News

A man convicted of burning down a Jefferson City sporting goods store may get a new trial. Kurt Steidley was found guilty by a jury in January of setting Everharts Outdoor on fire in 2011. He was set to be sentenced Wednesday, but instead his attorney Shane Farrow asked for a retrial stating there as

In 2012, there were 29,560 DWI offenses statewide. In 2013, the numbers dropped to 25,594. And so far in 2014, there have been 2,428 DWI arrests. While the numbers are down, some say the consequences for repeat DWI offenders need to be harsher. “There have been instances where there have been two or three time

Target is back in the spotlight again. This time for a swimsuit ad “gone wrong” — an ad that some say is sending a dangerous messages to teens and women. This ad popped up online on Monday showing a woman with badly photo shopped legs to create a thigh gap. The thigh gap is one

Missouri guard Jabari Brown was named to the All-SEC’s First Team while fellow classmate Jordan Clarkson was named Second Team All-SEC. Brown, who is averaging 19.7 points per game, had 17 games with 20 points or more this season. That is the most in team history since Kareem Rush in 2001. Brown’s selection gives Mizzou

A bridge more than 80-years-old east of Columbia still needs repairs Tuseday, after we first identified the issues almost three years ago. The bridge is on Rustic Road near the Southeast city limits, and it’s the only way to cross the north fork of the Grindstone Creek. When ABC 17 first learned about this bridge

Ryan Ferguson’s attorney, Kathleen Zellner filed a civil suit against several investigators involved in the 2001 murder of sports editor Kent Heitholt. It was filed Monday, on the tenth anniversary of Ferguson’s arrest. The suit named the city of Columbia, Boone County, former Boone County prosecutor Kevin Crane, former Columbia Police Chief Randy Boehm, and

A police car was involved in a non-injury crash late Tuesday afternoon on I-70 near the Rangeline exit in Columbia. Multiple vehicles were damaged in the accident, which briefly shutdown both lanes of the highway. It is not clear what caused the wreck.

Allergy experts say allergy season could hit us any time now. These recent warm temperatures are allowing trees to begin the pollen production process. “We’ve had a very cold winter. When winter is especially cold, the trees get really excited to pollinate at the first sign of spring,” said Dr. Mark Vandewalker of Allergy and

Two people were injured early Tuesday following a serious car crash in Jefferson City. Police say Natalie Deekan, 19, was a driving a 2002 Chevrolet S-10 truck. It hit the back of a semi just after 6 a.m. The tractor trailer was stopped along the exit ramp to Highway 54 at Ellis Boulevard. Deeken and

Two drivers died in a head-on collision that happened in Columbia early Tuesday. According to the Columbia Police Department, shortly before 12:30 a.m. the driver of an SUV was going south in the northbound lanes of Highway 63 just north of the Vandiver Drive overpass. The SUV then hit another vehicle head-on. The accident closed

A Missouri basketball player will not make the trip to the SEC basketball tournament in Atlanta this week. On Monday, Missouri head coach Frank Haith announced Criswell would not make the trip, saying he has to “take care of some things back here in Columbia.” Senior forward Tony Criswell had a court date on March

Fire crews said warmer temperatures and windy conditions are a recipe for a brush fire. Crews have responded to more than a dozen brush fires since Friday. “Conditions today…very low humidity, warmer temperatures and high winds,” said John Metz with the Columbia Fire Department. “These conditions are very conducive to rapid fire spread.” Metz said

Battle girls basketball has already made history in just its first year. The Spartans beat Notre Dame (St. Louis) on Friday, 55-51, for its the school’s first district title. “It is nice to get our name out there for once,” junior guard Cheyanna Weaver said. “Instead of Hickman and Rock Bridge, now it’s Battle. And

A medical examiner says a preliminary autopsy shows a toddler apparently drowned in a Mid-Missouri home where her father was also found dead. Camden County authorities found the bodies of 2-year-old Sadie Marie Burns and 40-year-old Robert William Burns in their Camdenton home Friday. Deputy medical examiner Ron Yoder released the autopsy report on Sadie

A Centralia man now faces several child sex charges. Police arrested Travis Thurmond, 26, as he left work Friday. Detectives say Thurmond photographed and filmed multiple victims between the ages of 7 and 14 while they were undressing or completely naked. New court documents on Monday show the incidents took place between January 2011 and

In light of a reported raped near the University of Missouri campus over the weekend, ABC 17 wanted details on how many rapes happened in the last year. The state’s Uniform Crime Report online shows rape numbers have slightly increased. What’s more concerning is the amount of rapes compared to the amount of arrests. Between

Crews in Columbia and Boone County saw at least 10 outside fires just on Monday, after another busy weekend. Officials say the high winds and dry conditions quickly spread flames. One blaze off Route E north of the Columbia mall burned around three acres. The smoke was so bad, someone inside the nearby Columbia Health

ABC 17 News confirmed on Monday a judge has denied a request from a Mid-Missouri teen killer to set aside her guilty plea from 2012. The ruling for Alyssa Bustamante was signed by Cole County Judge Joyce on Thursday. Bustamante testified in court back in January that she wouldn’t have pleaded guilty to the 2009

MoDOT says its dedicating the month of March to making state roads safer for drivers. MoDOT says this month it will repair every pothole reported within 24 hours. MoDOT engineers say there are more potholes than usual this year because of the long, extremely cold winter. “Potholes are obviously something that we want to make

The Sedalia Police Department with the Pettis County Sheriff’s Office arrested Jack Kaufman Saturday morning in the 300 block of E. Saline Street on a narcotics-related search warrant. After a search of the home with K9 unit, officers found methamphetamine, marijuana, prescription medications, drug paraphernalia and drug packaging supplies. Officers also found more than $1,000