Jeffrey Perkins

Trenton man charged with multiple sex crimes in Daviess County including incest, rape, sodomy, child molestation and domestic assault

A Trenton man faces multiple sex-related felony charges in Daviess County stemming from alleged incidents with a blood descendant beginning in 2020 and extending to March 2022. Thirty-four-year-old Jeffery Perkins has been charged with two counts of first-degree child molestation and two counts of second-degree child molestation. He also has been charged with one count […]

Prison Inmate or Prison Worker

Audio: Bill to allow offenders to work for reduced prison sentences advances to Missouri Senate

An effort aimed at giving convicts a second chance and lessening the chance of a return to prison is headed to the Missouri Senate.     That bill would create the Earning Safe Reentry Through Work Act.  The bipartisan measure would offer some Class E felons to work for time off their sentences. Representative Wes […]

Rape Kit or DNA Testing

Missouri clearing backlog of untested, unreported rape kits, getting FBI matches on suspect DNA

In a major milestone, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced at a press conference earlier that the Attorney General’s Office has worked with 169 law enforcement agencies to clear their backlogs of untested, report sexual assault kits. In total, 3,298 untested, reported kits have been sent to the lab to be tested. Further, because of […]

Republican Party

New Eric Greitens abuse allegations reignite GOP fears of losing Missouri Senate seat

(Missouri Independent) – The prospect of Eric Greitens capturing the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate in Missouri was already terrifying to his party’s leaders. He had been forced out of the governor’s office in 2018, resigning to settle felony charges and avoid impeachment by a Republican legislative supermajority.  Yet despite all that, he’s consistently led […]

Gavel and Law book news graphic

Audio: Missouri Supreme Court rules in favor of state’s public defenders in “sex assault survivors” law

The Missouri Supreme Court has sided with the state’s public defenders in the so-called Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights challenge case. Missouri State Public Defender Mary Fox and other public defenders challenged the part of the law that required the defense in a sex crimes case to inform the alleged victim of their rights […]

Planned Parenthood website

Planned Parenthood sues Missouri social services agency over restricted Medicaid funds

(Missouri Independent) – Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit Thursday against Missouri’s Department of Social Services, alleging the agency unlawfully plans to restrict Medicaid payments to the provider. A March 4 notice sent to Planned Parenthood of St. Louis Region cites a supplemental budget bill lawmakers passed last month that bars abortion providers or their affiliates from being […]

Family and friends developmentally disabled

Family and Friends of the Developmentally Disabled to meet on March 14

The Families and Friends of the Developmentally Disabled will hold an election of officers next week. A meeting will be at the east entrance of the Grundy County Courthouse in Trenton on March 14th at 6:30 in the evening. Other new business on the agenda includes Indian Creek Therapeutic Equine, OATS transportation, Developmental Disability Awareness […]

Smithfield Food Logo

Missouri fines CAFO, owned by Smithfield Foods, $18,000 for polluting streams with 300,000 gallons of waste

(Missouri Independent) – Regulators ordered an industrial hog farm in northern Missouri to pay more than $18,000 for spilling 300,000 gallons of manure into miles of nearby streams.  An advocate for environmentally responsible agriculture called that “pathetic,” noting the fine amounted to less than $0.04 per gallon of waste spilled.  “You’re talking about a multi-billion […]

Prison Sentence

Missouri man sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for producing child pornography

United States District Court Judge Henry E. Autrey sentenced Scott Reinhardt II, age 36, to 25 years in federal prison to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release for the production of child pornography.  Reinhardt previously pleaded guilty in December 2021.  According to the plea agreement, between the dates of February 1, 2020, and […]

President Joe Biden Photo provided by White House

Biden in State of the Union urges ‘unmistakable’ support for democracy in Ukraine

(Missouri Independent) – President Joe Biden used his first State of the Union address on Tuesday night to reassert America as a leading global voice for democracy and condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin for starting an “unprovoked” war in Ukraine. “Throughout our history, we’ve learned this lesson – when dictators do not pay a price […]

USDA US Department of Agriculture

Agricultural producers have until March 15 to enroll in USDA’s Key Commodity Safety Net Programs

Agricultural producers who have not yet enrolled in the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) or Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs for the 2022 crop year have until March 15, 2022, to sign a contract. The U.S. Department of Agriculture offers these two safety net programs to provide vital income support to farmers experiencing substantial declines in […]

Medical Marijuana

Status of Trenton’s medical marijuana facility now unknown

In a unanimous decision on Tuesday, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that a lower court was justified in ordering the state health department to disclose medical marijuana application info that it had argued was confidential.  The Department of Health and Senior Services refused to provide applications of businesses that were awarded licenses to grow and […]

Medical Marijuana Dispensary

Missouri Supreme Court: Medical marijuana application info must be disclosed in appeals

(Missouri Independent) – In a unanimous decision Tuesday, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that a lower court was justified in ordering the state health department to disclose medical marijuana application info that it had argued was confidential. The Department of Health and Senior Services refused to provide applications of businesses that were awarded licenses to […]

Child Sex Crimes news graphic

Braymer man charged with sex related offenses that allegedly happened during babysitting in the home

A Braymer man has been charged in Daviess County with multiple sex-related charges for incidents that allegedly happened in 2015 when he and his wife were babysitting children in their Jamesport home. Fifty-one-year-old Emmett Dean Campbell has been charged with the felonies of first-degree rape or attempted rape involving a victim less than 12 years […]

Sex Offender graphic

Missouri sex offender pleads guilty to sending obscene material to minors, faces 10 years in prison

A Missouri, man who is a registered sex offender was identified in two separate investigations and pleaded guilty in federal court to sending obscene materials to minors. Brent Deadmon, 45, of Raytown, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to one count of transferring obscene material to a minor. Deadmon, a registered sex offender, […]

Winter Storm Safety

Check out these safety tips for the upcoming winter storm

The American Red Cross of Missouri is offering safety tips ahead of the upcoming snow, ice, and frigid temperatures expected over the next few days. In addition, the Red Cross is coordinating with local emergency management officials and partners in the preparation for potential local community needs. Heavy snowfall is predicted in portions of Missouri […]

Audio: Missing child found in Missouri wearing dog collar, man accused of rape and other crimes

A Chesterfield, Missouri man is facing a slew of child rape charges after a 15-year-child was found with a dog collar strapped around her neck that the prosecutor says 38-year-old John Low put on her. The 15-year-old girl was reported missing from Manhattan, Kansas.     The St. Louis Prosecuting Attorney’s Office says the man […]

Sex Offender graphic

Registered sex offender sentenced to 15 years in prison for possessing images of child sexual abuse

A man was sentenced to 15 years in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release for possessing images of the sexual abuse of children. Ian Andrew Zearley, 40, of Louisa County, Virginia, pleaded guilty to possession of obscene visual representations of the sexual abuse of children in July 2021. According to court documents, Zearley […]