After an audit last year determined the former city clerk of Center misappropriated more than $300,000, State Auditor Nicole Galloway has issued a follow-up report measuring the progress made to implement the audit’s recommendations. While officials in the Ralls County town of 500 have taken some measures to better safeguard public funds, the follow-up report […]
Tag: guilty
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 […]
Jury convicts Missouri man of illegal firearm
A Missouri man has been convicted by a federal trial jury of illegally possessing a firearm. Jeremiah Ezekiel Brown, 36, of Columbia, was found guilty on Monday, Sept. 20, of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Brown was arrested by a Columbia police detective during a traffic stop on Nov. 24, 2020. The […]
Missouri lawmakers buck national trend by establishing police “Bill of Rights”
(Missouri Independent) – On the final day of the 2021 legislative session in May, Missouri lawmakers passed a “law enforcement bill of rights” that gives officers special legal protections and closes files to police misconduct. When Gov. Mike Parson signed it into law in July, the bill of rights portion was largely overshadowed in press […]
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 […]
Missouri business owner who stole from customers, in $4 million fraud scheme, sentenced to 5 years in prison for $768,000 tax evasion
A Missouri business owner who engaged in a $4 million scheme to defraud his customers was sentenced in federal court for tax evasion after failing to pay more than $768,000 in state and federal taxes. “Not only did this defendant steal millions of dollars from his customers, but he stole from the public by evading […]
Former paraprofessional at Missouri high school sentenced to 22 years in prison for producing child pornography
A former paraprofessional at Blue Springs High School was sentenced in federal court for producing and distributing child pornography. Steven B. Allen, 46, of Independence, Missouri, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to 22 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Allen to spend the rest of his life on […]
News from the Associate Division of Grundy County Circuit Court for Tuesday, September 14, 2021
Two defendants were placed on probation when they pleaded guilty to separate charges on Tuesday in the Associate Division of Grundy County Circuit Court. Trenton resident Taylor Scott Groves pleaded guilty to a charge of driving while intoxicated from July 18. The imposition of sentence was suspended and Judge Steve Hudson placed Groves on two […]
Missouri man pleads guilty to $335 million fraud scheme and $615,000 tax violations
A Missouri, man who was charged in two federal cases pleaded guilty in federal court to his role in a $335 million scheme to defraud federal programs that award contracts to firms owned by minorities, veterans, and service-disabled veterans, and in a separate case to filing false tax returns that cheated the government out of […]
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 […]
Division One of Grundy County Circuit Court news for Thursday, September 9, 2021
Among cases Thursday, September 9, 2021, in Division One of Grundy County Circuit Court, Trenton resident Kenneth Leon Talley was sentenced to three years with the Missouri Department of Corrections after he pleaded guilty to an amended charge. Talley was accused of felony possession of a controlled substance/synthetic cannabinoid as of March 25. The Grundy […]
Mississippi man sentenced to seven years in prison for smuggling meth and heroin aboard train in Missouri
A Mississippi man was sentenced in federal court for transporting more than five pounds of methamphetamine and nearly three pounds of heroin through Kansas City, Missouri, en route to St. Louis, Mo. Willie Lewis Braison, 48, of Jonesboro, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to seven years and three months in federal […]
Former Trenton police officer receives probation on statutory rape charge after judge suspends prison sentence
A Trenton man was placed on probation after receiving a prison sentence when he pleaded guilty to a charge of second-degree statutory rape of a girl that authorities said was 15 years old at the time of the offense last year. Michael Wilson, who was 25 years old at the time of his arrest in […]
Missouri woman sentenced to 15 years in prison without parole for meth conspiracy
A Missouri woman was sentenced in federal court for her role in a conspiracy to distribute large amounts of methamphetamine. Cassidy R. Clayton, 25, of Springfield, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 15 years in federal prison without parole. On Oct. 31, 2019, Clayton pleaded guilty to participating in the drug-trafficking […]
Man pleads guilty to the sexual abuse of a two-year-old and a seven-year-old child in order to produce child pornography
A man pleaded guilty to two counts of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography in connection with his sexual abuse of two minor children. According to court documents, Brian Anthony Gilbert, 33, of District Heights, Maryland, uploaded and advertised at least two video files of child pornography depicting an […]
New York man sentenced to 13 years in prison for sending child pornography to a man in Liberty, Missouri
A New York man was sentenced in federal court for sending images and videos of child pornography to a Liberty, Missouri man who in turn used them to harass the child victim. Joseph J. Balio, 36, of Utica, N.Y., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to 13 years and nine months in federal […]
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 […]
Bucklin man charged with 43 counts of child sex offenses pleads “Not Guilty”
A Bucklin man charged with 43 counts of first-degree sex offenses entered a plea of not guilty on September 7, when 54-year-old Roger Cupp waived formal arraignment. The court denied bond modification at this time, and a bond hearing is scheduled for September 9, 2021. The Highway Patrol previously reported Cupp was to be held […]