A Missouri woman was sentenced in federal court for methamphetamine trafficking after she received a large package of methamphetamine shipped from California to distribute locally. Cassiopeia Marie Blaise, 37, Columbia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to eight years in federal prison without parole. Blaise pleaded guilty on Aug. 31, 2021, to […]
A Missouri man with an extensive history of violent crime was sentenced in federal court for trafficking crack cocaine and illegally possessing a firearm. Mitchell B. Byrd, 43, of Kansas City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to 30 years in federal prison without parole. This sentence is an upward variance from the […]
A Missouri, man pleaded guilty in federal court to his role in a nearly $10 million conspiracy to distribute almost 1,000 kilograms (2204 pounds) of methamphetamine. Michael B. Becher, 40, Raytown, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine from Sept. 1, 2018, to Nov. 5, 2019. […]
(Missouri Independent) – Attorneys for Eric Greitens’ former campaign manager argued in new filings that the ex-Missouri governor is using the court to buttress his claims of conspiracy, harass his political enemies and boost his campaign for U.S. Senate. In a newly public filing in the child custody dispute in Boone County between Eric Greitens […]
A man was sentenced to three years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $1,000 fine for possession of an animal in an animal fighting venture. Clay Turner, 61, of Loranger, Louisiana pleaded guilty to possession of an animal for use in an animal fighting venture on June 30, 2021. According to court […]
Trenton FFA member Colton Roy was selected as one of 16 members to represent Missouri FFA as a Missouri State FFA Officer for the 2022-2023 year during interviews held in Columbian on April 8th and 9th. Colton was selected by the nominating committee through a rigorous interview process that included a 50 question FFA and […]
(Missouri Independent) – A smattering of giggles greeted the name of former Gov. Eric Greitens Friday evening when emcee Branden Rathert called for the U.S. Senate candidates invited to speak at Boone County Republican Lincoln Days to come forward. Up to that point, there had been no trace of Greitens or his campaign at the […]
(Missouri Independent) – It will be up to a St. Louis judge to decide how long Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner has to produce records sought by a journalist considered an ally of former Gov. Eric Greitens. The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear a last-ditch appeal by Gardner of an order giving her […]
A Missouri business owner has pleaded guilty in federal court to failing to pay nearly $2 million in payroll and employment taxes over four years. Sandra Eller, 59, of Napoleon, Mo., waived her right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips on Thursday, April 7, to a federal […]
Grand jury indictments were filed in Harrison County this week on three men. Forty-one-year-old Travis William Gilliland of Ridgeway has been charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action. Bail was set at $250,000 for all counts. A probable cause affidavit accused Gilliland of shooting and killing Lynn Trammell in March. Fifty-eight-year-old Stephen Marshall of […]
A former University of Kansas (KU) professor was convicted by a federal jury on three counts of wire fraud and one count of false statements after he deliberately concealed that he was also employed by a government-affiliated university in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) while working on U.S. government-funded research at KU. Feng Tao, […]
Buddy “Edward Gaines” Hannaford, age 78, died peacefully after a brief illness April 5, 2022, in The Living Center in Marshall, Missouri. A Celebration of Buddy’s Life will be held at 10:00 a.m. Thursday, April 14, 2022, at First Christian Church, 130 N. Jefferson Ave., Marshall, MO 65340. Rev. Randal DeMasters will officiate. Burial will […]
A Trenton man faces multiple sex-related felony charges in Daviess County stemming from alleged incidents with a blood descendant beginning in 2020 and extending to March 2022. Thirty-four-year-old Jeffery Perkins has been charged with two counts of first-degree child molestation and two counts of second-degree child molestation. He also has been charged with one count […]
In a major milestone, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced at a press conference earlier that the Attorney General’s Office has worked with 169 law enforcement agencies to clear their backlogs of untested, report sexual assault kits. In total, 3,298 untested, reported kits have been sent to the lab to be tested. Further, because of […]
(Missouri Independent) – The U.S. Senate advanced Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s historic Supreme Court nomination in a 53-47 procedural vote Monday evening, hours after the Judiciary Committee deadlocked along party lines. Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Mitt Romney of Utah voted with all 50 Senate Democrats on the procedural […]
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, and Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry are suing the Biden Administration for rescinding the public health policy, Title 42, during the worst border crisis in decades. The revocation will result in an unprecedented crisis at the United States southern border that will have a devastating […]
Springfield, Missouri-based nonprofit Preferred Family Healthcare will pay more than $8 million in forfeiture and restitution to the federal government and the state of Arkansas under the terms of a non-prosecution agreement announced, which acknowledges the criminal conduct of its former officers and employees. “Preferred Family Healthcare must relinquish the illegal profits it garnered from […]
Additional charges have been filed against a teacher and coach for the Braymer C-4 School District who was originally charged last week after allegedly sending nude photos and videos to students. Additional charges for 29-year-old Zachary Wayman Douglas of Utica include four felony counts of first-degree sexual abuse, two felony counts of second-degree statutory sodomy, […]
A federal grand jury indicted Brian Kowert, Sr., former Chief Operating Officer of the HBD Construction Company, on March 30, 2022, for five counts of wire fraud relative to his falsifying of Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) participation in several construction and redevelopment projects from 2014 through 2022. Kowert, Sr. was an owner, executive vice president, […]
The Trenton Police Department reports residents receiving scam telephone calls from what appears to be a local telephone number or a telephone number from a business; however, these are telephone scammers spoofing telephone numbers to gain personal information to use in an identity theft scheme. Authorities are encouraging residents to be vigilant in keeping their […]
