A St. Joseph woman will serve 12 years behind bars after taking part in robbing a cell-phone store earlier this year on S. Belt highway.

Shania Harness pleaded guilty to the class a felony count of first-degree robbery in March. At that time, Harness who was pregnant, admitted that she and co-defendant Isaiah Williams, who is the father of her child, robbed the Metro PCS at gunpoint.

“I regret it every single day…It’s not me,” Harness said in court Wednesday in front of Judge Patrick Robb.

“Your statements don’t ring credible,” Robb said. “You only regret this because you got caught.”

Williams was also sentenced last week to serve 16 years for his role in the crime.

(Update) The Missouri State Highway Patrol says a truck driver from Kearney was killed Tuesday in a single vehicle crash west of Stewartsville that shut down U.S. Highway 36 for five hours.

A crash report says Paul Binkley, 30, was driving a dump truck in the westbound lanes at 2:50 p.m. when he lost control of the vehicle. The truck left the roadway and struck a utility pole before overturning. Binkley was ejected in the crash and wound up underneath the truck. He was transported to Mosaic Life Care where he was pronounced dead.

The truck came to rest across both westbound lanes on its passenger side. The accident closed the road until about 8 p.m.

Cross talk between two lawyers in a Buchanan County courtroom reached a tipping point for the judge Tuesday, and what was expected to be a half-day trial is now scheduled for a second day.

“I’m embarrassed for both of you, quite frankly,” said Circuit Judge Daniel Kellogg. “From now on you will address your comments to me.”

Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Kate Schaefer and defense lawyer Joseph Morrey squared off in the trial of a jailhouse nurse accused of inappropriately touching two detainees. Carlos Marte, is a nurse working for Advanced Correctional Healthcare under contract with the Buchanan County Jail. He is charged with two counts of sexual contact with a prisoner, after the women accused him of inappropriately touching them during examinations last year.

During interviews with an investigator, Marte has denied doing anything inappropriate.

Testimony in the case has been riddled with objections from both sides, escalating the frustration of Judge Kellogg to the point of outright anger. The lawyers disagreed on what to call it when the defendant gave different answers to the same questions during two different interviews with the investigator. They disagreed on whether the interviews rose to the level of a criminal investigation, and whether Marte should have been read his Miranda rights. They disagreed on whether the room where the interview took place was in “the bowels of the Buchanan County Jail” or “the place where the defendant works.”  There was even a disagreement on precisely where the crotch ends and the genitals begin.

And with each disagreement, their comments and objections were directed increasingly at each other.

“If this was a jury trial, I’m sure it would make them angry,” Kellogg said. “It makes me angry.”

Following the dispute Tuesday, Judge Kellogg said he would watch more than two hours of video recordings of various investigative interviews. That followed one video already introduced as evidence, under objection. It was not clear whether the additional videos would be allowed into evidence, but it was clear there would be another objection.

The trial will resume on Wednesday with at least one more prosecution witness. Then Marte and his wife are expected to take the stand for the defense.

Following that: closing arguments.

Primavera Italian Restaurant will be setting up shop in the building that previously housed Carlos O’Kelly’s in St. Joseph.

According to a news release from East Hills Shopping Center, the plan is to open up for business in late summer or early fall.

Primavera Italian Restaurant touts itself as a family owned and operated business that serves authentic Italian food featuring recipes from the owner’s grandmother. The restaurant will serve lunch and dinner. The menu will include pasta, New York-style pizza, seafood, beer, wine and desserts. Each table will receive complimentary fresh, homemade rolls. Their house specialties include fettuccini alfredo, chicken pomodoro and chicken broccoli tortellini. They also own Tuscany Italian Restaurant, which is located in Blue Springs, Mo.

“We are excited to welcome a friendly, family owned restaurant to the East Hills tenant line-up and hope to introduce St. Joseph and the surrounding communities to some authentic Italian flavor,” said Caroline Thalasinos, General Manager of East Hills Shopping Center.