Post Staff – Page 404 – St. Joseph Post Archive

Jury finds St. Joseph woman guilty of murder

Posted on July 28, 2016July 28, 2016

(Update 1:43 p.m.) – After less than three hours a jury had returned a verdict of guilty for a St. Joseph woman accused of murdering a man nearly four years ago.

A jury of seven women and five men found Angela Henderson guilty of second-degree murder, armed criminal action and tampering with evidence in connection with the death of Clinton “Sam” Justice who was found fatally stabbed in his home in December of 2012. The verdict was returned Thursday around 1:38 p.m., less than three hours since deliberations began.

Angela Henderson and two others were charged in the case. Kim Keith pleaded guilty to a charge of second-degree murder, but identified Henderson as the one who stabbed Justice. Henderson’s son was deemed incompetent for trial.

Around a dozen of Justice’s family members were seen in court crying and hugging each other when the verdicts were read.

A sentencing hearing has been set for Sept. 8 at 3 p.m. A pre-sentence report has been ordered.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

(11:39 a.m.) – Closing arguments are over and a jury will now decide the fate of a St. Joseph woman accused of murdering a man nearly four years ago.

Clinton “Sam” Justice was found fatally stabbed in his home in December of 2012. Angela Henderson and two others were charged in the case. Kim Keith pleaded guilty to a charge of second-degree murder, but has identified Henderson as the one who stabbed Justice. Henderson’s son was deemed incompetent for trial.

Henderson is charged with murder, armed criminal action and tampering with evidence.

Rachel Gross, victim's daughter attended the trial. Photo by John P. Tretbar — Rachel Gross, victim’s daughter attended the trial. Photo by John P. Tretbar

In closing arguments Thursday morning, Buchanan County Prosecuting Attorney, Dwight Scroggins pointed out that Angela Henderson knew things about the killing that would only be known by someone who was present when it took place. Defense lawyer, Rose Briscoe called the chief witness against Angela Henderson a liar.

The case went to the jury for deliberations at 10:46 a.m. When a verdict is reached we will update this story.

Obituaries July 27

Posted on July 28, 2016August 1, 2016

Gerva D. Robinson
1921-2016

Gerva D. Robinson, 94, of St. Joseph, Missouri passed away Wednesday, July 27, 2016 at the Mosaic life Care of St. Joseph, Missouri.
Gerva was born on November 14, 1921 in Wathena, Kansas to George S. & Mellie Mae (Lincoln) Clinton.
She was a member of the Eureka Valley Baptist Church in St. Joseph, Missouri. Gerva enjoyed country music, local country musicians and country operas. She was active in the St. Joseph Senior Center for many years, performing in several dance troops.
Gerva married John Robinson on May 13, 1946 in Wathena, Kansas. He preceded her in death in 1976. She was also preceded in death by her parents, daughter, Carol Leivan, son-in-law, Ray Leivan, sisters, Gertrude Seifert, Lois Dubach, Neva Allen, Cecil Aldridge & Bessie Mae Worthen, brothers, Forrest & Jack Clinton.
Survivors: grandsons, Chad Leivan (Brandy), St. Joseph, Missouri
Larry Leivan, St. Joseph, Missouri
5 great-grandchildren, numerous nieces & nephews
Funeral Service: 10:00 A.M. Monday, August 1, 2016
At the Harman-Rohde Funeral Home in Wathena, Kansas
Visitation: Family will receive friends 9 A.M. Monday, 1 hour prior to service. Friends may call after 10:00 A.M. Sunday.
Burial: Bellemont Cemetery, Wathena, Kansas
Memorials: First Baptist Church Wathena, Kansas

Darlene Mae Sowers (Lesher)
1930-2016

Darlene Mae Sowers (Lesher) was born Monday, September 8th, 1930; and passed away Wednesday, July 27th, 2016. Visitation Friday, July 29th, 2016, 6:30pm – 8:00pm. Located at the Becker-Dyer-Stanton Funeral Chapel. Services Saturday, July 30th, 2016, 10:30am; officiating Rev. Robert Ziegler. Located at the Trinity Lutheran Church-Atchison. Interment held at the Mt. Vernon Cemetery.

Richard Dale Kretzer
1951-2016

Richard Dale Kretzer 65, of Saint Joseph, Missouri passed away Wednesday July 27, 2016 at Mosaic Life Care Hospital. He was born January 26, 1951 in St. Joseph, son of the late Gertrude & Don Kretzer. He attended Benton High School, he was a Christian, who enjoyed working on auto bodies. Richard was preceded in death by his parents, 2 brothers, Ernest, and Dallas Kretzer, a sister, Lois Leota Kretzer, and a sister-in-law, Cindy Kretzer. Survivors include: daughter Debbie Kretzer of St. Joseph, brothers, Charles Kretzer, Alec (Jerry) Hovey, Kenneth (Linda) Kretzer, Larry (Betty) Kretzer, Lloyd (Dawn) Kretzer, sisters; Patricia Ray, and Linda Baskins. He will be sadly missed by his family, and a host of friends. Richard will be cremated under the care and direction of the Rupp Funeral Home. There are no scheduled visitation or memorial services at this time.

Frank T. Lewis
1962-2016

Frank T. Lewis, 53, St. Joseph, Missouri passed away Wednesday, July 27, 2016 at Mosaic Life Care.
He was born December 3, 1962 to Denziel and Betty (White) Lewis in St. Joseph, Missouri.
Frank worked doing what he loved, being a mechanic. He enjoyed racing, four wheeling, motorcycling, the river and being with friends and could fix anything. The most fun he had was racing his car.
He was preceded in death by his parents; and grandson.
Survivors include his wife Shiela Thomson of the home; son, Brandon Lewis (Dayonna), Ft. Lewis, Washington; Daughter, Kristine Turner (Rob), St. Joseph; step children, Dawn Thomson, Ft. Worth, Texas and Jason Thomson, St. Joseph; siblings, Michael Lewis (Tanda), St. Jospeh, Denna Watts, Phoenix, Arizona and Robin Thomas (Frank), Atchison, Kansas; six grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Farewell Services 3:00 P.M. Saturday, Meierhoffer Funeral Home & Crematory. Inurnment Memorial Park Cemetery at a later date. The family will gather with friends 6:00 to 8:00 P.M. Friday, Meierhoffer Funeral Home & Crematory. In lieu of flowers the family suggests memorial contributions to Meierhoffer Funeral Home & Crematory to help defray funeral expenses. Online guest book and obituary at www.meierhoffer.com.

Betty Ann Powell
1926-2016

Betty Ann Powell, 89, St. Joseph, Missouri, formerly of Independence and Columbia, Missouri, passed away Wednesday, July 27, 2016, at her home.
She was born November 6, 1926, to Maurice and Catherine (O’Brien) Dysart in Columbia, Missouri.
Betty grew up in Columbia, Missouri where she was a graduate of Hickman High School. She later graduated from Christian College earning an Associate’s Degree in Business then from University of Missouri earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Education.
After graduating she married Dale Powell on June 27, 1948. Shortly after marriage they moved to Independence, Missouri, to raise their family and later to St. Joseph, Missouri, to start a church.
Mrs. Powell loved being a teacher, but even more she loved being a full-time pastor’s wife. They were members of New Life Bible Church where she was very active as a Sunday School teacher, Bible Study teacher, and an Awana Leader.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 57 years, Dale Powell; parents; and granddaughter, Mindy Cornelius.
Survivors include her four children Dale Randal (Darlene), Springfield, Illinois, Debby Cornelius (Dallas), Easton, Missouri, Teri Bucher (Bill), Olathe, Kansas, and Lisa Allen (Mike), Grove, Oklahoma; 13 grandchildren, Brian (Teresa), April (David), Betsy (Read), Lance (Ashlee), Heidi (Adam), Zac, Holly, Ryan (Aubrey), Jared (Alexis), Caleb (Amanda), Anna, Jake (Donna) and Katie; 13 great grandchildren; brother, Charles Dysart; and sister, Dora Kling.
Farewell Services Saturday, July 30. Visitation at 10:00 A.M. and Memorial Service at 11:00 A.M., New Life Bible Church. Care provided by Meierhoffer Funeral Home & Crematory. Memorial contributions can be made to New Life Bible Church, 3811 Pacific, St. Joseph, Missouri 64507. Interment Memorial Park Cemetery Online guest book and obituary at www.meierhoffer.com.

Michael L. “Mike” Schultz
1968-2016

Hoyt—Michael L. “Mike” Schultz 47, passed away Wednesday, July 27, 2016 from injuries he received while in the line of duty with Hoyt Rural Fire District No. 3.
He was born November 21, 1968 at Rockford, IL., the son of Robert L. and Mary Campbell Schultz. Mike grew up in Winnebago, IL., and graduated from Winnebago High School in 1987. He attended Rock Valley Community College.
Mike lived in the Hoyt community many years. He was a milk truck driver for
S&K Inc. Hoyt. He had worked for Waste Management for the past 23 years. Mike was a Captain with Hoyt Rural Fire District No. 3 and had nearly 25 years of service with the department. He was a devoted husband, father and grandfather. He always supported his children in all of their adventures. He was an avid football fan and enjoyed counting down the days before kickoff. But most of all he was passionate about being a fireman and the fire department. Mike was baptized in 1991 and was a member of the 1st Baptist Church of Hoyt.
On November 17, 1990 he was united in marriage to Mickie Roy at Rockford IL. She survives of the home.
Other survivors include his mother Mary (Martin) Musso, Rockton IL; his children Gabriel (Bailey Fund) Schultz, Hoyt, Megan (Zack Romine) Schultz, Burlingame, Garrett Schultz and Gage Schultz of the home.; his grand-daughter Adelynn; A special step-sister, Triscia Nally, Dixon, IL; two step-brothers and two step-sisters.
He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Roy “Buddy” and Ruth Campbell.
Funeral services will be at 10:30 A.M. Monday, August 1, 2016 at the Northland Christian Church, 3102 NW Topeka Blvd, Topeka. Interment will be in the Mayetta Cemetery. Mike will lie in state with the family receiving friends from 5:00 until 7:00 P.M. Sunday, July 31, 2016 at Chapel Oaks Funeral Home in Hoyt. Memorial contributions may be made to the 1st Baptist Church of Hoyt the Hoyt Rural Fire District No. 3 or Michael Schultz Memorial Fund c/o Denison State Bank, 210 K214 Hwy, P.O. Box 283, Hoyt, Kansas 66440 or Chapel Oaks Funeral Home, Hoyt, Kansas 66440.

Man charged in shoe store robbery

Posted on July 28, 2016July 28, 2016

A St. Joseph man has been charged after a shoe store robbery.

Joshua D. Starke, 25 is charged in Buchanan County with a felony for second-degree robbery.

According to court documents, last Thursday Starke is accused of holding up the Red Wing Shoes located at 411 S. Belt Highway at knife point.

“Josh displayed a knife and demanded money from the clerk. Josh took an undisclosed amount of cash from the register and fled from the area,” said Det. Doug Howard with the St. Joseph Police Department. “The defendant is known to use drugs and is a known thief who robbed a business using a dangerous weapon.”

Bail for Starke has been set at $75,000. An arraignment is set for Friday.

Almost 10,000 Missourians to receive jobless benefits previously taken away

Posted on July 28, 2016

Missouri Supreme Court (Courtesy Missourinet)

(Missourinet) – Thanks to a state Supreme Court ruling, thousands of Missourians will receive jobless benefits which were previously taken away.

In a 4-3 ruling, the justices said the state Senate improperly overrode Governor Nixon’s veto of a law which reduced the time limit for unemployment benefits from 20-to-13 weeks.

The court said the override during last September’s veto session, took place too late because that period’s reserved for bills rejected by the governor in the final week of the legislative session, and the veto of the jobless bill occurred earlier.

Attorney Michael Evans, who represents unemployed workers, thinks the court made to proper decision. “This is a matter of it’s a rules of the road case” said Evans. “Everybody’s got to follow the rules – the governor and the legislature. The point of these rules is to prevent gamesmanship, log rolling and horse trading, and things like that that are not productive legislative actions.”

Critics of the ruling think the court overstepped its authority and improperly limited the legislature’s powers. Division among the justices was reflected in their tight decision.

Evans contends the law as it stood was unfair to people living in communities with high unemployment where there’s a scarcity of jobs. “We don’t believe that the law was just for a lot of reasons. There’s a lot of unemployed people out there. There’s a lot of people in small communities that are going to be disproportionately affected.”

According to the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, 9,932 people had their unemployment exhausted at 13 weeks because of the law. The legislation also affected the severance pay of 3,877 people.

All people impacted by the law will be reimbursed. Evans thinks the Department of Labor is now developing a procedure for those affected to retroactively apply for benefits.

Cattle truck fire reported in Livingston County

Posted on July 28, 2016July 28, 2016

Cattle truck catches fire in Livingston County. Courtesy LCSO

A semi carrying cattle caught fire in Livingston County Wednesday night.

The Livingston County Sheriff’s Office said it as well as Missouri State Highway Patrol, Chillicothe Fire and Mooresville Fire responded to a tractor/trailer fire on U.S. 36 highway around 11:50 p.m.

The semi-tractor was engulfed in flames and a total loss. The driver was hauling 57 cattle. The sheriff’s office said fortunately the driver, emergency responders and cattle were not injured during the incident.

Maryville water-meter replacement could pay for itself

Posted on July 28, 2016July 28, 2016

Your water bill in Maryville could go up soon, but officials say it’s money you should have been paying all along.

The City Council in Maryville is considering a proposal to replace all of the city’s aging water meters. City Manager Greg McDanel says a study conducted by Schneider Electric shows that the replacements would pay for themselves.

“Due to those new meters potentially reading more accurately, that revenue generation would pay for the project,” McDanel said in an interview. “It’s estimated per the study that the city is not capturing approximately $355,000 to $400,000 (per year) of revenue from water bills for customers based on inaccurate meters.”

“Typically, when meters age, especially your large commercial meters, they do tend to become more inaccurate and capture less revenue that is supposed to be billed to the customer.”

There are about 4,200 meters in the city. Schneider Electric tells city officials they could replace all of them in about 90 days for about $3.6 million. Based on Schneider’s study, the city could see increased revenues totalling about $7.8 million over 15 years.

The new meters would offer other cost savings as well. McDanel says they would include centralized Automatic Meter Reading (AMR).

“This allows the city to, essentially, press a button from City Hall and read all those meters instantaneously, instead of sending staff out once a month to read all the meters physically,” McDanel said. That costs the city more than $17,000 a year.

City Council members will continue discussions with Schneider Electric, and if they decide to enter into a contract, it would likely occur before the beginning of the new fiscal year August 1. McDanel says if that happens the work could begin by October.

Braymer woman injured in crash

Posted on July 28, 2016

An 85-year-old Braymer woman was hospitalized after a crash in Caldwell County Wednesday morning.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol says another motorist pulled in front of Mildred Murray’s vehicle on Route-B at 116 Highway at about 10:20am Wednesday.

Murray suffered what were described as moderate injuries in the crash that followed.

The other driver, William Owens of Kearney, Missouri, was not injured in the crash.

Kansas man sentenced to life in prison for sex-crime conviction

Posted on July 28, 2016

An Atchison, Kansas man was sentenced to life in prison for his conviction on eight child-sex crimes. Heath Umphenhour, formerly of Troy, was found guilty by a jury in Doniphan County in May. The panel found Umphenhour guilty on eight counts, including aggravated indecent liberties with a child, aggravated criminal sodomy, sexual exploitation of a child and breech of privacy.

The three female victims were all under the age of 14.

Judge James A. Patton sentenced Umphenour to life in prison plus more than five years. Umphenhour will be eligible for parole in about 30 years, but must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

Murder trial goes to jury Thursday

Posted on July 28, 2016

Jury instructions and closing arguments were scheduled Thursday morning for a St Joseph woman on trial for murder.

Henderson is charged with murder, armed criminal action and tampering with evidence. Evidence in the trial concluded on Wednesday.

7-day forecast notes a chance for a rainy weekend

Posted on July 28, 2016

Sunny and warm today, but forecasters say we could see some rain over the weekend. Here’s the 7-day forecast from the National Weather Service.

Today: Sunny, with a high near 87. Light north wind increasing to 5 to 10 mph in the morning.

Tonight: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 5am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 67. North wind 5 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 10%.

Friday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 7am. Partly sunny, with a high near 82. North wind 5 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 64. North wind 3 to 5 mph.

Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 85. Light north northeast wind.

Saturday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 67. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Sunday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 86. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Sunday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 72. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 93.

Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 74.

Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 95.

Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 73.

Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 94.