A Missouri legislator is scheduled to go on trial soon in two alleged fraud schemes. Nixa State Representative Tricia Derges is scheduled to go on trial beginning August 16 for 23 felony counts. Last March, a federal grand jury indictment alleges Derges fraudulently received about $300,000 in federal coronavirus aid for nonprofit medical […]
Six southwest Missouri residents have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a kidnapping conspiracy that resulted in the death of the victim. Freddie Lewis Tilton, also known as “Ol’ Boy,” 48, and Carla Jo Ward, 47, both of Joplin, Mo.; Amy Kay Thomas, 38, of Webb City, Mo.; James B. […]
(Missouri Independent) – Politicians are fighting over masks. Public health officials are begging people to get vaccinated. And meanwhile, the Delta variant continues to spread almost unchecked in the state. St. Louis County Executive Sam Page and St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones defended their mask mandates during separate appearances Wednesday. Page held a press conference […]
On a plea agreement, a Trenton man has been placed on probation after pleading guilty to four misdemeanor counts when he appeared on Tuesday in the Associate Division of Grundy County Circuit Court. Kyle Nathan Wilson entered the pleas to amended charges of 4th-degree assault, two counts, and to resisting arrest or detention by fleeing […]
Missouri’s Attorney General has said in a court motion that it was “completely improper” for a judge to release from jail a southwest Missouri couple charged with abusing girls at a reform school. Boyd and Stephanie Householder were placed on house arrest after a hastily called court hearing. They face multiple counts of […]
A federal grand jury in Nashville, Tennessee, has returned a 60-count indictment charging nine members of La Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) with a racketeering conspiracy spanning more than seven years. Those charged in the second superseding indictment are Carlos Ochoa-Martinez, 31, aka “El Serio;” Jason Sandoval, 35, aka “Bin Laden;” Jorge Flores, 29, aka “Peluche;” Kevin […]
A Noel, Missouri, man has been arrested in the Republic of Guatemala and returned to the United States to face a federal indictment for kidnapping the 4-year-old daughter of a woman whose body was discovered in a suitcase last year. Mahamud Tooxoow Mahamed, 39, a Somali national, was charged in an indictment returned on Aug. […]
Two St. Joseph, Missouri, men have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a conspiracy to distribute heroin and for illegally possessing firearms. Roderick A. Hughes, 48, and Franklin T. Hicks Jr., also known as “Frankie,” 40, were charged in a seven-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury […]
A central Missouri firearms dealer charged in connection with the U.S. Capitol riot competed in a shooting contest earlier this month which is against the terms of his release. The Kansas City Star reports that during a hearing in federal court in Washington, D.C., on Friday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tejpal Chawla (Tay-Paul Chaw-la) […]
A Kansas City, Missouri, man was indicted by a federal grand jury for robbing Great Southern Bank in Joplin, Mo., last week. Leland Scott Graham, 57, was charged with bank robbery in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo. The indictment replaces a criminal complaint that was filed against Graham on […]
A Missouri man was sentenced in federal court for enticing a 15-year-old victim through social media to engage in illicit sexual activity. Clinton Anthony Yeats, 29, of Joplin, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 14 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Yeats to 15 years of supervised […]
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed suit to stop the reimposition of a mask mandate in St. Louis County and St. Louis City. The suit, which was filed in circuit court in St. Louis County, names St. Louis County Executive Sam Page, St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones, and the respective directors of the county and […]
The Gallatin Board of Aldermen approved a resolution and two ordinances on July 26. The resolution involved appointing Julia Filley as the city prosecutor at $100 per hour. One ordinance involved entering into a contract for services with the Friends of Gallatin regarding Chautauqua in September. The other ordinance involved establishing a procedure to disclose […]
Trenton’s Building and Nuisance Board on Monday evening added two locations to the list of nuisances. One location is the fire-damaged house at 208 East 10th Street belonging to Michael Airey. Building Inspector Wes Barone described damages to a wall and roof as extensive enough that the structure needs to be torn down. The other […]
The Trenton City Council on Monday night voted unanimously to reject the designation of the downtown historic district as currently written, which would have created a new section in the city code. On a split vote, the city council defeated a proposed increase in the electric system base rate. Narrow approval was given on another […]
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley joined with two of his GOP colleagues on Monday to file an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court asking it to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion. Hawley, a Yale Law School graduate, and former Missouri attorney general, has said before that he […]
Seventeen more individuals have been charged in connection with a fraudulent scheme to obtain approximately $11.1 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and to use those funds to purchase luxury vehicles, jewelry, and other personal items. According to court documents and statements made in court, between May and August 2020, the defendants submitted or […]
A Missouri, man pleaded guilty in federal court to his role in a conspiracy to distribute large amounts of methamphetamine in the Springfield, Mo., area. Cheyenne W. Conn, 45, of Everton, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and one count of conspiracy to commit […]
Some severe thunderstorm warnings will be added to Wireless Emergency Alerts on compatible cell phones and mobile devices on July 28. Meteorologist Emily Klaus with the National Weather Service in Pleasant Hill: She says the system currently sends out alerts for tornado warnings. Phone users may get alerts for severe thunderstorm warnings through […]
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri must expand Medicaid to 275,000 eligible people who were expecting coverage under a constitutional amendment that took effect July 1, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled Thursday. In a unanimous opinion, the court overturned a trial court ruling that the amendment, passed in August 2020 was unconstitutional because it may increase the state’s cost for […]
