Police Beat
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More funds allocated to police facility
By Katherine Miller
Posted at 5:03 p.m., Tuesday, January 6, 2009
The Columbia City Council approved a measure at Monday’s meeting that will allocate funds to furnish and equip the new Columbia Regional Police Training Facility.
“It was a necessary allocation for us because that was not covered in the original $1.5 million,” Interim Police Chief Tom Dresner said.
The allocation of $83,593.50 was not a part of the 2005 Public Safety Ballot tax initiative, which provided the $1 million for the actual construction of the building, but instead comes from the Law Enforcement Training Fund.
Dresner said those funds are generated from court ordered revenue allocations from traffic violations.
“The money will basically be used for equipping the training facility with all of the needed furnishings such as the office furniture, conference room tables and chairs and audio visual equipment,” Assistant City Manager Tony St. Romaine said.
Fifth Ward Council Member Laura Nauser said the proposition was not unexpected.
“It’s just all part of the process,” Nauser said. “We’ve begun construction with the groundbreaking, and getting the equipment in line was the next thing.”
Mayor Darwin Hindman said this approval addressed an obvious need.
“It obviously needs to be furnished,” Hindman said “The staff looked around and found that we could pay for it this way, out of the budget, recommended it and the Council agreed with that.”
The training facility will provide the much-needed training space for the department. Hindman said training is becoming more important today with the advancement of weaponry and accessories both criminals and police have.
“It’s essential if you’re going to provide adequate, good policing that you have adequate and good training,” Hindman said.
The groundbreaking, which took place Dec. 22, was the official start of construction of the facility, but initial foundations had already been poured by that time.
“Due to the cold weather and freezing conditions, that’s kind of put a hold to a certain extent on the future concrete pours which are going to be needed so we can start erecting steel,” St. Romaine said.
St. Romaine said they hope to get a break in the weather soon so the additional foundations can be put in place.
Both Dresner and St. Romaine said all the structural steel has already been delivered to the site.
Although the City Council and the police department don’t see the need for further allocations to the facility, they aren’t completely ruling out the possibility.
“I’m sure we’ll get things throughout the course, as with any type of building process,” Nauser said. “They’ll be adjustments to supplies and costs for building.”
Nauser said future developments like this are common with building projects but she doesn’t foresee any new costs at the moment.
St. Romaine said there could be unanticipated expenses, since the construction contingency is relatively small, at about $50,000.
“When you’re building a facility of this size and magnitude, or any type of building the city, there’s always unanticipated expenses,” St. Romaine said “We hope that that contingency will be enough so that we don’t have to go back to Council again for any additional appropriations.”
The facility is on schedule to be completed by this fall.
“Once that foundation gets put in, the building should be going up fairly rapidly,” St. Romaine said.
Columbia man robbed after grocery shopping
By Stephanie Clark
Posted at 11:04 a.m., Monday, January 5, 2009
Two men robbed a Columbia man outside his home around 6 p.m. Thursday.
The victim, a 57-year-old man, was coming home from the grocery store when a white older four-door model of a Buick or Oldsmobile pulled in front of his car.
The two men inside the vehicle approached the victim and started talking to him before they struck the victim in the head with an unknown object, stated a news release from the Columbia Police Department.
The two men took the victim’s wallet and his groceries while he was unconscious.
“This robbery is unusual and we have not have any other similar reports of robberies involving groceries and being assault as the victim arrives home,” CPD Lt. Dianne Bernhard said.
There is no evidence of a connection between the victim and the suspects. The suspects have been described as two men, both in their mid-20’s. The driver of the car is around 6’1” and 190 pounds and was wearing a John Deere hat, a brown coat and blue pants, stated the news release.
The passenger is described as being around 160 pounds and between 5’7” and 5’8”.
Bernhard said victims should report crimes as close to the scene of the crime as possible to give officers a better chance of catching the suspects and recovering physical evidence from the scene.
“I would advise people to always be aware of their surroundings,” Bernhard said. “If approached by people that you do not know in an isolated area, be cautious and try to remove yourself from the area.”
MUPD makes arrests in football robbery
By John Gass
Posted at 5:57 p.m., Thursday, January 1, 2009
University police made arrests in a case that's over a year old.
The MU Police Department arrested three males Tuesday for stealing money at an MU football game against Nebraska on Oct. 6, 2007.
The suspects stole money from parking fees at the game. The money was in four bags and was stolen from a vehicle that contained the funds collected from the parking fees, stated a news release from the department.
The amount stolen has not been released but money was the only item stolen.
The suspects include two juveniles and Michael Davis, 18, all from Fulton.
The suspects are being charged with one count of class C Felony Stealing, stated the news release.. The investigation is ongoing.
Columbia home and business robbed
By Will Guldin
Posted at 6:45 p.m., Saturday, December 27, 2008
A Columbia family and a Columbia business were robbed just two days after Christmas.
In the first robbery, a 15-year-old boy was assaulted in his home at 8:30 p.m. Friday in the 3100 block of Alpine Drive.
A news release from the Columbia Police Department said the suspect appeared to have entered through the front door, which was unlocked. There were no signs of forced entry. At the time of the burglary, the teenage boy was the only person in the house, CPD Sgt. Chris Kelley said.
“Apparently the young man had just finished taking his shower," Kelley said. "He came out of the bathroom and heard the assailant in the downstairs of his house.”
When the boy came out of the bathroom, the suspect punched him and pushed him into a wall, Kelley said.
The suspect then went up the stairs and fled out of the front door of the house. The boy tried to chase the suspect but was unsuccessful. The boy called 9-1-1 after chasing the suspect, stated the news release.
Nothing was taken from the house and the victim suffered no obvious injuries. The victim said the suspect was wearing all dark clothing and a dark ski mask, stated the news release.
In an unrelated incident, Tiger Cleaners, located at 3905 Peachtree Drive, was robbed Saturday around 10 a.m.
The suspect entered the business and demanded money from the clerk, a 52-year-old female from Columbia, stated a news release from the police department.
The suspect said he was armed, but no weapon was shown.
The suspect jumped over the counter and punched the woman as she began to open the cashed register, stated the news release.
The suspect then left an undisclosed amount of money. He was last seen running southbound from the business wearing a hooded sweatshirt, a plaid shirt and dark pants.
The victim was treated at the scene by medical personnel for minor injuries, but declined other medical assistance, stated the news release.
This is the first time this location has been robbed, Kelley said. Anyone with information about these crimes can call Crime Stoppers at 875-8477. Monetary rewards are offered for any information that leads to an arrest.
Columbia resident wanted by FBI
By Abby Rogers
Posted at 8:34 p.m., Wednesday, December 24, 2008
A Columbia man was wanted by the FBI in relation to a narcotics investigation in Kansas City and has been arrested by the Boone County Sheriff's Department. Sheriff's Department deputies attempted to serve a federal arrest warrant at Rodney Hughes' residence in the Woodstock Estates Mobile Home Park on Tuesday, stated a news release from the Boone County Sheriff's Department.
Deputies made contact with Rodney's wife Paula Hughes at the residence, who refused to allow deputies to search the residence. Paula also told deputies Rodney was in Illinois on work-related business. After deputies left the residence, a vehicle registered to the Hughes' was seen fleeing the mobile home park.
The vehicle was stopped during a traffic stop nearby and the occupants were identified as the Hughes. Both were taken into custody, stated the news release.
Rodney is being held at the Boone County Jail for the federal warrant, which doesn't have a bond. He is also being held for a failure to appear warrant, which has a bond of $500. Paula was arrested on a felony charge of hindering prosecution and posted a bond of $4,500, stated the news release.
Fire set in Columbia business
By Stephanie Clark
Posted at 4:47 p.m., Monday, December 22, 2008
In the past week, Columbia firefighters battled fires at a local business that are believed to have been set intentionally.
A series of three separate fires occurred between 8 and 9 p.m. on Dec. 18 at Boyce and Bynum Pathology Laboratories at 200 Portland St. Firefighters arrived on the scene to find two trashcans and a ream of paper set on fire.
"From an investigators point of view, it is clearly obvious that the fires were intentionally set," Columbia Fire Department Battalion Chief Gary Warren said.
The department, in conjunction with the Columbia fire investigators, is investigating the source of these fires. Forty people have been interviewed in connection with the arson, according to a department news release. During the time of the fires, numerous employees were present in the building, but no injuries and minimal damage was reported.
Firefighters have also been busy fighting fires at local residences. The department fought four residential fires between Nov. 11 and Dec. 11 that appeared to be related. Warren said setting up surveillance cameras could help prevent fires.
"Since this incident was intentionally done, it's hard to prevent," Warren said. "We're not talking about an accident. We're talking about something that was intentionally set."
Later that day, the department also battled two unrelated structure fires. A residence at 1513 Olympic Blvd and a six-unit apartment building at 1801 Worley St. caught fire, according to news releases from fire department.
On the evening of Dec. 20, another fire occurred at 1412 Barnwood Drive. The department was contacted after a resident at 1412 Barnwood Drive discovered flames in a bedroom. The fire was contained to one side of the duplex, but the fire was the third within 24 hours.
Construction begins on new police training facility
By Katherine Miller
Posted at 4:46 p.m., Monday, December 22, 2008
The City of Columbia held a groundbreaking and ribbon cutting ceremony today to celebrate the start of construction for the new Columbia Police Department Regional Training Facility.
The project was a part of the 2005 Public Safety Ballot Issue, a tax initiative, and has been on the city’s drawing board since 2001.
Although the contract for the building was signed Oct. 3, the groundbreaking ceremony couldn’t take place until today because the site didn’t have road access before today.
Columbia Purchasing Agent Marilyn Starke said the city went through a competitive bid process but eventually chose Little Dixie Construction out of two other contracting companies.
“The main factor in choosing Little Dixie was that they donated the land for the building to be built on,” Starke said. “Bob LeMone had very strong ties with community development and wanted to see this project come about. We really couldn’t have afforded this project without the land being donated.”
Mayor Pro Tem Chris Janku made the opening remarks, since Mayor Darwin Hindman was out of town for the event.
Interim Police Chief Tom Dresner also expressed his thanks to both the taxpayers and the LeMone family.
“It was a good event,” Assistant City Manager Tony St. Romaine said. “We had the chamber ambassadors there for a ribbon cutting, and we did a ceremonial groundbreaking.”
Sara LeMone, Bob LeMone’s widow, participated in the groundbreaking ceremony as well.
The whole event lasted about 30 minutes long, cut somewhat short due to the frigid temperatures.
Dresner said the new facility will hold state-of-the-art equipment that will increase both the professionalism and confidence of the department.
“We’re going to be installing a computer firearms training simulator in there that is kind of a state-of-the-art scenario based training for decision-based shooting,” Dresner said. “We hope later at some point, although this is not budgeted for, to have a computer driving simulator.”
The facility will also hold two conference rooms, one large enough for at least 80 people, and some administrative offices. There will also be a room for vehicle training, such as felony car stop, in the back of the facility. This is the first time Columbia will have its own facility.
“We’ve trained everywhere and anywhere before,” Dresner said.
St. Romaine and Dresner said the new facility other city departments and law enforcement agencies, such as the Boone County Sheriff’s Department and the Missouri State Highway Patrol will use the facility.
“We’re going to make it available to other law enforcement agencies and other city departments as well,” Dresner said
The facility is expected to be completed by the fall of 2009.
City ends contract for red light safety cameras
By Abby Rogers
Posted at 10:10 a.m., Tuesday, December 16, 2008
The Columbia City Council voted to seek new proposals for installing red light safety cameras at selected intersections. The city previously had a contract with LaserCraft Inc. but decided to request new proposals from other companies for the installation, execution and operation of these cameras, stated a news release from the city.
Assistant City Manager Tony St. Romaine said miscommunication between the city and LaserCraft Inc. led to the termination of the contract.
“Although we believed that LaserCraft understood our expectations, it recently became very clear that the company had some misconceptions," St. Romaine said in the news release. "The company determined it could not deliver the desired product within the budget or timeline that the city desired.”
The safety cameras are designed to deter drivers from running red lights. If a driver is caught running a red light, the photograph taken by the camera would be used as evidence in a municpal court proceeding, stated the news release.
A person found to have violated traffic ordinances would be guilty of a criminal offense.
Drugs found in Gillett
By Katherine Miller
Posted at 2:56 p.m., Friday, December 12, 2008
Three freshmen were arrested Thursday night after the Gillett residence hall staff made a narcotics call to MUPD.
Ethan Matchett was arrested for possession of less than 35 grams of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. Tiffany Taylor was arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia, and Marissa Larkins was arrested for possession by a minor.
“A residence hall staff member reported the odor of marijuana and made the call,” MUPD Capt. Scott Richardson said.
Because the possession charges were under 35 grams and were city ordinance violations, the suspects will be released on city summons.
“Typically, all of our arrests that are city ordinance violations would go to the city prosecutor’s office,” Richardson said. “We have permission from the judge to allow those types of offenses to be released on city summons."
Richardson said both MUPD and the Columbia Police Department follow this procedure.
The students were arrested around 6:40 p.m.
Drug stash found on I-70
By Abby Rogers
Posted at 5:21 p.m., Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Missouri State Highway Patrol officers recovered 9 pounds of marijuana, 102 pills of hydrocodine, 174 pills of valium and 86 pills of oxycodine during a routine traffic stop today. After receiving conflicting information from the driver and passenger during the traffic stop, officers began a K-9 search, which yielded the drugs, stated a news release from the department. The drugs were hidden in packages wrapped as Christmas presents. Andrew K. Lojek, 28, of San Francisco, Calif. and Matthew S. Bell, 25, of Clearlake, Calif., were arrested and charged with four counts of felony possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute, stated the news release.
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