Missouri Law

Springfield, MO - Captain Juan Villanueva, commanding officer of Troop D, announces boating safety certification courses are being offered to the public at the following locations: Saturday, April 13, 2013-- Cassville High School, 1501 North Main, Cassville, MO 65625; from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Maximum class size is 40. Saturday, April 20, 2013-- Missouri State Highway Patrol-Troop D Headquarters, 3131 East Kearney Street, Springfield, MO...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Brian Podzielinski, 22, of Springfield was sentenced on Thursday for shooting K.H. on June 7, 2011, at K.H.'s home at 945 E. Loren St. in Springfield.  Podzielinski and another individual broke into K.H.'s home, pepper sprayed K.H., held K.H. at gunpoint and demanded a safe.  Podzielinski then shot K.H. in the abdomen before fleeing. Podzielinski was charged the next day with first-degree assault, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon.  He pleaded guilty to all three charges last May.  The plea was not the result of an agreement with prosecutors.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A woman from Springfield faces a 10- to 30-year (life) prison sentence for attacking another woman with hot cooking grease.   Greene County jurors deliberated for three hours on Friday before convicting Jillian Cannady, 29, of first-degree assault with serious injury.  The attack occurred on Jan. 9, 2010, in Springfield.  Circuit Judge Tom Mountjoy scheduled a sentencing hearing for Dec. 9.  Whatever prison sentence  Cannady...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Gov. Jay Nixon ordered that the flag of the United States and the flag of Missouri be flown at half-staff at all government buildings statewide on June 8 from sunrise to sunset to honor Riverside Police Master Patrolman Jefferson “Jeff” Taylor. On May 23, Taylor went to Joplin with a 12-member contingent of police officers, firefighters and public works staff members from Riverside to help after the tornado.  Taylor, 31, died last Friday from injuries sustained when lightning struck near him on May 23 in Joplin.  Taylor began his career in law enforcement in 2001 with the Webb City Police Department.  He graduated from the Missouri Southern Law Enforcement Academy in May 2001.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Brian and Nathan Keese drowned on March 27, 2010, while on a fishing trip at Stockton Lake.  Their family started the Brian and Nathan Keese Water Safety Organization in their memory.  Now, two years later, they're working to put their life-saving campaigns on the books. Right now, Missouri law requires children under 7 years of age to wear a life jacket.  Every surrounding state requires them on kids 12 years and under.  Camilla Molica, who lost her husband and 8-year-old son, is calling for change.  In the midst of their memory is a mystery.  "We don't understand why they didn't have them on," Molica said.  She says they usually did wear the life jackets, and she has evidence in many pictures.

Jefferson City, Mo. - Attorney General Chris Koster has obtained a temporary restraining order against a Pennsylvania-based telemarketing company for making solicitation calls to Missourians who had previously placed their names on the state's no-call list.  He said the temporary restraining order came as a result of numerous complaints filed with the No-Call Division of the Attorney General's Office. Koster filed suit against Internet Technology Partnerships, Inc., and Jesse Levine, the company's owner.  The lawsuit alleges violations of the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act and the Telemarketing No-Call List Act.  Koster said telephone solicitation callers attempted to solicit consumers in the St. Louis Metropolitan area who may have used the drug Avandia and suffered side effects from its use.  The callers failed to identify the person or entity making the call and failed to disclose that the purpose of the call was to make a sale.

GALENA, Mo. -- A judge scheduled a hearing for next month to decide whether the cases of two teenagers will be transferred to adult court for two murders near Lampe in late January.  Transferring juvenile cases to adult court is an option under Missouri law for the most serious crimes. The boys, who are ages 15 and 16, are charged with murder, burglary and armed criminal action.  Investigators think they beat and stabbed Susan and Brian Brooks of Michigan after breaking into the home next to Table Rock Lake where the Brookses were staying for the winter.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Tammy Dickinson has taken the oath of office to become the United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri. Dickinson was nominated by President Obama in July 2012 and confirmed by unanimous consent of the U.S. Senate on Jan. 1, 2013. She took the oath of office late yesterday from U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips, the former U.S. Attorney. “I'm honored to serve as the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri,” said Dickinson. “I would like to thank President Obama, Congress, and especially Senators McCaskill and Blunt for their support.

BOLIVAR, Mo. -- A judge ruled Wednesday that a 15-year-old boy can be tried as an adult for the shooting death of his half-sister.  The judge ruled the murder of Sierra Elliott, 12, was so severe that the case against Levi Elliott, 15, belongs in circuit court, not juvenile court. Sierra was shot in the head on Saturday night, March 24, while she and Levi were left alone at home for 30 minutes at their home on East 430th Road, west of Bolivar.  Her mother found Sierra's body, but Levi and his father's truck were gone from the home.  The Polk County sheriff says Levi turned himself into police in Kansas City later that night after he got to his mother's home.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A Greene County judge overruled what a jury decided this summer in a wrongful death lawsuit filed against the ex-wife of attorney Rolland Comstock, who was murdered in his home north of Springfield in July 2007. Comstock's adopted daughter, Faith Stocker, filed a wrongful death suit against her mother, Alberta Comstock, claiming Alberta was responsible for the death of Rolland Comstock.  In early July, a jury sided with Stocker. In a court hearing on Tuesday, Circuit Judge Michael Cordonnier granted a motion by Alberta Comstock to overturn the jury's decision.  The judge also denied a request by Stocker to amend the judgment or to get a new trial.