Rogersville teens killed in rollover crash on 60

Two Rogersville teens were killed and another injured in a two-vehicle collision 9:30 p.m. Thursday on U. S. 60 80 feet east of Rogersville.

According to the Highway Patrol report, a 2008 Mercury Mariner driven by a 17-year-old Rogersville girl crossed the westbound lanes of U. S. 60 and was struck by a 1999 Kenworth W900 driven by a 78-year-old Monticello, Kentucky man in the intersection. The Mercury Mariner overturned several times and traveled off the right side of the roadway.

Two passengers in the Mercury Mariner, a 16-year-old Rogersville boy and a 15-year-old Rogersville girl were pronounced dead at the scene.

The vehicle's driver was treated for moderate injuries at Cox South Hospital, Springfield.

The fatalities were the 45th and 46th this year for Highway Patrol Troop D. 

Springfield man pleads guilty to illegal possession of a firearm

(From the U. S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri)

A Springfield, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to illegally possessing firearms.

Aaron Wayne Williams, 34, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool, to being a felon in possession of a firearm.







Under federal law it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Williams has previous felony convictions for domestic assault in the third degree, attempted burglary in the first degree, property damage motivated by discrimination in the second degree, possession of a controlled substance, unlawful possession of a firearm, and unlawful use of a weapon.

Williams admitted to possessing several firearms which were seized by Springfield, Mo., Police Department officers on Jan. 8, 2025, after an officer observed Williams sleeping in his running vehicle in the parking lot of the Kum & Go located at 2963 East Division Street. Officers observed a Ruger, Mini 14, semiautomatic rifle beside Williams as he slept. Officers found three additional firearms on Williams and in the vehicle: a Taurus, G2S, 9mm pistol; an HS Produkt, XD, .40 caliber pistol; and a Star, 9mm pistol.

Under federal statutes, Williams is subject to a sentence of up to 15 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie L. Wan. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Springfield, Mo., Police Department.

Springfield gang member pleads guilty to possessing illegal firearm

(From the U. S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri)

A Springfield, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court yesterday to illegally possessing a firearm.

Jayden Isaac Simmonds, 19, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool, to being an unlawful user of a controlled substance while in possession of a firearm.

Simmonds admitted to possessing a stolen Smith and Wesson 10mm semi-automatic pistol and daily use of marijuana and opioid addiction. Simmonds also admits to being a member of a local gang known as the “1500.”

According to an affidavit filed with the original complaint charging Simmonds with being an unlawful user of a controlled substance, investigators test-fired the pistol and submitted the casings to the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) for analysis. The test-fired cartridges, the affidavit says, were a presumptive match to shell casings recovered from two separate shootings in Springfield in August 2024. The first shooting occurred on Aug. 4, 2024, on West Brower Street. An occupied residence was shot multiple times by unknown suspects. At least 17 rounds struck the residence, but there were no injuries. The second shooting occurred on Aug. 14, 2024, on North Prospect Avenue. A disturbance resulted in shots being fired. One residence was struck, but there were no injuries reported.

Following his arrest, Simmonds told investigators he had been using marijuana daily since he was 11 or 12 years old, and that he was addicted to opioids and had been using fentanyl.

Under federal statutes, Simmonds is subject to a sentence of up to 15 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie L. Wan. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Christian County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department and the Springfield, Mo., Police Department.

Springfield man pleads guilty to burglarizing post office, stealing mail

(From the U. S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri)

A Springfield, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to burglarizing a local post office building and stealing mail from this facility.

Zachary M. Walker, 38, waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge Willie Epps, Jr., to a federal information charging him with one count of burglary of a post office building and one count of theft of mail matter.







Walker, a former United States Postal Service employee, used his knowledge of building security to gain unauthorized access to a local post office, stealing mail matter and selling those items over the internet.

According to the plea agreement, Walker was observed on secretly installed video cameras within a local post office building. Walker was able to burglarize the post office because he had previously worked at that facility and knew the authorization codes that allowed him to circumvent building security. While in the United States Post Office building, Walker would examine letters and mail matter, stealing those items that he could easily sell.

Under federal statutes, Walker is subject to a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney. It was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Springfield, Missouri, Police Department

Nixa woman pleads guilty to wire fraud, making false claims to IRS

(From the U. S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri)

A Nixa, Mo., woman pleaded guilty in federal court today to making false and fictitious claims against the United States and wire fraud.

Tina Louise Yager, 66, waived her right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge Willie Epps, Jr., to a federal information charging her with one count of wire fraud and one count of making false, fictitious and fraudulent claims against the United States.

Yager, a tax preparer, utilized information from her clients to present false tax return documents to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from November 2023 through March of 2024.

According to the plea agreement, Yager was entrusted with the personal information of her clients. Yager submitted tax return documents to the IRS in the name of her clients without their knowledge or approval. Yager also included unapproved tax deductions on tax return documents for her clients to fraudulently inflate her clients tax returns and then pocketed these falsely obtained monies. Yager would have debit cards issued that contained her clients tax return monies. Yager would then embezzle those monies and spent it for her personal benefit. The intended losses amounted to $48,481.00, but Yager was able to embezzle only $16,850.00 of those monies for her personal use. As part of her plea agreement, Yager must pay restitution of at least $14,447.00 to the IRS, the exact amount will be determined at her sentencing hearing and agreed to the Court entering a forfeiture money judgment of $16,850.00.

Under federal statutes, Yager is subject to a sentence of up to 25 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney. It was investigated by the IRS – Criminal Investigation.

Ramp at Route 39 and I-44 in Lawrence County to be closed

(From MoDOT)

TRAFFIC ALERT: Ramp CLOSED at Route 39 & I-44 in Lawrence Co. for Guardrail Repair May 13

Where: Missouri Route 39-to-eastbound I-44 on ramp (Exit 46) in Mt. Vernon

When: 8 p.m.-Midnight, Tuesday, May 13

What: Contractor crews will make repairs to guardrail

Traffic Impacts

Missouri Route 39-to-eastbound I-44 on ramp (Exit 46) CLOSED to traffic

No signed detour

Signs and message boards will alert drivers approaching closure

Drivers should find alternate routes

Check MoDOT’s Traveler Information Map for road closings/traffic impacts

Weather and/or construction delays will alter the work schedule.

State audit: Cedar County Clerk levied $1.2 million in excess property taxes

(From State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick)

Cedar County government receives a "fair" rating in a new report released today by Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick that finds a mistake made by the County Clerk resulted in the county levying $1.2 million in excess property taxes. The report also finds the County Collector incorrectly withheld railroad and utility property taxes collected, which resulted in various political subdivisions not receiving the full amount owed to them.

"While I commend county officials for agreeing to implement our recommendations, this report shows a county government that needs to be more focused on details and more aware of its statutorily-required duties.

 

"To see taxpayers be overtaxed by $1.2 million because an elected official is not able to accurately calculate the sales tax rollback is simply unacceptable," said Auditor Fitzpatrick. "I strongly encourage county officials to enact plans to make restitution to the people of Cedar County for this significant over-collection of their tax dollars, and for the county to implement all of the recommendations made in this report."

The audit report found the County Clerk did not sufficiently reduce the property tax levy in the sales tax rollback calculations to offset 50 percent of the sales tax money received from 2020 through 2023. The excess property tax amounted to approximately $1.2 million. State law requires the county to reduce property taxes for a percentage of sales taxes collected. In 2020 the county did not reduce the property tax rate for sales tax collected even though a reduction was required. From 2021 through 2023, the County Clerk incorrectly calculated the sales tax reduction.

The report also finds the county needs to improve its controls and procedures over the county's property tax system and in the County Collector's office. The report found the County Collector misreported approximately $357,000 in utility collections as delinquent taxes, resulting in an overstatement of total delinquent taxes, understatement of collections, and a discrepancy between total collections and total distributions on the annual settlement. 

Additionally, the County Collector incorrectly withheld 2 percent on railroad and utility property taxes collected rather than the allowed 1 percent. As a result, the various political subdivisions did not receive the full amount owed to them and the county deposited the excess commissions into the General Revenue Fund. In total, the County Collector incorrectly withheld approximately $2,900 from railroad and utility property taxes that she should have disbursed to the political subdivisions.

Other findings in the report include the failure of the Public Administrator to consistently file annual settlement statements timely, lacking procedures in the Sheriff's office to follow up on outstanding checks in the Inmate Trust bank account, a mid-term salary increase of $11,719 to the Sheriff that violates constitutional provisions, and a failure to develop a records management and retention policy that includes electronic communication.

The full audit report is available here.

Springfield man convicted of aggravated sexual abuse of a minor less than 12

(From the U. S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri)

A Springfield, Mo., man was convicted on May 5th following a guilty plea to three counts of Aggravated Sexual Abuse of a Minor Less Than 12 Years and a single count of Engaging in Illicit Sexual Conduct with a Minor in a Foreign Place. The defendant plead guilty to all four counts of a federal indictment on the first day of a jury trial after the conclusion of the first witness’s testimony.

John Michael Bradley, 65, was charged by indictment in December 2023 that involved Bradley’s criminal conduct occurring between 2005 and 2006 while he was an active-duty member of the United States Army in Honduras, and between 2007 and 2008 when he returned to Honduras multiple times as a civilian.

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In his plea of guilty the defendant admitted that while he was stationed in Honduras in 2005, he met the minor victim. Over the course of the next three years, beginning when the minor victim was four years old, the defendant sexually abused the child on numerous occasions. 

The defendant admitted that after his active-duty tour in Honduras ended in 2006 he returned to Honduras from the United States with the intent to engage in sexual acts with the minor victim and did engage in sexual acts with the minor victim. The minor victim, now an adult, reported the crimes to U.S. Army Criminal Investigations Division in 2021. The defendant has a previous federal conviction in 2019 for possession of child pornography also in the Western District of Missouri.

Under federal statutes, the defendant is subject to a sentence of not less than 30 years and up to life in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Luna and Kenneth W. Borgnino. It was investigated by U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force, and U.S Army Criminal Investigations Division.