Crime Archives

Columbia teenager to be sentenced for Jago murder in April

January 30, 2025 9:28 AM Matthew Sanders

Jermarion Burnett-Howard, 18, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon in the death of Janet Jago, 72, and will be sentenced on April 3.

Boonville police: Bullying results in false report of armed student on school bus

January 29, 2025 11:42 AM Madison Stuerman

BOONVILLE, Mo. (KMIZ) Boonville police officers were called to a report of a student with a gun on a school bus Wednesday morning. According to the Boonville Police Department, officers responded to a 911 report that a student had a gun on the school bus near 11th Street and Jefferson Road. After an investigation police

Man accused of throwing Molotov cocktail at courthouse charged with arson

January 29, 2025 7:11 PM Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Columbia man who is accused of throwing a Molotov cocktail at the entrance of the Boone County Courthouse on Tuesday was charged with four felonies on Wednesday. Nicholas Walters, 39, was charged with first-degree arson, armed criminal action, resisting arrest and drug possession. He is being held at the Boone County

Mental exam ordered for Fulton State Hospital patient charged with first-degree murder

January 29, 2025 6:35 PM Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A mental examination was ordered on Tuesday for a Fulton State Hospital patient who is accused of killing another patient at the facility. Jabril Kanatzar, 29, is charged with first-degree murder and misdemeanor fourth-degree assault in the death of Christos Karagiannis. He is being held at the Callaway County Jail without bond.

Couple pleads guilty to child sex crimes in Howard County, man pleads guilty to first-degree rape

January 29, 2025 5:13 PM Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A couple has pleaded guilty to several felonies, including child sex crimes, in Howard County. Jeremy Cudney, of Fayette, was sentenced to 50 years in prison after he pleaded guilty on Friday to drug possession, three counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, one count of misdemeanor illegal possession of

Audrain County sex offender charged with statutory sodomy

January 29, 2025 4:20 PM Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Vandalia man was arrested and charged with child sex crimes in Audrain County. Dana Ray Hull, 40, was charged on Wednesday with statutory sodomy of a child younger than 14 years old, statutory sodomy of a child younger than 12 years old, child enticement and failing to register as a sex

ATM thefts reported in Osage Beach, Lohman

January 29, 2025 3:56 PM Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Authorities announced on Wednesday that ATM thefts were reported in two Mid-Missouri cities. The Cole County Sheriff’s Office said in a release that deputies were called to Farmers Bank on Route C in Lohman at 1:17 a.m. for an ATM alarm. Deputies saw that an ATM was broken into and “an undetermined

Juvenile ‘persons of interest’ identified by Fulton police in teenager’s shooting death

January 29, 2025 2:49 PM Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Fulton Police Department says it has identified “persons of interest” in the homicide of 17-year-old Mason Sheets. FPD wrote in a press release that its persons of interest are juveniles who are not from Fulton. Their names cannot be released because of their ages, police wrote. Police identified the juveniles after the

Arrest made in shooting of two minors in Columbia

January 29, 2025 12:07 PM Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Police said Wednesday that they’ve arrested a suspect in the December shooting of two minors in east Columbia. The Columbia Police Department wrote in a news release Wednesday that a suspect in the Dec. 21, 2024, shooting was arrested Tuesday in Mexico, Missouri. Mexico police helped with the arrest, the release says.

Juvenile arrested in connection with Columbia shooting that closed Providence Road

January 29, 2025 11:54 AM Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A third suspect — a minor — has been arrested on suspicion of taking part in an alleged attempted robbery and shooting that caused police to shut down a busy Columbia road Monday morning. The Columbia Police Department wrote in a news release Wednesday that the minor was arrested in Mexico, Missouri,

Suspect used incendiary device outside Boone County Courthouse, sheriff’s office says

January 28, 2025 5:57 PM Matthew Sanders, Nia Hinson

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A court marshal and Columbia Police Department officer arrested a man who threw an incendiary device at the front of the Boone County Courthouse on Tuesday afternoon. The Boone County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a Facebook post that Nicholas A. Walters, 39, of Columbia threw “a device that can … best be

Indiana man pleads guilty to felonies in summer Fulton chase

January 28, 2025 7:16 PM Ryan Shiner

COLUMIBA, Mo. (KMIZ) An Indiana man who was in a crash over the summer after a chase with law enforcement pleaded guilty to several felonies on Monday. Christopher Voiles, 47, of Kokomo, Indiana, pleaded guilty to interfering with an arrest for a felony, resisting arrest by fleeing, leaving the scene of an accident and three

Boonville student arrested, another brought to hospital following assault in school parking lot

January 28, 2025 5:22 PM Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Boonville High School student was arrested after they allegedly assaulted another student in the school’s parking lot, Boonville police wrote in a Tuesday afternoon social media. Police wrote that that they were called at 3 p.m. to help the school’s resource officer respond to an assault. Two students were allegedly fighting

Assault charges filed in Columbia shooting that closed part of Providence Road

January 28, 2025 9:28 AM Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A man accused in a shooting that led to the shutdown of a busy Columbia road Monday morning has been charged with assault. Jared Britt Jr., 19, of Columbia was charged Tuesday with first-degree assault. Another man, Ataveon Gordon, 18, of Columbia, was charged with first-degree assault and aiding and abetting a

2 DOC inmates die at Mid-Missouri facilities on Monday

January 28, 2025 2:44 PM Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Two inmates at separate Missouri Department of Corrections facilities died on Monday, the DOC stated in separate press releases on Tuesday. Gregory Peck, 45, was pronounced dead at 3:54 a.m. at Algoa Correctional Center in Jefferson City. The release says that he was serving a 15-year sentence for selling and possessing drugs

Columbia man indicted by federal grand jury for child sex crimes

January 28, 2025 2:17 PM Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Columbia man was indicted by a federal grand jury Tuesday in Jefferson City for child sex crimes. William Lee Nichols, 53, was charged in the indictment with sexual exploitation of a minor child, using a child to prodice child porn and distributing child porn, all of which allegedly occurred from June

West Middle School student brings loaded handgun into building

January 27, 2025 12:41 PM Matthew Sanders, Marie Moyer, Nia Hinson

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A student at Columbia’s West Middle School brought a loaded handgun into the building Monday morning. West Principal Courtney Lewis wrote in a letter to families that a student brought a loaded handgun into the school. Another student reported that the gun and school officials “took immediate action to investigate,” the letter

Columbia police encounters with homeless population increase in 2024

January 24, 2025 5:32 PM Meghan Drakas

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Columbia’s police officers are having more frequent encounters with homeless people — so many that the Columbia Police Department has a team dedicated to dealing with that part of the population. The number of calls for service and arrests involving homeless people jumped 38% in Columbia from 2023 to 2024, according to

Jefferson City woman charged with three felonies after allegedly stabbing man

January 27, 2025 4:36 PM Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A woman was charged with three felonies after she allegedly stabbed a man at a Jefferson City residence on Friday. Tabatha Pinkston, 36, of Jefferson City, was charged with first-degree burglary, second-degree domestic assault and armed criminal action. She is being held at the Cole County Jail at the time of publication.

Man arrested after allegedly threatening to kill police, hotel guests

January 27, 2025 3:58 PM Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Columbia man was arrested and charged after he allegedly threatened to kill police officers and threatened to burn down a hotel and kill all of its occupants on Friday. Steven Franke, 39, was charged with first-degree making a terroristic threat, resisting arrest, first-degree property damage and misdemeanor misusing 911. He is