COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Cole County’s top prosecutor will not accept criminal cases submitted by a deputy who recently pleaded guilty to a pair of misdemeanors. Prosecutor Locke Thompson wrote a letter to Cole County Sheriff John Wheeler saying he would not take cases submitted by Mercy Gonzalez, who pleaded guilty last week to reckless driving
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By Alison Patton JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) Lincoln University opened its doors Wednesday to invite new students on campus ahead of the fall semester. Madison Nelson is a freshman who moved into the newly renovated Dawson Hall. “I’m actually very excited for the semester,” Nelson said. “I feel like Lincoln will bring the inner me
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) Cole County Emergency Services is encountering “unexpected challenges” in adding a new Safe Haven Baby Box to its Adams Street location. Cole County EMS Chief Eric Hoy said building architects determined the location they want to put the box needs modifications. “The installation documents from Safe Haven were provided to the
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A woman accused of killing a 4-year-old boy in 2018 has been deemed competent to stand trial. Quatavia Givens, 33, was charged with first-degree murder, child abuse, first-degree endangering the welfare of a child and abandoning a corpse in relation to the death of 4-year-old Darnell Gray in 2018. She is listed on the
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) No injuries were reported after a fire occurred at Modine Manufacturing on South Country Club Drive in Jefferson City, according to a Tuesday email from the Jefferson City Fire Department. Crews were called at 11:20 a.m. and found moderate smoke coming from the western part of the building, the release says. Dust
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Jefferson City Police Department detective will not be allowed to testify at a murder trial about what the suspect’s cellphone said about his whereabouts the day of the crime. The defense for Sergio Sayles, 39, has filed the motion to exclude the detective’s testimony. A hearing was held on Tuesday morning.
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Jefferson City man was charged with two felonies and a misdemeanor after an exchange while he was pulled over turned into him getting pepper sprayed. Patrick Allen, 26, was charged with resisting arrest, armed criminal action and misdemeanor obstructing government operations. He is being held at the Cole County Jail without
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) A Jefferson City businessman is the fourth Republican to officially declare for the Sixth Senate District race next year. Jake Vogel, president of Jefferson City Coca-Cola, wrote in a social media post Monday that he would seek the seat currently held by term-limited Republican Mike Bernsketter. The Sixth Senate District covers
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A California, Missouri, man was charged with several felonies after he led law enforcement on a chase on Sunday morning. Stephen Curtner, 48, was charged on Monday in Callaway County with second-degree assault, misdemeanor driving while intoxicated, resisting arrest, first-degree endangering the welfare of a child and two counts of first-degree property
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HOLTS SUMMIT, Mo. (KMIZ) A man was taken into custody on Sunday after allegedly leading law enforcement on a chase in Holts Summit and crashing into a police vehicle. According to a press release from the Holts Summit Police Department, police learned that the Jefferson City Police Department was attempting to a stop a vehicle
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A court date has been scheduled in Ryan Ferguson’s civil case for later this month. A Cole County jury sided with Ferguson and six former Columbia police detectives in November in their lawsuit against Travelers Insurance. They claimed Travelers refused to pay out the remaining $2.9 million of a more than $11 million
Continue Reading JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) A state psychologist testified Friday that a woman charged with murdering a 4-year-old boy in Jefferson City in 2018 is mentally competent to go to trial. Tiffany Harris, a forensic examiner and senior psychologist for the Missouri Department of Mental Health, testified during a hearing in the Cole County Courthouse that
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A man was charged with two felonies after he allegedly attacked a youth on Wednesday in Camden County. Kenneth Shumate, 36, of Jefferson City, was charged Thursday in Camden County with first-degree domestic assault and child abuse. He is being held at the Camden County Jail without bond. A bond hearing is
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The former head cook of the Jefferson City Boys and Girls Club has been charged with a child sex crime in Cole County. Scott Minor, 45, of Jefferson City was charged on Thursday with child enticement. He is being held at the Cole County Jail without bond. A court date has not
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) The Jefferson City School District opened its new Early Childhood Center on Thursday. The new facility, located at 1840 E. McCarty St., doubles the number of students served from 150 to 300 out of the district’s approximately 600 annual early childhood graduates, according to school officials. Construction was paid for with
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) No injuries were reported after a house caught fire Thursday afternoon in the 2400 block of Bluebird Drive in Jefferson City, according to a press release from the Jefferson City Fire Department. JCFD wrote the fire was ruled accidental. Crews were called at 3:26 p.m. and firefighters ended up finding a fire
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) The north side of West Capitol Avenue in Jefferson City will be closed next week for resurfacing and painting, according to a press release from Jefferson City Public Works. Work will start at 7 a.m. Monday and is expected to be done by 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15, the release says.
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) Jefferson City voters will decide in November whether to extend the city’s 7% lodging sales tax for 25 more years. The tax pays to promote tourism in Jefferson City and charges 7% on all hotel and motel rooms and short-term rentals. Most of the tax receipts — four-sevenths of the money
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Jefferson City man was charged with two felonies after he allegedly sexually abused a disabled woman at her home on Monday. Demon Tyrone Johnson Sr., 40, was charged on Wednesday with first-degree sexual abuse and first-degree burglary. He is being held at the Cole County Jail without bond. A court date
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) The Missouri Department of Transportation is moving into the next phase of its bridge rehabilitation project along Highway 54 over Missouri Boulevard, with new traffic changes and ramp closures set to begin Tuesday evening. Crews will begin work on the right-hand lanes of U.S. 54 over Business Route 50, forcing both
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