The Department of Justice announced that the Bureau of Justice Assistance, a component of the department’s Office of Justice Programs, has awarded almost $187 million to support state, local, and tribal public safety and community justice activities. The awards, from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program, are going to all 50 states, […]
Tag: crime
Video/Audio: Missouri’s effort to get thousands of rape kits tested is making progress
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt gave an update on the SAFE Kit Initiative, reporting positive progress in clearing the backlog of untested sexual assault kits through the initiative. The Springfield Police Department also announced that they have completely cleared out their backlog, leaving zero untested sexual assault kits in their inventory. “As a husband, father, […]
Woman pleads guilty to carjacking in Missouri
A woman pleaded guilty in federal court to stealing a vehicle at gunpoint from the parking garage at the Country Club Plaza. Maricela Delores Lozano, 21, of Kansas City, Kansas, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to one count of carjacking and one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of […]
Missouri State Highway Patrol seeks information on additional victims of man arrested for child molestation
The Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control announces the arrest of Mark Scott West, 54, of Ste. Genevieve, Missouri. West was arrested on Monday, September 20, 2021, for child molestation in the 2nd degree with a child less than 12 years old. Criminal investigators seek information about possible additional victims, adult […]
Missouri man sentenced to 11 years in prison, without parole, for meth and illegal firearms
A Missouri man was sentenced in federal court for possessing methamphetamine to distribute and for illegally possessing firearms. Nathan Scott Thomas, 42, of Joplin, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 11 years in federal prison without parole. On May 3, 2021, Thomas pleaded guilty to one count of possessing methamphetamine with […]
Missouri trucker sentenced to 25 years in prison without parole, for transporting minors across state lines and sexually assaulting them
A Missouri, truck driver was sentenced in federal court for transporting two Missouri teenagers across state lines and sexually assaulting them. Cleveland Lee Crumsey, 38, of Republic Missouri, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to 25 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Crumsey to spend the rest of his […]
Revised voting rights bill rolled out in U.S. Senate, with Manchin on board
(Missouri Independent) – Senate Democrats on Tuesday unveiled a revamped voting rights bill that would expand voter registration as well as create nonpartisan redistricting committees, but the measure is still likely to face an uphill battle in an evenly divided Senate. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he will bring the legislation to the floor […]
Former Chillicothe resident sentenced to 20 years in prison on child pornography charges
Sentencing has been held for an Independence man on two counts of possession of child pornography in 2018. 33-year-old Zachary Ryan Kerns was sentenced in Daviess County Circuit Court to serve 20 years with the Missouri Department of Corrections. The sentence was listed as 10 years on each count with the terms served consecutively. Circuit […]
Man from Chula charged with sexual misconduct after exposing himself to restaurant employee
Chillicothe Police Chief Jon Maples says officers located a suspect vehicle on September 7th regarding a call on September 3rd about someone in a restaurant drive-through exposing himself to an employee. The alleged incident happened in the 1000 block of South Washington Street. Maples says a 37-year-old man was arrested for sexual misconduct after officers […]
Missouri woman pleads guilty to sex trafficking a child, faces 15 years in prison
A Missouri woman pleaded guilty in federal court to her role in the sex trafficking of a child. Danna Marie Rodriguez, 36, of Springfield, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to one count of the sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of the sex trafficking of a minor. By […]
Roadblocks facing Kevin Strickland’s innocence claim is nothing new for Missouri
(Missouri Independent) – Kevin Strickland was hopeful Thursday was going to be his first step towards freedom after 40 years in prison. A new law that went into effect on Aug. 28 gave Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker a legal avenue to free Strickland, who she says is innocent and wrongly incarcerated. But opposition […]
Missouri man sentenced to 15 years in prison without parole for meth trafficking and illegal firearm
A Missouri man was sentenced in federal court for his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and illegally possessing a firearm. Maxwell L. Fleming, 25, of Springfield, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 15 years in federal prison without parole. On April 7, 2021, Fleming pleaded guilty to one count […]
Missouri man pleads guilty to illegal firearm
A Missouri man pleaded guilty in federal court to illegally possessing a firearm. Desmond L. Washington, 22, of Kansas City, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to possessing a firearm after previously being convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. Washington was arrested on Sept. 7, 2019, when Kansas City police officers […]
Missouri adopts first update to HIV criminalization laws in 30 years
A bill that went into effect over the weekend makes the first reforms to Missouri’s HIV criminalization laws since they were passed in the 1980s. Among other measures related to prosecutors and police, the bill requires prosecutors to prove someone knowingly exposed someone who contracted HIV before getting a felony conviction and reduces the minimum sentence […]
Audio: St. Louis City and county lose in effort to block Second Amendment Preservation Act.
A county judge has ruled against St. Louis City and St, Louis County – in their argument against the new state law known as the Second Amendment Preservation Act. The law is to stop local law enforcement from helping federal investigators if guns are seized in an operation: St. Louis argued that this […]
Multi-state human trafficking operation, originating in Missouri, rescues 47 victims including 2 minors and leads to 102 arrests across 12 states
A 12-state human trafficking operation led by the Missouri Attorney General’s Office and the Missouri State Highway Patrol has led to 102 arrests and the rescue of 47 victims and sex workers including 2 minor victims. Operation United Front entailed simultaneous state-level human trafficking operations throughout the night on Thursday and into the early morning […]