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
Continue Reading
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
Continue Reading
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
Continue Reading
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.
Continue Reading
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
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A man who was wanted on charges related to a pair of overdose deaths in 2023 was arrested in Indiana and was brought to the Boone County Jail. Marcus Larkins, 20, of Columbia, was charged on Oct. 24, 2023, with second-degree drug trafficking, tampering with evidence, three counts of stealing a gun
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A shooting shut down part of one of Columbia’s busiest roads Monday morning. A Columbia Police Department spokesperson said a man was taken by ambulance to a hospital after the shooting that closed Providence Road from Business Loop 70 to Interstate 70. More than a dozen first responder units were sent to
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A warrant was served to a woman in Moberly who is accused of editing video related to a child molestation case. Kristina Flores was charged on Jan. 17 with tampering with physical evidence in a felony prosecution. A warrant was served and she posted a $5,000 bond, court records indicate. She has
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Federal charges were formally dropped Thursday against a Versailles, Missouri, man who was convicted for his alleged role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Matthew Loganbill was convicted in 2023 by U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington, D.C., of obstructing an official proceeding, entering and remaining
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Boone County jury found a former state trooper guilty of sexual assault and kidnapping Friday after a three-day trial. Jeffery Durbin had been charged with sexual abuse, a felony, and third-degree kidnapping, a misdemeanor. The jury returned the verdict after deliberating for about three hours. Durbin and his accuser each took
Continue Reading
The vehicle believed to be involved in the homicide of 17-year-old Mason Sheets was found burned in Rocky Fork Lakes Conservation Area, a conservation area north of Columbia.
Continue Reading The alleged victim in the State v. Jeffery Durbin case took the witness stand Thursday morning in the second day of what is expected to be a two-to-three day jury trial at the Boone County Courthouse.
Former MSHP trooper Jeffery Durbin is accused of sexually assaulting a woman during a law enforcement training session in the Hampton Inn & Suites Columbia two years ago. He is charged with sexual abuse and kidnapping, a felony and a misdemeanor charge.
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Columbia man was sentenced in federal court in Springfield on Thursday for a federal drug trafficking charge. The Department of Justice said in a press release that Michael Hunt, 43, was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was found guilty in July of possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute.
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A man and a woman in Moberly were accused of shooting at a man in a truck early Wednesday. Gavin Ray Lancaster, 20, and Katie Sheets, 24, were charged on Wednesday with first-degree assault and armed criminal action. They are both being held at the Randolph County Jail on $50,000 bonds. Court
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Stover man faces several charges after authorities say he was in possession of child pornography and sexually abused a dog. Brenton Roberts, 21, was charged with five counts of possessing child pornography. He is being held at the Morgan County Jail on a $250,000 bond. A court date has not been
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Jefferson City man was charged with a pair of felonies after he allegedly inappropriately touched a minor while they were sleeping. Myron Demon Cage, 40, was charged with first-degree attempted sexual abuse and tampering with a witness. He is being held at the Cole County Jail without bond. A court date
Continue Reading
A jury trial begins Wednesday for a former state trooper charged with sexual assault in the first degree and kidnapping in the third degree.
The State v. Jeffery Durbin trial is expected to last two to three days at the Boone County Courthouse.
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Fulton Police Department is looking for a maroon/burgundy 2022 Jeep Compass Sport in connection to a teenager’s shooting death. Police wrote in a Wednesday afternoon press release that suspect vehicle information was developed after investigating more than 50 leads in the death of 17-year-old Mason Sheets. Police previously said on
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) An inmate at Jefferson City Correctional Center died on Tuesday, according to a Wednesday press release from the Missouri Department of Corrections. The release says Brandon Church, 34, was pronounced dead at Capital Region Medical Center. He was serving a 25-year sentence for second-degree murder in Platte County and was received by
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Jefferson City woman accused of murdering a toddler in 2018 and abandoning the corpse has been deemed competent to stand trial by the Department of Mental Health. Quatavia Givens, 32, was charged with first-degree murder, child abuse, first-degree endangering the welfare of a child and abandoning a corpse in relation to the death
Continue Reading