A Missouri, man who was scheduled to begin his criminal jury trial instead pleaded in federal court to receiving child pornography over the internet. Scott James Wells, 55, of Springfield, withdrew his plea of not guilty before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool in order to enter a nolo contendre, or “no contest,” plea, neither […]
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 […]
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced that on April 27, 2021, Healthy Home & Family, Inc., an in-home health care provider, and its owners, Belinda Bivens and Mary Stockson, have entered into a civil settlement agreement totaling $302,127 in restitution and penalties, with his office for submitting 114 false claims to Missouri Medicaid (MO HealthNet). […]
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 soldier in the Army National Guard pleaded guilty in federal court to sexually abusing four minors over several years while he was the youth ministry director at Fort Leonard Wood U.S. Army Base. David J. McKay, 42, of Waynesville, Missouri, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to one count of transporting […]
Three Georgia men were indicted by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Georgia and charged with hate crimes and the attempted kidnapping of Ahmaud Arbery. The indictment also charges two of the men with separate counts of using firearms during that crime of violence. Travis McMichael, 35; Travis’s father, Gregory McMichael, 65; […]
A Missouri man pleaded guilty in federal court to the robberies (and attempted robberies) of five businesses. Joshua A. West, 28, Overland Park, Kansas, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to five counts of robbery and two counts of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime. By pleading guilty, West […]
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, […]
A Unionville man was killed early Saturday when the car he was driving overturned on Highway 136 in western Putnam County. Twenty-one-year-old Max Kenworthy was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after 6 a.m. Saturday. The accident happened approximately 90 minutes earlier, 12 miles west of Unionville. Kenworthy was eastbound when the car ran off […]
An Iowa woman pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court to hate crime charges for attempting to kill two children because of their race and national origin. According to admissions Nicole Poole Franklin, 42, made during the hearing, on the afternoon of December 9, 2019, Poole Franklin was driving her Jeep Grand Cherokee on Creston Avenue […]
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 […]
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration on April 13, 2021, halted the use of the one-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine that has been given to 6.8 million people in the U.S. The pause is due to reports of blood clotting in six people who have received the […]
The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office worked with the Unionville Police Department and Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control on an investigation that led to the arrest of two individuals April 8th. The sheriff’s office reports one of the individuals tried to elude arrest by fleeing from law enforcement on foot. The person was […]
The following employees being recognized for their actions in 2020 by the Missouri State Highway Patrol. This year’s award ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. April 10, 2021, via Facebook Live. The video will become available when the event begins. Last year’s award ceremony was postponed due to the pandemic, so both the 2019 […]
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, as part of his Office’s Hope Initiative, in a press conference announced four civil lawsuits have been filed against illicit massage businesses operating in Missouri. The four illicit massage businesses that were sued are A Little Massage in Laclede County, Blue Lotus Asian Massage in Cole County, Shangri-La Massage in […]
A Missouri man was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison without parole for attempting to purchase a chemical weapon, capable of killing hundreds of people, on the dark web with Bitcoin. Jason William Siesser, 46, of Columbia, Mo., pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to acquire a chemical weapon and one count of […]
A Missouri, man who reportedly was involved in a fatal shootout between two groups outside a downtown bar was sentenced in federal court for drug trafficking and illegally possessing a firearm. Marc A. Agee, 25, of Kansas City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to 10 years in federal prison without parole. […]
