JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) The Cole County Jail is holding 14 inmates who have been court-ordered for psychiatric care, but officials are saying they do not have enough facility resources to provide mental health care to inmates. In a Facebook post by Cole County Sheriff John Wheeler, the Cole County Jail has 160 inmates, and
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Two people were charged on Tuesday after they were accused of stealing $1,600 from a pair of cash collector machines at a northeast Columbia car wash on Monday. Todd Harget, 37, of Edgar Springs, and Sierra Claxton, 30, of Joplin, were each charged with two counts of organized retail theft and two
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The man found guilty of causing the 1993 Missouri flood was given parole during a hearing last week James Robert Scott, 58, was found guilty decades ago of causing a catastrophe. He is being held at Jefferson City Correctional Center. He was sentenced to life in prison on July 6, 1998. According
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Columbia man accused of shooting two people on July 25 at Douglass Park was booked into the Boone County Jail on Monday night. Lenn Dukes, 42, was charged on July 28 in Boone County with two counts of first-degree assault, two counts of armed criminal action, one count of illegal gun
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) One of the seven people arrested following a brawl that occurred early July 26 in downtown Columbia has been charged with a felony and two misdemeanors. Tinoz’shia Harris was charged on Tuesday in Boone County with third-degree assault of a special victim, misdemeanor resisting arrest and misdemeanor causing a peace disturbance. Court
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A migrant who was deported from the United States four times was charged with multiple felonies after he allegedly chased a woman on July 22 in Jefferson City, court documents say. Cesar Garcia-Duarte, 41, was charged on Tuesday in Missouri’s Western District Court with being a felon with a gun, being a
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The judge in an appeals case wrote in a Friday decision that a decades-old murder case that has been reinstated may proceed as scheduled. William “Chris” Niemet, of Fulton, is charged with first-degree murder in a 1991 death of his classmate in Russellville. Judge Emily Fretwell had dismissed his charge last month,
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The lawsuit Boone Health filed against the Missouri Heart Center was formally dismissed on Wednesday. Court filings show Boone Health filed to dismiss the case on July 24 without prejudice. Boone Health announced the split with Missouri Heart Center at the end of March and subsequently filed a lawsuit alleging breaches of contract, misuse of
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A shooting took place at the Interstate 70/Highway 63 Connector and Conley Road on Sunday, and the Columbia Police Department is still looking for the shooter. CPD is still looking to identify the suspect involved and is asking anyone with information to contact them for a reward. A CPD spokesperson declined to
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Cooper County prosecutor filed a motion on Thursday to give consent for the case of a “cult-like” Amish leader to be moved to Montgomery County. Sam Shetler, 42, of Boonville, is charged with three counts of trafficking for the purpose of slavery/forced labor, a count of first-degree sodomy, first-degree sex
Continue Reading COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A former Cooper County Jail guard received a two-year probation term for her role in an inmate’s death in 2023. Rachel Atherton pleaded guilty to second-degree involuntary manslaughter on Monday. Prosecutors reduced her chare on Friday to the lesser felony. Jazzlyn Johnson, spokesperson for special prosecutors out of Jackson County, said Atherton
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HERMANN, Mo. (KMIZ) More than three years after a Hermann Police Sergeant was shot and killed in the line of duty, his community is working to ensure his legacy and other first responders’ lives on. In June, a jury sentenced Kenneth Simpson to death after convicting him of first-degree murder in Sgt. Mason Griffith’s killing.
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COLUMBIA, Mo. KMIZ EDITORS NOTE: Day in title was corrected. A man was injured after being shot Sunday in east Columbia near the I-70 connector. Sgt. Patrick Corcoran told ABC 17 News that when police arrived on scene, they found a 26-year-old male victim at the Break Time with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound. The victim
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Officers arrested three minors in connection with a string of vehicle break-ins that occurred early Wednesday, the Columbia Police Department said in a news release. The minors are suspected in more than 13 vehicle break-ins on Monterey Drive and Sieville Avenue, the CPD release states. The suspects ran from police, who caught
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A jury on Wednesday sided with the defendants in a family’s wrongful death case over a man who died years ago at Tipton Correctional Center. Previous reporting shows Brandon Pace died on April 7, 2023, and Tammy Reed filed a lawsuit in September 2024 against several parties. Defendants included the Missouri Department
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A former Randolph County sheriff who turned himself in Thursday on accusations of stealing a $5,000 check from the county allegedly told investigators that the check was a gift to him. A warrant was issued for Aaron Wilson on Thursday on a single charge of stealing $750 or more, according to Randolph
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Former Randolph County Sheriff Aaron Wilson was arrested Thursday evening on suspicion of stealing, according to the county’s current sheriff. Wilson was arrested on suspicion of stealing $750, according to a text message from Sheriff Andy Boggs. Wilson then posted a $5,000 cash bond and was released. A mugshot was not available
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Former Mizzou head football coach Gary Pinkel saw his case against the Department of Revenue dismissed by a judge this week. Judge Michael Gilley dismissed the case without prejudice on Monday, writing that Pinkel was lawfully arrested for driving while intoxicated on July 9, 2025. The filing also states the arresting officer
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A woman who was convicted of murder and other charges in a 2025 Holts Summit shooting has filed a notice of appeal. Heather Smith filed a notice of appeal on Monday to the Western District Court of Missouri. She was found guilty on April 23 of felony murder, three counts of unlawful
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The man brought down from a retired smokestack at Columbia’s Municipal Power Plant on Wednesday allegedly told police that he broke into the tower because he wanted to “have fun.” Richard Nichols, 33, was arrested Wednesday morning after refusing to come down from an enclosed platform about halfway up the tower for
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