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A public defender serving Miller County wants to meet with the presiding judge to discuss caseload issues and request relief. The motion filed by Justin Carver, the district defender in the state’s Area 19, says that his office has no lawyers available to take Gary Sweet’s case because every lawyer is already overloaded with cases,

SATURDAY: Warmer air moves in to start the weekend and it will be warm, breezy and mostly sunny Saturday with high temperatures in the low 60s. The fire danger will be high due to dry vegetation, low humidity and gusty winds up to 30 mph. Outdoor burning should be avoided. SUNDAY: Heading into Sunday, a

A Columbia city councilman claims the local Board of Realtors argument against an electric connection fee is flawed. Ian Thomas wrote to the board on Thursday in response to their opposition to charging new construction a fee for connecting the city’s electric system. Thomas has said that the brunt of paying for the city’s growing

The attorney representing the Fulton firefighters union commented on stalled negotiations in the years-long struggle for higher pay Friday. A lawsuit was filed against the city of Fulton on Oct. 20, alleging officials continually change their minds on an agreement to raise firefighters’ pay. “The reason we filed [the lawsuit] is because the city has

The Missouri Supreme Court will hear a case that involves the Moniteau County prosecutor next year. Shayne Healea is expected to appear in court Feb. 6. He’s accused of backing into a restaurant in downtown Columbia in 2014. Four people were hurt in the crash. The state attorney general’s office requested the hearing after it

The Law Enforcement Training Institute graduated 27 people from its police academy Friday. Eight of those graduates will soon begin their careers at the Columbia Police Department. “This is the biggest academy class that we’ve ever had,” police Chief Ken Burton told the Citizens Police Review Board on Wednesday. LETI instructor Adam Duncan said vacancies

The Jefferson City Police Department kicked off its holiday DWI enforcement campaign Friday. It runs until the first of January. During the holiday season last year, 44 people were killed and nearly 200 seriously injured. Some of those were DWI crashes. But Saturday, it’s a much lighter campaign for JCPD. As our guest for “This

A plan to build a sports complex could breathe new life into the derelict, former home of the Boone County Fair. The fairgrounds have been vacant since the county shut them down in 2015 when county voters rejected an 8-cent sales tax. Veteran’s United and UPS lease parts of the property right now. Boone County

More than 2,300 students are expected to receive degrees from Mizzou this weekend. According to a release, the University of Missouri will award 2,509 degrees, including 1,932 bachelor’s degrees, 414 master’s degrees, 147 doctorates, four law degrees, 11 education specialist degrees and one medical degree. Some students will receive more than one degree. While enrollment

Callaway County deputies and Fulton Police arrested an armed suspect on Friday evening. Deputies said officers responded to a felony traffic stop at State Road F and Westminster Avenue in Fulton. Deputies said the suspect was taken into custody by Fulton police. ABC17 is contacting Fulton Police for more information. Stay with this story for

TONIGHT: Mostly clear skies will remain as temperatures drop into the low 30s by morning. Winds will shift out of the southwest up to 12 mph dropping feels like temperatures into the mid- upper 20s by daybreak. SATURDAY: Warmer air moves in to start the weekend and it will be warm, breezy and mostly sunny

UPDATE: 4:30 p.m., 12/15: ABC 17 News spoke with MACC President Dr. Jeff Lashley about Thursday’s threat. Lashley said the student, Anthony Bedford, allegedly made a threat to MACC staff. “Once we became aware of the situation, we thought our best decision at that point was to go ahead and evacuate the campus and call

UPDATE 4:30 pm: Troopers said the silver advisory has been canceled. Troopers said Chitwood was found by the Kansas City police. ORIGINAL STORY: The Independence Police department issued an endangered silver advisory alert for a missing woman on Friday afternoon. Police said Betty Jean Chitwood disappeared from the 4500 block of South Crysler Ave. in

Columbia police arrested Sean Griffin on Thursday after officers responded to Griffin’s hotel room at the 3100 block of Wingate Court for a theft investigation. According to the probable cause statement, officers knocked on the hotel room’s door and heard movement inside but no one answered the door. Officers said the door was later opened

UPDATE 4:14 pm: Columbia police said Caldwell has been found at a local hospital. ORIGINAL STORY: Columbia police announced on Friday that officers are searching for Jessica Caldwell, 42, who is missing and considered at risk due to medical conditions. Police said Caldwell was last seen in the 1100 block of North Providence Road at

A Columbia man accused of killing Nathan Taylor on McKee Street in September has been indicted by the grand jury. Jeremy Humphry has been indicted for murder in the second degree, unlawfully possessing a firearm and tampering with physical evidence. ABC17 previously reported Humphry was arrested for the murder in September. Police said detectives were

Two vehicles were involved in a crash on Friday on Highway 40. A four-door sedan attempted to pass a dump truck on the right shoulder of the highway. The four-door car then struck the dump truck. Neither driver suffered injuries, but the passenger in the sedan was transported with minor injuries.

The Columbia Police Department’s Special Weapons and Tactics Team and the Crisis Negotiation Team assisted an un-identified agency on Friday afternoon. Police said officers helped apprehended a suspect in the other agency’s investigation. ABC17 saw SWAT team members and police officers on Sears Court around 2 p.m. however, police would not confirm if the two

Columbia police arrested London Traverso on Thursday night after an officer conducted a traffic stop for a vehicle that had a defective right rear brake light. Police said when they encountered Traverso, he did not have his driver’s license on him. When officers ran his name through Joint Communications, they noticed there was a warrant

Two men were charged with burglary, assault and property damage after being accused of pushing a door in. According to the probable cause statement, Brian Kendle and Landon McGowan went to a man’s residence to confront him about an alleged crime. Police said Kendle and McGowan climbed over a wooden fence at the rear of