COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Two people were charged in a prostitution sting in Camden County over the weekend. Justin Merz, 49, of Wenztville, was charged with drug possession and third-degree promoting prostitution. He is being held on a $25,000 bond at the Camden County Jail and a court date has not been scheduled. Christine Clay, 46,
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Hartsburg man who admitted to killing his father was sentenced to life in prison Monday after a previous sentencing hearing was delayed. Collin Knight, 25, was charged with first-degree murder and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of his father. Knight had previously agreed to a plea deal that
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) A Jefferson City man faces life in prison after pleading guilty to a child sex crime. Ryan Swillum, 25, of Jefferson City plead guilty to first-degree statutory sodomy on Friday, according to a press release from Cole County Prosecuting Attorney Locke Thompson. According to the release, the events occurred in Jefferson
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The family of Riley Strain has removed several people from the wrongful death lawsuit they filed after he died on a group trip to Nashville, Tennessee. The lawsuit was filed in March against the Delta Chi fraternity and its members. In a court filing Tuesday, his family dismissed claims against nine fraternity
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Law enforcement agencies in Randolph County responded to what ended up being a pair of “swatting” calls on Friday morning. . “Swatting” occurs when someone makes a prank call or message to draw a surprise emergency response to an address. A similar call was made to the residence of former Secretary of State
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A former worker at the prison in Tipton pleaded guilty on Friday to having sex with an inmate. Jessica Baird, of Versailles, will be sentenced at 9 a.m. Friday, Oct. 3. She is accused of having sex with a male prisoner on Oct. 21, 2024, when she worked at Tipton Correctional Center,
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Columbia realtor is speaking out after finding people squatting in the homes she is trying to sell. Wendy Swetz, a longtime Columbia realtor, said she’s more squatting incidents over the past month and a half, and not in just one part of town. She says the issue is damaging homes, turning
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Moberly man is out on bond after he was charged with second-degree child molestation of a youth younger than 12 years old. Kyle David Lee Tuggle posted a $40,000 bond on Thursday and has a court date scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Monday, Aug. 25 at the Randolph County Courthouse. A mugshot
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) – Police closed a portion of West Broadway on Wednesday night for an investigation. A Boone County Joint Communications Alert said Broadway near Heather Lane was closed at 11 p.m. The road was reopened about 10 minutes later. A Columbia police officer on the scene declined to comment on the nature of
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A man who was accused of murder in a shooting death in Moberly earlier this year has been arrested. A Wednesday press release from the Moberly Police Department says Todd Turner, 38, was arrested in Cahokia Heights, Illinois, on suspicion of first-degree murder in the death of Donald Hickem. He was charged
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Columbia man was charged with two felonies and a misdemeanor after he allegedly admitted to stealing from 20 vehicles in the past two months, court documents say. Nikolaus Harvey, 26, was charged with misdemeanor stealing and two felonies: Stealing a gun and stealing drugs. He was also charged in another case
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Editor’s note: Woodard’s name has been corrected. Her employment history with MU Health Care was added on Wednesday. COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) An Oklahoma woman who worked as a nurse at University Hospital was charged on Friday after she was accused of stealing fentanyl from the hospital earlier this year. Amanda Woodard, of Sperry, Oklahoma, was
Continue Reading COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A woman was charged with two felonies on Tuesday after authorities claim she fraudulently obtained welfare benefits. Peggy Worstell, of Columbia, was charged with unlawfully receiving EBT cards and stealing more than $750. A warrant will not be issued. The probable cause statement alleges Worstell misrepresented her household income by not declaring
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Someone described as a nurse practitioner in court documents has been accused of having child pornography and assaulting someone who confronted him about it. Michael Lewis, 31, of Ashland, was charged with child porn possession, second-degree domestic assault, third-degree domestic assault, tampering with evidence and tampering with a witness. He is being
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A third person has been charged with murder in connection with the death of a Columbia man in 2021 in Benton County.
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Columbia has a youth violence problem, and it’s only been portrayed more in recent months. At least that’s what Columbia business owner Dimetrious Woods believes. Woods owns Woods Auto Spa on Business Loop 70 and Essentialz convenience store in downtown Columbia on East Broadway. To Woods, the downtown area has become a
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Columbia man who is accused of shooting and killing another man at a gas station last year is facing more charges after he was indicted by a grand jury again on Friday. Seth Brinegar is now charged with second-degree murder, three counts of armed criminal action, two counts of unlawful use
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Callaway County man was charged with two felonies and a misdemeanor after he allegedly fired a gun and chased someone trying to repossess a trailer. Clayton Lehenbauer, of Auxvasse, was charged on Friday with unlawful use of a weapon, armed criminal action and misdemeanor fourth-degree assault. A warrant was issued for
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Columbia man was charged with two felonies after he was accused of threatening a man with a knife before a fight occurred on Saturday in central Columbia. Glenn Bennett Jr., 36, was charged on Monday with unlawful use of a weapon and armed criminal action. He is being held at the
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A former Maries County high school employee charged with child sex crimes in 2023 was sentenced to probation.
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