A St. Joseph man accused of looting one vehicle, while allegedly in possession of a stolen car appeared in court Tuesday to face a charge of stealing a motor vehicle.

Taylor Hughes was arrested May 25 after the incident in the 1900 block of Sunset Circle. In a court affidavit, police said video footage showed Hughes driving a stolen Pontiac Vibe. He parked, walked up to a pickup truck and allegedly opened the door and stole some loose change and a flashlight.

Police said in affidavit the suspect had the stolen items, as well as the key to the stolen vehicle, in his possession when officers made contact. The filing also asserts that the defendant is “an admitted drug user and homeless” and that he has prior arrests for failure to appear in court.

Associate Circuit Judge Keith Marquart scheduled the case for a case review June 16, and a preliminary hearing June 30. Hughes is being held in the Buchanan County Jail. Bail remains set at $5,000 ($500 cash plus a $4,500 surety bond).

A man is behind bars after allegedly stealing a Jeep, running from St. Joseph Police Officers, hitting a vehicle in a parking lot and nearly hitting a shopping cart with at least one child inside.

Timothy Jefferies is charged in Buchanan County with a class-D felony of first-degree tampering with motor vehicle.

According to court documents, around 10:10 a.m. Friday in the 2500 block of Frederick Jefferies is accused of stealing a black Jeep Wranger.

“The vehicle was parked on a city street with the keys in the vehicle.  The suspect later took off from police at 4201 N. Belt (Wal-Mart) and struck a car,” said Det. Greg Ogdahl with the St. Joseph Police Department. “The suspect fled from police and was later taken into custody.”

Ogdahl said Jefferies almost hit a shopping cart that had at least on child in the cart.  Jefferies has over 15 failure to appear warrants from the past.

During his first court appearance Tuesday, Associate Judge Keith Marquart reduced Jefferies’ bail to $10,000 from $25,000 despite objections from prosecutors.  He will be allowed to post $1,000 cash with a $9,000 surety bond. Jeffries said he would apply for a public defender, and Judge Marquart scheduled a counsel status hearing June 16.  A preliminary hearing will be held June 30.

Officials are investigating after an explosive device was detonated on a porch early Monday morning in St. Joseph.

Sgt. Wayne Byrom with the St. Joseph Police Department said the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms (ATF) is assisting police after an explosion in the 2400 block of Northeast Parkway.

Byrom said officers responded around 3 a.m. after a device was detonated. He said the homeowners were home at the time of the explosion. No injuries were reported. The blast caused extensive damage to the front porch and entryway. Little other information was available.

The K-JO 105.5 Canned Film Festival starts Tuesday at Regal Hollywood 10 Theaters.

The Festival is every Tuesday and Wednesday through July 26th. Doors open at 9 a.m. and movies begin at 10.

One can of food for the Second Harvest Community Food Bank is the entry fee to get in to see a select kid’s movie.

According to K-JO Morning Personality Gregg Lynn, last year 10,862 kids attended and donated 13,184 pounds of food.

For more information, and a list of movies, click here.

A Kansas business owner pleaded guilty Friday to withholding more than $258,000 in taxes from employee salaries that he failed to pay over to the government.

Michael J. Skladzien, 54, Wichita, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of failing to pay over taxes.

In his plea, he admitted that while he owned S&S Floor Maintenance he withheld approximately $258,610 from salaries of employees to pay federal taxes. Instead of paying the funds over to the government, he spent the money on personal expenses including gambling.

U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said sentencing is set for Aug. 11, 2017. He faces up to five years in federal prison.

A northeastern Kansas man was sentenced Thursday to five years in federal prison for tax evasion.

U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said David Pflum, 71, of St. Marys, Kan., was ordered to pay more than $8.4 million in restitution. Pflum, the owner of Coil Springs Specialties, was found guilty in a jury trial in January on one count of tax evasion and one count of obstructing the Internal Revenue Service.

During trial, the prosecutor presented evidence that Pflum submitted false documents claiming he had less than $475 in assets and his income was $470 a month. In fact, he owned more than $2 million worth of real estate and his income was more than $16,000 a month. He urged renters, buyers and other people indebted to him to ignore collection efforts by the IRS.

A New York-based debt collector has been banned from debt collection or enforcement in Kansas.

In a lawsuit filed in Shawnee County District Court, Schmidt accused Jacobs Marsh, LLC, and its owner Joseph Arena, of Williamsville, N.Y., of unlawfully pursuing collections and filing lawsuits, representing themselves as having authority, and committing deceptive and unconscionable acts and practices.

In a consent judgment approved last week by Judge Teresa Watson, the company was ordered to cease doing business in Kansas, dismiss all of the approximately 140 lawsuits it has filed in the state in which judgment has not been granted, and file Satisfactions of Judgment in those lawsuits that have resulted in judgment in their favor.

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said the company was also ordered to pay restitution to 13 consumers who have made payments to the company after the attorney general’s office initiated action.

A copy of the consent judgment is available at http://bit.ly/2s3pAXo.

Consumers who have had collections litigation with this company are encouraged to contact the attorney general’s consumer protection division for additional assistance online at www.InYourCornerKansas.org or by calling (800) 432-2310.

An opportunity for youth to canoe, fish, scuba dive and more will be offered next month at Missouri Western State University. 

Missouri Western’s Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation offers the Children’s Lifetime Sports Academy and the Adventure Sports Academy June 5-9. 

Dr. Justin Kraft said the Children’s Lifetime Sports Academy started in 1973 and is for youth ages 8 to 12. 

“All the activities are not your typical sports but they’re all activities that can be carried out for, really, a lifetime,” Kraft said. “We have activities varied from swimming to archery, disc golf, canoeing, rappelling is one of the favorite of students… so it’s all activities that are designed for them to be able to engage in them throughout their entire life.” 

The Children’s Lifetime Sports Academy classes will be held from 1:30 to 5:15 p.m. Monday through Friday, June 5th through the 9th. The cost is $80 for the first child in a family and $70 for each additional child.

Kraft said the Adventure Sports Academy, which takes place the same week, was started three years ago.

“It was really started because children were having so much fun at the Lifetime Sports Academy and they were aging out of it and they wanted to come back and do more,” Kraft said. “So we started the Adventure Sports Academy and that is for children age 13 through 8th grade so really for middle schoolers.”

Kraft said the Adventure Sports Academy features scuba diving, rock climbing, an overnight outdoor camping experience and more. The Adventure Sports Academy is full but there is a waiting list available. The classes are held from 1:30 to 5:15 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and from Thursday evening to Friday morning. The cost is $165 for the first child in the family and $155 for each additional child.

For more information about the Children’s Lifetime Sports Academy, click here, to join the Adventure Sports Academy waitlist, click here, or call (816) 271-4491.