Courts

By NewsPress Now A local pastor has filed an amendment to his federal discrimination and defamation lawsuit, naming two people previously dismissed from the case as individual defendants. Brian Kirk, pastor at First Christian Church, alleges the St. Joseph City Council did not reappoint him to his seat on the St. Joseph Public Library board

By NewsPress Now Two defendants have been dismissed from a discrimination and defamation suit brought by a local pastor whose spot on a St. Joseph library board was not renewed. Steven Greiert and Josh Blevins’ motion to dismiss them from the federal lawsuit filed by Brian Kirk was granted last week by Senior Judge Gary

By Cameron Montemayor A preliminary hearing for a St. Joseph woman charged with first-degree involuntary manslaughter has been scheduled for Sept. 19 in front of Associate Circuit Judge Rebecca Spencer. Buchanan County court filings show Katherine Deweese was arraigned last week and released on her own recognizance after pleading not guilty to the charge. Deweese,

By Cameron Montemayor A St. Joseph woman has been charged in connection with a fatal wrong-way crash that killed a motorcyclist on an Interstate 229 exit ramp in May. Katherine Deweese has been charged with involuntary manslaughter for her role in a wrong-way collision that killed 33-year-old Ryan Coffman as he was exiting the double-decker

By Jenna Wilson A second St. Joseph man has been charged with animal abuse in the case of a dog that was thrown off an Andrew County bridge. Shelton A. Monico is charged with the Class A misdemeanor of animal abuse in Buchanan County. Monico, who owned the dog, admitted to causing injury to his

By NewsPress Now Driving while intoxicated and weapons charges have been filed against a former school board member in St. Joseph Municipal Court. Kenneth Reeder, 69, of St. Joseph is set to appear before Municipal Court Judge Ted Elo at 8 a.m. on Sept. 25 on charges of DWI-drug intoxication and a weapons violation. Reeder

By Chris Fortune Central High School Activities Director David Lau is facing a felony charge in Florida for an incident that occurred in May. Lau was charged with a third-degree felony of resisting an officer with violence and pleaded not guilty on July 8. According to a probable cause statement from an officer in Naples,

By Chris Fortune A former Robidoux Middle School teacher charged with first-degree sodomy is scheduled to be arraigned next month. Everett “Tim” Harding, 47, waived his right to a preliminary hearing Thursday afternoon in front of Associate Circuit Judge Rebecca Spencer. During the hearing, Harding’s attorney, Mark Wissehr, sought an order to change his bond

By Chris Fortune A judge sentenced the first of three teens in connection with the death of a 15-year-old boy. Circuit Court Judge Patrick Robb sentenced 17-year-old Kaden Wilfong to 30 years in prison on Wednesday afternoon. He admitted to being involved in the shooting of Carter P. Smith and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder

By Chris Fortune The last of three teens charged in the 2023 death of a 15-year-old boy pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the case on Friday. Jackson Lee Griffith, 19, entered the plea in front of Circuit Court Judge Patrick Robb. He admitted to being involved in the shooting of Carter Smith, whose body

By Kendra Simpson A hearing for the man who threw a dog off an Andrew County bridge has been scheduled for 1:30 p.m. July 30. Arnold D. Thomas has been charged with the Class E felony in his second subsequent offense of animal abuse by torture and/or mutilation while the animal was alive. Deputies found

By Chris Fortune Sandra Hemme’s attorneys are working tirelessly to enforce a judge’s order for her release after it was countered. Some media outlets reported that Hemme was set to be released from the Chillicothe Correctional Center on Wednesday, but she has not been released pending a challenge from the Missouri Attorney General’s Office. Hemme’s

By Jenna Wilson Another preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Friday, July 19, at 11 a.m. for a St. Joseph man charged with statutory sodomy. Timothy Edward Brown, 51, was detained by St. Joseph Police on Feb. 2 for sodomy/attempted statutory sodomy of a person less than 14 years old. On Monday, July 8, a

By NewsPress Now Three people face charges after local law enforcement agencies served a search warrant at a St. Joseph home last week. Spencer Hoffman is charged with unlawful use of a weapon and possession of a controlled substance, Amy Huffman is charged with second-degree trafficking drugs and unlawful use of a weapon and Jedediah

By Jazmine Knight A St. Joseph school board member is responding after a civil lawsuit filed against her was dropped. Whitney Lanning said she is glad to have the suit, which was filed by fellow board member Isaura Garcia, behind her. Garcia dropped her suit, which stemmed from a Feb. 26 incident between her and

By NewsPress Now The Missouri Supreme Court overruled a St. Joseph man’s motion to erase a conviction in his for second-degree domestic assault. Shawn Flaherty was convicted of that crime in 2018. During a domestic dispute with another occupant of the residence, Flaherty pulled a .44 magnum revolver from his backpack and began wrestling with

By NewsPress Now Bond has been granted for a former Robidoux Middle School teacher charged with first-degree sodomy. Everett “Tim” Harding had a bond of $50,000 set at a court appearance in front of Associate Circuit Court Judge Rebecca Spencer Tuesday afternoon. During court on Tuesday, officials stated that an additional forensic interview revealed there

By NewsPress Now A St. Joseph man is facing a life sentence after being convicted of first-degree sodomy.  Michael Dan Hawkins, 42, was found guilty by a Buchanan County jury after about five hours of deliberations on Thursday. He was charged in September 2022 with having deviate sexual intercourse with a child younger than 12 for

By NewsPress Now A St. Joseph man faces charges in a Thursday morning shooting that wounded two people in St. Joseph’s North End.  Edward James, 56, is charged with second-degree assault and armed criminal action in the incident, which happened at about 5 a.m. Thursday at a house in the 500 block of Shady Avenue. 

By NewsPress Now Two people face child endangerment charges after a 4-year-old in their care had to be revived with CPR and Narcan.  Chad Bolinger and Danielle McLaughlin of St. Joseph each were charged this week with Class A misdemeanors of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child stemming from an incident in February. Police

By NewsPress Now A Robidoux Middle School teacher charged with first-degree sodomy will appear in court for a bond hearing on Wednesday morning. Everett “Tim” Harding, a math teacher, faces the charge stemming from a May 7 incident involving a 14-year-old female student. He is currently held without bond at the Buchanan County Jail. Harding,

By NewsPress Now A man faces an assault charge following a Saturday night stabbing. Mark Deng, 46, St. Joseph, is being held on a $10,000 bond in the Buchanan County Jail for second-degree assault. Deng allegedly entered a residence in the 200 block of north Eighth Street late Saturday carrying a large hunting knife in

By NewsPress Now A Robidoux Middle School teacher has been charged with first-degree sodomy following an incident with a student. Everett T. Harding, who teaches math at the school, allegedly had sexual contact with a 14-year-old girl on May 7. St. Joseph School District officials referred to the teacher as Tim Harding. According to a

By Kendra Simpson Max’s Law, a bill that increases penalties for injuring or killing police K9 dogs, has been passed by the Missouri General Assembly as part of a comprehensive public safety bill. Senator Tony Luetkemeyer, who sponsored the legislation, has worked for three years to get Max’s Law approved after the tragic killing of

By NewsPress Now One of three teens charged in the 2023 death of a 15-year-old boy pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the case on Monday. Kaden Wilfong, 17, of St. Joseph entered the plea in front of Circuit Court Judge Patrick Robb. He admitted to being involved in the shooting of Carter P. Smith,

By NewsPress Now A man is facing charges in a Sunday evening stabbing that sent the victim to the hospital in need of emergency surgery. Brandon Kleppe, 37, is charged with second-degree assault and armed criminal action in the incident, which happened in the 2600 block of Penn Street. Officers were called to the hospital

By Marcus Clem A response to a local pastor’s recent request to modify his federal lawsuit against the City of St. Joseph and two of his critics contends the only remedy in the case should be its dismissal. Steven Greiert and Josh Blevins are defendants in the discrimination and defamation suit brought by Brian Kirk

By Marcus Clem A local couple convicted in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol is potentially facing time behind bars, at least for part of each day, for a few weeks. Prosecutors said that for the offense of picketing, parading and demonstrating in the U.S. Capitol, to which they each pleaded guilty

By NewsPress Now The co-founder of a Christian health care ministry in St. Joseph pleaded guilty in federal court Monday for his part in an $8 million wire fraud conspiracy that took money from members without paying many claims. James L. McGinnis, 77, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and

By St. Joseph News-Press A St. Joseph man is in custody in connection with a shooting last weekend near North Ninth and Corby streets. Roy Lee Despain, 52, is charged with unlawful use of a weapon and is held at the Buchanan County Jail without bail. Despain allegedly shot at another man just before 6:30 p.m.