COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Boone County prosecutors charged Zechariah Williams on Thursday with statutory sodomy of a person younger than 12 years old. According to court documents, investigators interviewed the victim, who detailed the alleged assault. The probable cause statements says Williams blew marijuana smoke into the child’s mouth. Documents show the incident happened in central
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Boone County’s 911 agency says it had safeguards in place to make sure the system stayed online during recent scheduled call center maintenance. Boone County Joint Communications director Chad Martin said during the scheduled maintenance the department staffs its backup location in case something were to happen. “When either CenturyLink or our IT department will
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A Boone County judge has sided with an animal rights organization in its lawsuit claiming the University of Missouri charged an excessive price for records about animals used in research. The Beagle Freedom Project sued MU in May 2016 after the university gave an estimate of $82,222 to fulfill a request for records about animals
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The University of Missouri’s undergraduate student body met Thursday during a town hall. The town hall was a regularly scheduled meeting, but students and members of the Missouri Students Association discussed concerns about recent events that impacted university students. MSA sent out a vague release before the meeting. The group said the
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Columbia Planning and Zoning Commission rejected a request to rename part of Rice Road at its meeting Thursday night. D&D Investments of Columbia, LLC had proposed renaming a mile of Rice Road to Geyser Boulevard. The company wanted to rename the road from Ballenger Lane to Lake of the Woods Road.
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A city commission has approved a request to split the Columbia Mall into two lots to accommodate a new hotel. The commission voted unanimously to create a new lot on the north end of the mall property on Bernadette Drive. Developers plan to build a four-story Hilton hotel there. The commission denied
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Missouri Students Association held a town hall meeting Thursday after what the organization calls “a series of events” in recent weeks. MSA is the student government for the University of Missouri. The organization in a news release Monday did not provide any information about the events but said they “have caused
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James Sander Jr. James Sanders Jr., 31, pleaded guilty Thursday to two counts of felony possession of a firearm, according to the United States Attorney Office of the Western District. According to the court, in July 2018, authorities arrested Sanders two different times. One of those arrests occurred while he was allegedly riding a stolen
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Right now crews are working a crash in north Columbia. The wreck happened just before 6 p.m. at Rangeline Street and Vandiver Drive, according to Boone County Joint Communications. The Columbia Fire Department tweeted that lanes are blocked in the area. ABC 17 News has contacted the police and fire departments to
Continue Reading COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Sigma Chi International Fraternity has suspended its University of Missouri chapter, the organization said Thursday. The suspension is indefinite and takes effect immediately. “One of the most difficult things the Executive Committee can do is vote to close a chapter,” international president Steve Schuyler said in a news release. “In this
Continue Reading 31 Columbia Water & Light customers were without water Thursday afternoon, according to the city. In a Facebook post, city officials said water main repairs affected customers in the 1300 block of W. Ash Street. These customers will be under a precautionary boil advisory. The post said the city will put a hangtag on the
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The attorney for the parents of a missing Columbia woman said Thursday they have reached a “very limited, short term agreement” in the custody battle over their grandchild. Mengqi Elledge’s and the family of her husband, Joseph Elledge, are each trying to get custody of the couple’s daughter. A set of hearings
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A downtown Columbia restaurant topped this week’s list of inspections with four critical violations and three non-critical violations. Taj Mahal’s inspection shows that when inspectors visited the restaurant on Oct. 30, they found food that was at the wrong temperature, uncovered food and clean dishes with food debris on them, just to
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Officials are letting parents know, “winter is coming,” and it pays off to prepare for problematic weather. Last winter’s snowfall prompted several closures and delays throughout the 2018-2019 school year. Columbia Public Schools recorded five cancelations, five delays and one early release because of inclement weather in the 2018-2019 year, according to district spokesperson Michelle
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMKZ) City of Columbia public works crews did a dry run on snow routes Wednesday to prepare for winter weather. Mike Wheeler operates the loader which fills truck with salt from the salt dome. He also drove snow plows for the city for years. He said the dry run is a way for
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Boone County’s lead prosecutor said in court Wednesday that the husband of a missing woman is the prime suspect in her disappearance, accusing him of killing her. Boone County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Knight said at a bond reduction hearing that investigators suspect Joseph Elledge in the October disappearance of his wife, Mengqi
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Special Olympics of Missouri announced a new partnership with the University of Missouri System Wednesday. The announcement was held at the Aquatic Mezzanine in the Mizzou Rec at 11:30 a.m. The new relationship includes the University of Missouri System schools and MU Health Care. MU officials said the partnership could lead
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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KMIZ) A Columbia man was indicted by a federal grand jury on Tuesday after he was accused of having drugs and guns in his car and leading authorities on a high-speed chase in September. Kenneth C. Fredenburg, 33, was charged with possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and possessing firearms in furtherance
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Columbia man that survived a September shooting faces felony drug charges after officers say they found drugs on him while treating his wounds. Sam Baldwin IV faces two counts of possession of a controlled substance following a shooting on Sept. 13 in central Columbia. Baldwin was injured and 18-year-old Nadria Wright
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“All of a sudden… I couldn’t get access to any of my email accounts.” Gregg Bennett, an entrepreneur from Seattle, said he was a victim of SIM card swapping earlier this year. Without warning, he lost access to several email, financial and other accounts. “(The hackers) got into my amazon account, my Evernote account, my
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