday.

Moberly man arrested in child abuse case

November 18, 2019 11:50 AM Madison Fleck

MOBERLY, Mo. (KMIZ) A Moberly man was arrested over the weekend after police were notified of a child abuse case that sent a 10-month-old girl to the hospital. Police were originally notified of the case around 11:30 a.m. on Sunday after the child had to be flown by helicopter from Moberly Regional Medical Center to

Second child abuse count added in case tied to missing Columbia woman

November 18, 2019 3:33 PM Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Prosecutors have added a second child abuse-related count against the husband of a missing Columbia woman. The Boone County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office on Monday filed an amended complaint against Joseph Elledge, who had been charged with one count of child abuse last month. The revised complaint also accuses Elledge of one count

Man charged for MU fraternity burglary

November 15, 2019 10:47 PM Matt Ragsdale

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Boone County prosecutors charged a man with first-degree burglary and stealing $750 or more from a University of Missouri fraternity house in September. Robert Mull is accused of taking about $17,000 worth of items from the Sigma Chi house at 500 S. College Ave. on Sept. 20. Court documents say Mull entered

Holts Summit teen accused of murder faces new charge

November 15, 2019 5:11 PM Matt Ragsdale

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. The teenager charged in an Oct. 31 deadly shooting on Rolling Hills Drive in Jefferson City was charged with a new felony Thursday. Cole County prosecutors charged Devin Schrimpf, 17, with delivery of marijuana. Court documents say officers searched Schrimpf’s belongings after he was taken to the hospital Oct. 31. Officers allege

One of five sentenced in Jefferson City sporting goods store theft

November 14, 2019 7:15 PM Matt Ragsdale

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) A woman charged with stealing $750 or more from a Jefferson City Dick’s Sporting Goods store was sentenced to community service Tuesday. Erneisha Dorema, 18, pleaded guilty Tuesday after she was charged on March 31. The judge sentenced Dorema to five years supervised probation and 50 hours of community service. Jefferson

Appeals court orders judge re-sentence man convicted of sexual assault

November 13, 2019 10:30 PM Matt Ragsdale

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) A state appellate court upheld a man’s conviction Tuesday, but sent his case back to a lower court. Robert Taylor was sentenced in 2018 to 30 years in prison by Cole County Circuit Court judge Patricia Joyce. A jury found Taylor guilty of three charges for sexually assaulting a child, enticement

Columbia man pleads guilty in alleged deadly drug conspiracy

November 13, 2019 2:49 PM Matthew Sanders

A Columbia man pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday in a case tied to a home invasion killing in a posh subdivision and the theft of a U-Haul loaded with marijuana.

Columbia man expected to plead guilty in Planned Parenthood arson case

November 12, 2019 3:24 PM Matthew Sanders

A Columbia man will plead guilty after he was charged with setting fire to a Planned Parenthood clinic.

Elledge denied bond reduction in child abuse case

November 12, 2019 10:19 AM Madison Fleck

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The husband of a Columbia missing woman was denied a bond reduction on Tuesday after last week’s hearing in his child abuse case. Joseph Elledge’s bond was set at $500,000. According to a Boone County Judge’s order, if Elledge posts his bond, he will not be allowed to have contact with any

Vigil for Columbia woman held one month after she was reported missing

November 9, 2019 3:43 PM Connor Hirsch

Friends and family of a missing Columbia woman gathered for a vigil Saturday, one month after she was reported missing by her husband, who is now the prime suspect in her disappearance. Mengqi Ji Elledge, 28, went missing Oct. 8. Her husband, Joseph Elledge reported her missing a day and a half after she allegedly

Man accused of September armed robbery arrested

November 8, 2019 11:15 PM Matt Ragsdale

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Boone County prosecutors charged a man suspected of a Sept. 18 armed robbery at a Columbia gas station. David Slaughter faces a charge of first-degree robbery in the case. He was booked into the Boone County jail Friday. Court documents say Slaughter handed a note to a worker at the Midwest Petroleum

Man charged in Boone County accused of sexual contact with a child

November 8, 2019 7:14 PM Alec Pettus

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Boone County prosecutors charged Zechariah Williams on Thursday with statutory sodomy of a person younger than 12 years old. According to court documents, investigators interviewed the victim, who detailed the alleged assault. The probable cause statements says Williams blew marijuana smoke into the child’s mouth. Documents show the incident happened in central

Springfield man pleads guilty in Jefferson City school bus shooting

November 8, 2019 12:16 PM Madison Fleck

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) A Springfield man pleaded guilty on Nov. 1 in a 2016 shooting involving a Jefferson City school bus. Jermaine Gray pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance. He was originally charged with assault, unlawful use of a weapon and armed criminal action. The Jefferson City School District bus was full

Columbia man pleads guilty to illegally having guns after chase

November 7, 2019 6:52 PM Alec Pettus

James Sander Jr. James Sanders Jr., 31, pleaded guilty Thursday to two counts of felony possession of a firearm, according to the United States Attorney Office of the Western District. According to the court, in July 2018, authorities arrested Sanders two different times. One of those arrests occurred while he was allegedly riding a stolen

Short-term arrangement reached in custody battle over missing woman’s child

November 7, 2019 11:53 AM Connor Hirsch

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The attorney for the parents of a missing Columbia woman said Thursday they have reached a “very limited, short term agreement” in the custody battle over their grandchild. Mengqi Elledge’s and the family of her husband, Joseph Elledge, are each trying to get custody of the couple’s daughter. A set of hearings

Miller County RV park named in wrongful death lawsuit

November 6, 2019 9:00 PM Matt Ragsdale

ELDON, Mo. (KMIZ) A wrongful death lawsuit filed Wednesday in the Circuit Court of Miller County accuses the owner of an Eldon RV park of causing a woman’s death. The court document shows Robert Vanbarneveld filed the lawsuit after his wife Tisha Vanbarneveld died on June 16. The couple were at Shorewood Landing Waterfront RV