JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri State Highway Patrol employee, who criticized the agency after a handcuffed Iowa man fell from a patrol boat and drowned, will make his case later this month to take two depositions to support his claim that disciplinary action against him is unwarranted.

Sgt. Randy Henry’s attorney says his client was demoted for “misconduct,” but the Highway Patrol hasn’t released its formal complaint against Henry.

Henry had complained about the agency’s handling of the investigation into Brandon Ellingson’s drowning at the Lake of the Ozarks.

He has requested to see the depositions of Osage County Prosecutor Amanda Grellner and her son.

The Jefferson City News-Tribune reports that a judge will review Henry’s request Sept. 22 after a different judge issued a “temporary order” blocking subpoenas for the depositions.

A group of supporters have set up a Facebook page with updates on the case.  Find it here.

 

 

 

 

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man faces up to 20 years in federal prison after authorities say he was trying to help plan an attack on an upcoming 9/11 memorial in Missouri.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Thursday that 20-year-old Joshua Ryne Goldberg was arrested and charged with distributing information relating to explosives, destructive devices and weapons of mass destruction.

A criminal complaint says Goldberg, of Orange Park, about 15 miles south of Jacksonville, began communicating online with an FBI informer in July and gave that person information on how to build a bomb with a pressure cooker, nails and rat poison.

The complaint says Goldberg also instructed the informer to place the bomb at an upcoming memorial in Kansas City, Missouri, that was commemorating the 14th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

It wasn’t immediately clear if Goldberg had an attorney.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A 1974 University of Nebraska-Lincoln graduate has sent $100 to pay off his old parking tickets at the college.

Kent Broyhill had tried to pay the fines more than 40 years ago before graduation, but an officer told him that the school only accepted cash. Broyhill’s pockets were empty, and the officer gave him a pass on the condition that he pay the fines as soon as he could.

Broyhill says he forgot about the tickets until a conversation with a college friend. He sent the college a check for $100, with a note explaining what happened.

The college sent the money back to Broyhill, because the $100 was probably more than what his tickets were worth, and thanked him for his gesture.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration has approved plans by 16 states, Missouri included, to help give all students — regardless of race, ethnicity or economic background — access to the best teachers.

The Education Department says some states are boosting education preparation programs, while others are providing more mentoring for new teachers.

All 50 states submitted plans as a requirement of the Bush-era No Child Left Behind education law.

In the first batch of approvals, the department also endorsed teacher equity plans by Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maine, Minnesota, New York, Nevada, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Wisconsin.

The department is reviewing plans from the remaining states.

States could lose federal dollars if they don’t have adequate plans to address gaps in the distribution of high-quality teachers across school districts.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A St. Louis teenager is accused of stealing a gun from a car, and police say it was his own Facebook post that led to his arrest.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that 17-year-old Christian Eaton is charged with felony stealing for the theft of a 9mm semiautomatic pistol from a woman’s unlocked car in July in St. Louis County.

Eaton and a female friend were stopped by police the night of the theft. The friend later told police Eaton had tossed the gun as the officer approached, then returned to retrieve it.

Eaton blamed the female friend for the theft. But police say they found text messages in which Eaton bragged about it, as well as a photo on his Facebook page of him holding the gun.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City police say an officer has fatally shot a man after he threatened officers with a device that they believed was a grenade and claimed his home was rigged with explosives.

The shooting ended a 12-hour standoff that began around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday when deputies attempted to serve an eviction order.

Police said in a news release that surrounding homes were evacuated as negotiators talked to the man. But police say the man threatened authorities with a gun and made threatening comments, including that he wanted to blow up the officers.

He was shot after threatening officers with a device that police have since determined doesn’t appear to be an actual live grenade. The man’s home was searched for explosives before it was declared safe early Thursday.

HARRISONVILLE, Mo. (AP) — A Pleasant Hill woman faces life in prison in the death of her infant, whose body was found encased in concrete.

Krystal Scroggs was sentenced Tuesday. She pleaded guilty in April to second-degree murder after authorities said she didn’t seek medical attention after giving birth in 2013.

She also was convicted of abandonment of a corpse and endangering the welfare of a child.

Authorities said the infant was born with methamphetamine in its system and that Scroggs’ failure to take the baby to a hospital or call 911 was the cause of the baby’s death.

Prosecutors also say the infant’s body was found in a plastic tub filled with concrete.

Scroggs’ attorney, John Picerno, says he’s filed a notice of appeal.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Junction City is looking for new owners for lots it was forced to take back after a surge of troops at Fort Riley never materialized.

The first 25 of the city’s more than 900 lots are for sale.

Junction City planning and zoning director David Yearout says sealed bids are due by 5 p.m. Thursday. On Tuesday, the city will decide whether to accept the bids, which must be for at least $5,000.

The lots in the land bank have utilities and streets leading to them, a legacy of the building spree following optimistic projections about the future of Fort Riley.

City manager Allan Dinckel says that if it goes well, more properties will go on sale in the future.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Wichita woman has made her first court appearance to face charges after allegedly abandoning her 5-year-old grandson three months ago while fleeing Kohl’s after a shoplifting incident.

The 41-year-old grandmother appeared by video link Tuesday from the Sedgwick County jail to face charges of abandonment of a child and theft.

She had been on the lam until her arrest Friday. She is accused of trying to steal $200 worth of clothing from the store before fleeing, leaving the clothes and her grandson behind.

Attorneys say the boy remains in foster care because no one from his family is willing or fit to take him.

The boy’s mother in Texas hasn’t seen her son for four years. She tested positive for meth after his birth.