KCUR Cops & Crime
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KC Meth, A 2013 Primer
Some of those who fight the making of methamphetamine in Kansas City don’t think the perils are clearly understood, by the public or by those who are
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KCMO Police Chief Discusses Violent Crime
With 61 people indicted last week on weapons and drug charges, Kansas City is making a statement.
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Accused Killer Of Child, Mother And Two Men Delays...
The man charged with killing a little girl, her mother and two men appeared for a first time in court today at Ottawa, Kansas. The defendant said
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Kansas Prosecutor Fears Missing Toddler Is Dead
Investigators fear the worst peril to the missing 18-month-old toddler whose mother is among three Kansas murder victims.
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Murdered Kansas Mother Identified, Toddler Missing
More is being learned about three people found murdered in rural Franklin County, Kansas and a missing 18-month-old girl.
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Fear For Missing Olathe Woman And Baby As Three Bodies...
Identities of three people found murdered on a rural acreage near Ottawa, Kansas remain a public mystery. Friends of a couple who lived there initially
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Condition, Safety Records Probed In Kansas Party Bus...
It may take a week to ten days to learn how and why a woman fell from a party bus into I-35 traffic near the Kansas-Missouri state line and was killed
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Ex-Lawyer Guilty Of Bilking Murdered Children's Fund
A disbarred lawyer has pleaded guilty in Kansas City federal court to stealing from a fund for two murdered children. The investigation tracked back 5
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Missing Five-Year-Old Girl Is Found Unharmed
A little girl, missing and presumed kidnapped, has been found safe in Kansas City’s Northland.
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Charges Say KCK Mother Tried To Kill Her Daughters
The Kansas City, Kansas mother of two little girls is expected in court on Friday to face charges she tried to kill them.
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Two Are Charged In Murder Of UMKC Student
A bond of half a million dollars is holding each of two men charged today in the murder of a University of Missouri-Kansas City student at a near-campus
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Man, Woman Vanish Into Missouri River Without A Trace
The Missouri River swallowed up two people seen jumping from the Kit Bond Bridge at midday. Traffic was stopped on the span that carries some 100,000
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Fire Department Releases Report On JJ's Explosion
JJ’s restaurant was leveled by an unintentional explosion that probably was ignited by pilot lights in the kitchen, thanks to the nick in the natural gas
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'Anti-Smurfing' Campaign Targets Meth Cook Suppliers
Missouri holds the dubious distinction of being #1 in domestic methamphetamine production. State Attorney General Chris Koster and Jean Peters Baker, the
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NOVA project to reduce violence in KC
Like any metropolitan city, crime and violence are unfortunately a reality of life in Kansas City. Recently, the KCPD joined forces with many across the
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Contractor Dug Without Permission Before Deadly Blast
A trenching contractor that purportedly cut a gas line before last week’s deadly Country Club Plaza explosion had not been allowed to dig in the area.
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Determining Cause Of Explosion Expected To Take Time
Police say investigation of the fire that gutted a Plaza restaurant that killed one person and injured 15 others will take a bit longer than some expected.
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Body Found In Rubble At JJ's
At a press conference this morning, officials say they found a body in the rubble of the site of former JJ's restaurant on the Country Club Plaza. No
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Explosion At JJ's Thundered Through Plaza
At least one explosion thundered through the west edge of the County Club Plaza district just after 6 p.m. Tuesday, sending more than a dozen people to
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Twice Convicted Of Same Murder, Missouri Man Freed On...
A Northwest Missouri man awaiting his third trial for the same 1990 murder went free on bail today.
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Identity Theft Charges Termed Largest In Missouri History
Operator of former car dealerships in Independence, Blue Springs and Illinois is jailed and charged with what the Missouri Attorney General calls the
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Three Arrested After Teen Found Chained In Basement
There are no charges filed, but Kansas City Police have arrested three people connected to discovery last week of a teenager handcuffed in a Northland
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Women's Deaths Linked By Kansas City And Kearney, Mo....
The separate deaths of two women in Kansas City’s Northland, deaths originally thought accidental drug overdoses, are now thought to be homicides.
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Teeenager Found Handcuffed In Basement Gets Foster Care...
The Kansas City North prosecutor who will have to decide if there are criminal charges in the keeping of a teenage boy handcuffed in a basement, does not
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Kansas City Murder Burst Contrasted With New Crime Fight...
Kansas City’s newest program to fight violent crime began today, aided by UMKC researchers, state and federal prosecutors, police and others. The launch
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Alcohol, No Drugs In Belcher Crimes
A relatively uncomplicated post-mortem report from the Jackson County Medical Examiner finds former Chiefs Linebacker Jovan Belcher was legally intoxicated when he killed his longtime girlfriend and himself December 1st. Other findings concur with Kansas City police accounts.Belcher’s blood alcohol content at time of death was more than double the amount at which he could have legal driven a car.The toxicology report released today set a blood alcohol content of .17. The level of...
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Free Man From Life Sentence Or Retry Him
The Missouri Supreme Court agrees without dissent that a Northwest Missouri man was twice unjustly convicted and sentenced to life.A Supreme Court order says free mark Woodworth or put him on trial a third time.Woodworth is 38 now. He was 16 when a jury convicted him of killing rural Chillicothe, Mo. farm neighbor Cathy Robertson and wounding her husband. But there were letters between a judge, prosecutors and the wounded man that might have helped Woodworth’s defense. And he never saw...
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Social Media Posts Led To Bank Killers
A stunning account of detectives using social media has unfolded as a second man was sentenced in Kansas City federal court for a murder committed more than six years earlier during a bank holdup.As 25 year old Thirplus Moose was sentenced to 35 years in the robbery and slaying dating back to 2006, the story of the crime is told in court documents.Moose and Iralee French, who is now serving 87 years, left behind a cell phone to trace, a cab driver with a good memory, GPS records and social...
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Petty Theft Not So Petty To Area Businesses
The Holiday Season is a time which brings joy to many. For business owners, that joy comes from peaks in profits. People are buying things, but they are also taking them.Theft crimes significantly increase around the holidays, leaving some business owners bracing for profits to walk out the door.The National Retail Federation estimates that for some retailers, the Holiday Season can account for 20-40 percent of a retailer’s annual sales. With such a high volume of shoppers, the sound of...
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Is It Time To Talk About Gun Control?
It may be the tipping point: among the issues of discussion after Friday's massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut: mental health and gun control.Is it time to talk about gun control, or are America's existing gun laws adequate?Adam Lanza used a Bushmaster .223 assault rifle to kill 26 people, including first-graders. He also had two handguns with him. All three belonged - legally - to his mother, who he killed first before going to the school.Monday on Up to Date: a...
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KC Area Public Workers Named In Wellness Fraud...
A federal indictment alleges seven Kansas City area public employees used a novel approach to defrauding a wellness program promoted by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City (BCBSKC).The seven are accused of falsely claiming cash incentives.According to charging documents, some of the accused claimed their children, younger than five years old, took part in triathlons in order to claim prizes.Chief among defendants is a Kansas City municipal court employee who allegedly received 383 gift...
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Missouri Driver's License Scheme Breaks Open With Plea
By estimate of federal investigators, more than a hundred people from around the country used an illegal custom service to get Missouri driver’s licenses when they were not eligible.One of four people indicted in October has admitted the scam that gouged illegal immigrants.Word spread that you could get a Missouri license no matter your immigration status if you knew the right people, according to documents supporting charges.One of the right people, 26 year old Thomas McNamara III has...
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Confession Recanted In Prayer-Group Murder Case
The plot of an already bizarre Kansas City murder case took another turn yesterday, when an attorney said the confession of a man who said he killed his prayer-group leader's wife was a fabrication.Two weeks ago Micah Moore told officers that he murdered 27-year-old Bethany Deaton – that her husband, the leader of their small, secretive religious group, had ordered him to do so. But at Moore's preliminary hearing yesterday, his attorney, Melanie Morgan, called the confession "bizarre,...
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Early Teen Years Inspired Innocence Project Chief
There is a new chief executive at the Kansas City-based Midwest Innocence Project. The not-for-profit corporation works to free men and women behind bars for crimes they did not commit.The project was started a decade ago through the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law to investigate and do the legal work necessary to free the wrongly convicted. Arthur Chaykin leads a staff of six and multiple volunteers and law school students. He met at his office with KCUR’s Dan Verbeck for...
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Local Artist’s Drawings Help Solve Crimes
You’ve probably seen crime shows like CSI and America’s Most Wanted, where artists work with victims to create a drawing that helps identify a criminal.This job is performed by a forensic illustrator. If you’ve seen one of these drawings on the news in Kansas City, then you’ve seen the work of artist and author Lee Hammond, who lives in Overland Park.As part of our Odd Job Series, KCUR’s Suzanne Hogan met up with Lee to look at how using memories, the face of a suspect or victim can come to...
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Woman, Man Added To List Charged In Deadly Home Invasion
An Independence, Missouri woman and a Kansas City, Kansas man have become the third and fourth people charged in a triple murder during an Independence home invasion.The latest charges were filed on Thanksgiving day.Court documents allege assailants thought they were looking to steal drugs when the small house and detached garage were taken over November 16th.Some occupants were duct taped and one was shot in the back of the head when no drugs were found.Yesterday, the Jackson County...
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Mother Of Six Is Among Three Dead in Home Invasion Attack
Two men and a woman have been murdered in an Independence, Missouri home invasion and police have a partial description of the killers, saying that a surviving victim was able to describe the attackers.Many shots were fired inside the small house in the 1500 block of South Pope Avenue early today, according to investigators.Police say bullets killed 48 year old Maria Hernandez, her 20 year old son Antonio Hernandez and Thomas Madrigal. Madrigal was described as Hernandez' boyfriend.Another...
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Video Evidence Is Seen As A Key In Kansas City Federal...
As prosecutors work to bolster their case to a Kansas City federal court jury, it's apparent the State is on a path leading events directly to the fiery 2008 arsonists' explosion at Hereford House Restaurant.As part of courtroom tactics and diversions, there are side trips into photo technology.Hard evidence that's important to the prosecutors has been gathered and analyzed by the ATF and the FBI. Right now a lot of this takes form of screen captures from surveillance video.Hardly ten...
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Arson And Fraud Trial Begins In Kansas City After 2008...
Testimony and evidence have started to flow out of the arson and fraud trial stemming from the 2008 fire that destroyed a well known Kansas City restaurant.The U.S. District Court trial of Hereford House operator Rod Anderson and two purported arsonists draws so much interest the gallery is without a spare seat.Anderson's lawyer, J.R. Hobbs told the jury his client had no reason to burn it, it was the peak revenue season. Prosecutors counter that Anderson was deeply in debt.Insurance fraud...
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Diocese Releases Abuse Report
The ombudsman for the people of the Kansas City-St. Joseph Catholic diocese to look into accusations of sexual abuse by clergy has released her first annual report. Jennifer Valenti received 79 reports of suspected sexual abuse and boundary violations in her first year of duty,Almost half of of the total of 79 incidents reported involved suspected abuse in the home, according to the article published in the Catholic Key on Thursday. But ombudsman Jennifer Valentii says she did uncover 7...
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When Prospect Avenue Was Main Street
Local historian and activist Joelouis Mattox joins us in the second half of Tuesdays Central Standard to discuss the varied history of midtowns Prospect Avenue.As we rejuvenate its storied past, well also discuss ideas to redevelop the area.
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Charges Filed In Killing Of Edgerton Women
A Trimble, Missouri man has been charged with killing Brittny Haarup and her sister Ashley Key, the two young women who disappeared from an Edgerton Home on Friday.Platte County Sheriff Richard Anderson hasnt said what led authorities to Clifford Miller, but he does say that Miller admitted to killing the two sisters. The Sheriff says Miller smoked meth, then went to Haarups home planning to sexually assault her.Miller told sheriffs officers that when his plans were thwarted by the presence...
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'Operation Blockbuster' Shuts Down Massive Drug Ring
As head of one of the most successful drug operations, Alejandro Corredor moved hundreds of pounds of cocaine, meth, and marijuana from Mexico through Kansas City. Using part-time rappers as part of his crew, Corredor managed to move millions of dollars worth of Mexican drugs.Of course, the massive size of the operation meant that it couldnt last for long, and the DEA orchestrated a plan, called "Operation Blockbuster," to stop Corredors drug distribution scheme. Corredors arrest in 2009...
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A 'TurnAround' For Those Leaving Prison
For many who are leaving prison, the chances that they very well may return are high.One group, though, is striving to change a common story for former prisoners. The TurnAround Program -Community Re-Entry After Prison, is a program provided by the Catholic Charities of Kansas City-St. Joseph that works to provide support--from simple material needs to counseling--for those who are leaving prison and re-entering society.Monday on Up to Date, we take a closer look at this organization, how it...
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Cell Track Law Aims To Thwart Deadlier Crimes
Missouri has a fresh law designed to help track crime victims from their cell phones.A bi-state abduction and murder helped drive the legislation.It took time to get permission to ping cell transmissions when Kelsey Smith went missing from the parking lot of an Overland Park, Kansas store five years ago.The 18 year old woman was dead in a Missouri field when her body was found days after her kidnapping.The womans loss was remembered by Missouri State Representative Jeanie Lauer who moved...
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Child's Fireworks Death Leaves Lesson Of Vulnerability
The death of a child from fireworks has slipped into recent history, yet it lives on among some who were there in Kansas City, Kansas.
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Judge Orders File Release By Kansas City Catholic...
Documents considered so sensitive they may not be photocopied must be turned over to a prosecutor by the Kansas City-St. Joseph Catholic Diocese.
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Child Held Prisoner In Kansas City Apartment
KCUR has learned of the rescue of a 10-year-old girl found locked in a closet and fed through a hole in the door for an extended period of time.
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Kansas City Police Stay Mum On Naming Most Dangerous...
Kansas City Police will continue to offer few specifics about the new No Violence Alliance, NoVA.Critics who want to know more about how it will operate and who are the most violent criminals it will target will have to wait.
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$3 Million Settlement In Death Of Impaired Man
A mentally impaired man who was allegedly shot and killed by a South Kansas City store clerk figures into a $3 million court settlement today.
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Kansas City Chief Seeks Crime Victim Aid
Kansas Citys Police Chief does not disagree with published reports about dropped murder cases. Chief Daryl Forte told the City Council, victims still refuse to testify out of fear.
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Kansas City Police Tackle Teen Driver Texting
Texting while driving is the subject of an upcoming Kansas City informational campaign for young people.
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Murdered Jogger's Family Increases Reward To Find Killer
An arm of the Kansas City Metropolitan Crime Commission is administering a larger reward, hoping to help Raytown Police solve the apparent random murder of a jogger.
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Accused Facebook Stock Scammer Vanishes
Arrest warrants are in force for an Overland Park, Kan. man who allegedly had considerable success scamming banks and intended investors in Facebook shares.
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December Event Termed New Link To Missing Baby
More than seven months after the puzzling disappearance of 10-month-old Lisa Irwin from her parents Kansas City home, her mother and father went on national television today purporting to have new evidence.
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