An annual statewide report shows Black drivers were 71-percent more likely to be pulled over than white drivers and 25-percent more likely to be arrested in Missouri last year. The percentages improved from 2019, but racial inequalities still exist. Cheryl Clay with the Springfield NAACP tells NewsNation she is still reviewing the numbers. […]
Tag: law enforcement
Audio: Missouri Supreme Court strikes down law about public labor unions
The Missouri Supreme Court has struck down a state law about public labor unions. The ruling involves a 2018 Missouri law requiring public employee unions to get annual written permission to deduct union fees from workers’ paychecks. In the 5-2 ruling, the state’s highest court says the law, known as “paycheck protection” by […]
Audio: Missouri Attorney General’s Office releases annual vehicle stops report for 2020
The Missouri Attorney General’s Office has released the annual vehicle stops report, an aggregation of data covering all vehicle stops in the state of Missouri in 2020. The report shows the number of people pulled over and then arrested in Missouri dropped significantly in 2020 but racial inequalities continue. It says the pullover rate declining […]
Four plead guilty to multi-state dogfighting conspiracy
Four defendants pleaded guilty to federal dogfighting and conspiracy charges for their roles in an interstate dogfighting network across the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and New Jersey. The Honorable John A. Gibney Jr., U.S. District Judge in Richmond, Virginia, accepted the following pleas: On June 1, Odell S. Anderson Sr., 52, of the District […]
Bethany Police Department seeks public’s help in locating woman missing since May 10
The Bethany Police Department is seeking help in finding a woman reported missing from Bethany on May 10, 2021. Twenty-three-year-old Jacqueline “Jacy” Deaver reportedly left her assisted facility on foot with little property. She is said to be disoriented and confused, be street smart, and keep mostly to herself. Deaver is described as having dark […]
Man from Maryland facing multiple charges after Bethany Police receive report of stolen car
A man from Maryland faces charges in Harrison County after the Bethany Police Department received a report of a car stolen from the Dollar Tree parking lot on May 29th. Online court information shows 37-year old David Timothy Shedd Junior of Sharpsburg, Maryland has been charged with the felonies of second-degree assault, special victim, first-degree […]
Highway patrol reports the arrest of three on Saturday
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports a 37-year old Sharpsburg, Maryland resident, was arrested Saturday afternoon in Harrison County. David Shedd was accused of felony counts of tampering with a motor vehicle, resisting arrest, and assault on a law enforcement officer. Shedd also was accused of misdemeanor operating a vehicle without a valid license. He […]
Four charged in Daviess County in case regarding theft of a skid steer from Altamont
Four individuals have been charged in Daviess County after the sheriff’s office received a report of a skid steer being stolen from Altamont on May 27th. Online court information shows 35-year-old Patrick Michael Wright of Kansas City, 38-year-old Patience Destinie Giersdorf of Kansas City, 32-year-old John Dale Mackey of Kansas City, and 40-year-old George David […]
Audio: Missouri lawmaker accused of using law enforcement position to get sexual favor from drunk teen
A report alleges a northeast Missouri lawmaker used his position as a law enforcement officer to get a sexual favor from an intoxicated 19-year-old woman while on duty in 2015. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports Missouri House Speaker Rob Vescovo has forwarded to the House Ethics Committee the information about Bowling Green Republican […]
Four face judge in Associate Division of Grundy County Circuit Court
Among cases in the Associate Division of Grundy County Circuit Court on Tuesday, May 25, 2021, Kyle Ray Graves of rural Trenton pleaded guilty to violating a protection order for an adult. On a plea bargain, the prosecuting attorney dismissed a burglary count. Graves was sentenced yesterday to 60 days at the Grundy County Detention […]
Freightliner strikes crosswalk pole at 9th and Harris Avenue in Trenton
The Trenton Police Department reports no one was injured when a Freightliner truck struck a pole with a crosswalk button on it at Ninth Street and Harris Avenue on Wednesday morning, May 26. Fifty-eight-year-old Bradley Brian Powell of Burlington, Iowa drove the truck with one towed unit south on Harris Avenue and was making a […]
Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics Missouri passes through north Missouri communities
The Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics Missouri passed through Chillicothe, Gallatin, and Cameron on May 26th. Special Olympics Missouri North Area Development Director Melody Prawitz says about 50 runners participated in that leg of the run. She notes the run did not go through Trenton this year because no law enforcement officers signed […]
Associate Division of Grundy County Circuit Court news for Tuesday, May 25, 2021
Among cases in the associate division of Grundy County Circuit Court, Kyle Ray Graves of rural Trenton pleaded guilty to a violation of a protection order for an adult. On a plea bargain, the prosecuting attorney dismissed a burglary count. Graves was sentenced on Tuesday to 60 days at the Grundy County Detention Center with […]
Missouri man sentenced to 21 years in prison without parole for leading meth conspiracy
A Missouri man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in leading a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in southwestern Missouri. Nathen D. Libertus, 31, of Stella, Missouri, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 21 years in federal prison without parole. On May 20, 2020, Libertus pleaded guilty to participating […]
Bethany man faces charges of kidnapping, domestic assault and endangering the welfare of a child
A Bethany man faces several felonies after law enforcement responded to a report of a domestic assault in progress in the 500 block of South 15th Street in Bethany Sunday. Thirty-seven-year-old Richard Gene Moad has been charged with second-degree kidnapping, third-degree domestic assault, resisting or interfering with an arrest for a felony, and first-degree endangering […]
Judge sentences bookkeeper who defrauded Plattsburg Special Road District
The former secretary/treasurer of the Plattsburg Special Road District has been ordered to pay restitution of more than $100,000 for defrauding taxpayers. Ava L. Langner was sentenced on the charge of theft brought by the U.S. Attorney. After receiving a whistleblower complaint, a 2019 audit by Auditor Galloway’s office detailed how Langner defrauded the district in […]
Man sentenced to 15 years in a Missouri prison for distributing almost 6,000 pounds of cocaine in KC area
A man who was a leader of a $56 million criminal enterprise was sentenced in federal court for his role in the conspiracy that distributed more than 2,600 kilograms (5,732 pounds) of cocaine in the metropolitan area. Jose Luis Armendariz-Rascon, Kansas City, Kansas, also known as “Uncle” or “Rambo,” 40, was sentenced by U.S. Chief […]
Man charged in Livingston County with child porn, after almost 5,000 images and videos discovered on computer
An Independence man has been charged in Livingston County with four counts of felony possession of child pornography. Online court information shows no bond is allowed for 33-year-old Zachary Ryan Kerns. A probable cause statement says a search of cloud service URLs on a computer belonging to Kerns using the program Axiom located more than […]
Legislation introduced that would improve reporting of child abuse deaths, prevent future fatalities
U.S. Senators Roy Blunt (Mo.) and Sherrod Brown (Ohio) introduced bipartisan legislation to require states to report data on all child abuse-related deaths and develop recommendations to prevent child abuse deaths from occurring in the first place. The senators’ bill would provide policymakers and public health officials with a clearer picture of the number of […]
Trenton woman arrested on probation violation
The Grundy County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest of a Trenton resident on May 19. Forty-six-year-old Tracie Leigh Todd was arrested on a probation violation. Bond was set at $5,000 cash only. She is scheduled for Division One of Circuit Court on June 10. Todd’s original charge was third-degree felony assault. (Photo courtesy Grundy […]