A Missouri, man was sentenced in federal court for transporting a Kansas minor across state lines to engage in criminal sexual activity. Nathan Roger Belcher, 31, of Carl Junction, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to 12 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Belcher to serve 20 years on […]
Two men traveling through Kansas City, Missouri, were charged in federal court for possessing nearly 24 pounds of heroin aboard a bus en route from California to New York. Darwin G. Morales-Sagastume, 23, and Cristian J. Lopez-Catalan, 28, were charged in a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., with […]
A Union, Missouri, man who was scheduled to begin his criminal jury trial instead pleaded guilty in federal court to possessing six pounds of methamphetamine to distribute. Felix Franz Forjan, 71, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. According to the plea […]
A Missouri man has pleaded guilty in federal court to multiple charges of illegally possessing firearms, including stolen firearms, and drug trafficking. Brandon L. Hill, 33, of Independence, Missouri, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Greg Kays on Thursday, April 29, to three counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm, two counts […]
A Coffey man faces multiple charges after a Missouri Department of Social Services Children’s Division investigation at a residence in Coffey on April 28th. Forty-five-year-old David Jonathan Girsch has been charged in Daviess County with the felonies of possession of a controlled substance, two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm, and two counts of […]
A California man was charged in federal court with transporting more than four kilograms of fentanyl from Los Angeles, California, to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, aboard a bus that stopped at a Kansas City, Missouri station. Miguel Angel Duran, 28, was charged with one count of possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute in a criminal complaint […]
A Missouri man who distributed a video of himself holding a gun to the head of a blindfolded man pleaded guilty in federal court to illegally possessing firearms. Sean A. Winston, 44, of Kansas City, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to being a felon in possession of firearms. By pleading guilty, […]
The Justice Department announced that the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) has released approximately $58 million in three grant solicitations that will advance community policing, help combat the dual scourges of opioid and methamphetamine use, and promote the health and safety of our nation’s law enforcement officers. “The grant solicitations announced will […]
A Missouri woman who led police officers on a high-speed chase in a stolen car pleaded guilty in federal court to illegally possessing a firearm. Erin D. Bisby, 29, of Kansas City, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to court documents, Bisby was […]
A Missouri, man has been sentenced in federal court for his leadership role in a multi-million dollar conspiracy that distributed more than 2,000 kilograms of cocaine in the metropolitan area. “This heavily-armed drug dealer was still on court-supervised release for a prior federal drug-trafficking conviction while he was engaged in this drug trafficking conspiracy,” said […]
An Arkansas man pleaded guilty in federal court to illegally damaging and removing more than two dozen trees from a national forest. Jamie R. Edmondson, 46, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to one count of depredation of government property. By pleading guilty, Edmondson admitted that he illegally cut and removed […]
(Missouri Independent) – On the heels of a historic cold snap that left thousands across the Midwest without power, Kansas and Missouri residents could soon reap the benefits of a massive high-powered transmission line delivering renewable energy. Grain Belt Express, a project a decade in the making, is starting to acquire land along its route spanning […]
Two Purdin residents face several drug-related felony charges after the execution of a narcotics-related search warrant in the 500 block of Third Street in Purdin on April 15th. Forty-three-year-old Valerie Raglenda Coke and 37-year-old Donald Michael Morris have been charged with first-degree endangering the welfare of a child involving drugs, first offense, possession of a […]
U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) have introduced a bill to remove the antitrust exemption that has been in place for Major League Baseball to subject them to existing law. Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), with over 20 cosponsors, has produced companion legislation in the House. “MLB […]
A Browning man faces two felony charges in Linn County after allegedly attempting to cause physical injury to another person with a firearm on April 6th. Fifty-nine-year-old Wendell Dean Havens has been charged with first-degree assault or attempt and armed criminal action and entered a plea of not guilty on April 13th. The case is […]
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed suit against President Joe Biden, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas, and several other members of President Biden’s administration to reinstate the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) enacted by President Trump and work toward combating migrant trafficking, securing the border, and ending the border […]
April 20, also referred to as 420 by cannabis enthusiasts as code for smoking marijuana, has quickly spread as a celebratory day across the country. While cannabis is now legalized for recreational use in many states and medicinal use only by Missouri, it is still illegal in all states to drive under the influence of […]
As you head outdoors this season to enjoy the sunshine and warmer weather, you may encounter a variety of newborn animals. Young wildlife can pull on our heartstrings as they appear to be abandoned, but that’s usually not the case. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) reminds the public that interfering with wildlife can do […]
A man charged with six counts of felony first degree endangering the welfare of a child, creating substantial risk, pleaded not guilty in Division One of Livingston County Circuit Court on April 8th. Twenty-one-year-old Cloyce Oliver Wollard waived formal arraignment, and his case was continued to May 6th for a plea or trial setting. Co-defendant […]
A man accused of operating an illegal daycare out of a home in Chillicothe had his case certified to Division One of Livingston County Circuit Court on April 7th. Twenty-one-year-old Cloyce Oliver Wollard waived his right to a preliminary hearing. Arraignment is scheduled for April 8th. Wollard and co-defendant 24-year-old Jessica Maurine Busker of Chillicothe […]
