Attorneys for a Columbia death row inmate believe a recent Supreme Court decision should not affect the status of his lawsuit. Lawyers for Ernest L. Johnson said that the 5-4 high court decision upholding Russell Bucklew’s death penalty by lethal injection does not change the trajectory of their case. Johnson’s attorneys asked the Eighth Circuit
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A man charged in a large gun theft at a Columbia pawn shop has a history of burglarizing businesses in Jefferson City. Alexander Mears was involved in burglaries at Las Palmas Taqueria on Ellis Boulevard and China Wok just down the road June 27, according to court documents. He allegedly had help from Dakota Blackburn
Continue ReadingProsecutors charged a man in Boone County in connection with a shooting on Highway VV in March. According to court documents, Richard Johnson fired a gun at the victim from a moving vehicle multiple times March 25. Investigators said they found shell casings at the scene that later matched the gun found in Johnson’s possession.
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Nationwide, the number of homicides is going down but that is not the case for Columbia, according to data kept by law enforcement agencies. FBI crime data show 14,123 people died across the country in homicides — a decrease of 1,072 homicides from 2017 to 2018, or 7.5%. The number of homicides involving firearms nationwide
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Boone County prosecutors have charged two teens after shots were fired in the 5300 block of Silver Mill Drive on Sunday. Several officers searched the area around Silver Mill and N. Burning Bush Drive shortly before 9 p.m. A CPD officer told ABC 17 News crews that gunshots were fired but did not say if
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A Cole County judge issued an order Monday granting the release of a woman accused in the death of a Jefferson City child. Cole County Circuit Court Judge Jon Beetem granted the release of Quatavia Givens with specific conditions. According to the order, Givens must post a $5,000 cash or surety bond and keep a
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UPDATE: Columbia police said officers also arrested Alex Mears, 20, of Columbia in connection with the burglary. The department said the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boonville Police Department, Jefferson City Police Department and the Boone County Sheriff’s Department assisted with the investigation. Court documents show Mears has also been linked to a
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The University of Missouri Police Department was investigating a sexual assault that reportedly happened in the 500 block of College Avenue on Sunday. Police were called to the home at 10 p.m. Sunday for a sexual assault that happened earlier in the day. The victim told police a man she knew was the one who
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Authorities arrested a Gasconade County man early Sunday on suspicion that he kidnapped a 6-year-old from the Holts Summit area. State troopers found the child and the suspect, Rodney Trentmann, 38, during a traffic stop just after midnight Sunday in Gasconade County, the Callaway County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. Troopers took the
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Police are seeking two men after an armed robbery at McDonald’s on Stadium Boulevard. Columbia police told ABC 17 News crews at the scene that two men struck an employee with a gun at the fast food store. Authorities were called to the scene shortly after 3 a.m. Monday. A Columbia Police Department news release
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A shooting Sunday night continues the rash of violence in Columbia. Columbia police confirmed with ABC 17 News that shots were fired shortly before 9 p.m. near the intersection of Silver Mill and N. Burning Bush Drive. Authorities searched the area and talked to people nearby for more than an hour after the incident. One
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A man accused of second-degree murder in the killing of Nadria Wright was transported and booked into the Boone County Jail on Sunday morning. St. Louis County police took Javion Lawhorn-Wallace, 30, into custody on Thursday night in connection with the Sept. 13 killing of Wright, 18. Lawhorn-Wallace was then booked into the Boone County
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The Columbia Police Department arrested one person Sunday with charges of assault, according to a press release. Officers arrested Dengcheng “David” Chen on charges of assault and armed criminal action. Police were dispatched to House of Chow at 9:15 p.m. Saturday for a disturbance with a knife. According to the release, officers found two victims.
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Lebanon police are searching for the vehicle involved in a deadly pedestrian hit-and-run Saturday. According to a news release, police went to the intersection of North Highway 5 and North Adams Street just after 7:30 p.m. Saturday. A 12-year-old girl had been hit by a vehicle and was transported to the hospital where she later
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Community members gathered Saturday afternoon to remember the victims of the recent string of gun violence in Columbia. This comes after 6 people have been killed in five shootings in just over two weeks. Restoration of Life Ministries held a memorial and barbecue to remember the lives lost. One of the organizers, Wilma Blair, said
Continue ReadingThe man accused of firing a gun after getting into a fight outside a Columbia church where a funeral was taking place pleaded guilty earlier this month, According to court records, John Cosey Jr. pleaded guilty to unlawful use of a weapon and fourth-degree assault, and was sentenced to 180 days in jail. Court documents
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A federal judge sentenced an Indiana man Friday to 14 years in prison without parole for robbing a Jefferson City Walgreens pharmacy at gunpoint. Jerome Scott King, 20, pleaded guilty in February to committing the July 2018 armed robbery of the Walgreens at 2002 Missouri Blvd. with three other men, according to a news release
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A Cole County resident interrupted a burglary at a home southwest of Jefferson City on Wednesday morning, according to the sheriff’s office. The Cole County Sheriff’s Department was sent to a home on White Oak Road a little before 10 a.m. Wednesday for a call of a burglary in progress. A person living there told
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The University of Missouri Police Department released its 2019 Annual Fire Safety and Security Report on Friday, revealing a drop in violent crime and liquor law referrals in 2018. The 119-page report is tabulates incidents on the MU campus, certain off-campus buildings owned by MU and on public property directly adjacent to campus. Rapes declined
Continue ReadingJavion Lawhorn-Wallace has been accused in a drive-by shooting before. In 2010 he pleaded guilty to being the trigger man in a north Columbia drive-by. Now Lawhorn-Wallace is accused again of pulling the trigger in a drive-by shooting, this time with fatal consequences. Boone County prosecutors have charged Lawhorn-Wallace with second-degree murder, two counts of
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