A St Joseph woman will spend more than three years in federal prison for her role in an illegal licensing scheme based out of St Joe.

US Attorney Tammy Dickinson in Kansas City announced Wednesday 47-year-old Deborah J. Flores was sentenced in federal court to three years and four months in federal prison.

Flores is also jointly liable for a $5.2 million money judgment, stemming from the scheme’s proceeds. Flores pleaded guilty in October to her part to gain identity documents for illegal aliens.

It’s estimated more than 3,500 licenses were issued by the Department of Revenue License office in St Joseph to illegal aliens.

In addition to Flores, five co-defendants have been sentenced and 11 co-defendants have pleaded guilty and await sentencing.

A new Mexican Grill opened This week in St Joseph, serving more than 100 customers in the first ten minutes of the grand opening celebration.

Pancheros Mexican Grill, located at East Hills at Belt and Frederick, opened Tuesday.

The grand opening featured $1 burritos from 4 pm to 6 pm Tuesday afternoon. The new location is open every day from 10:30 am to 11:00 pm, according to the company website.

The 2,200 square foot restaurant sits next to Great Clips and Five Guys Burgers and Fries. The new restaurant features fresh pressed homemade tortillas and mixed burritos, as well as burrito bowls, salads, tacos and quesadillas.

East Hills announced it March Pancheros was coming to the St Joseph mall.

A weekend DWI checkpoint in Platte County results in 12 DWI arrest.

The checkpoint Friday was held at Missouri Highway 152 at Platte Purchase Drive from 11 pm to 3:30am.

13 other arrest were made, including a charge of resisting arrest and three misdemeanor drug arrest. More than 1,000 cars were checked during the four and a half-hour operation by the Highway Patrol, Kansas City Police and the Platte County Sheriff’s Office.

A Buchanan County checkpoint netted two arrest for DWI and 28 warnings.  That checkpoint Saturday was held at US Highway 59 and Atchison Street.  Officers check 277 vehicles over four hours.

Meanwhile, Troop-H announced last week a sobriety checkpoint and DWI saturation enforcement are scheduled for July in Clinton County.

The saturation is designed as a mobile operation in which troopers saturate a specific Highway to arrest intoxicated drivers.

“Summer is a time for outdoor activities and parties. If your plans include alcohol, please designate a sober driver,” Troop-H commanding officer, Captain Duane Robinson said.

You can report impaired drivers to the Highway Patrol at anytime by dialing star-55 on your cellphone.

US Congressman Sam Graves of northwest Missouri was one of many who expressed disappointment with the failure to pass a farm bill in the U.S. House.

After the vote, Graves said he hopes the House will soon consider a revised bill.

“Passage of the bill would have marked a critical step in moving us toward a conference with the Senate and ultimately passing a five-year Farm Bill to provide certainty to farmers and growers,” Graves said. “The fact of the matter is, everyone relies on farms three times a day, so it is in our best interest to finally pass a long-term Farm Bill.  This cannot be the end of the process.  I hope that the House will soon consider a revised bill that can pass the chamber and get us closer to working through our differences with the Senate.”

The bill was officially titled as the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013. The bill contained significant cuts to the food stamp program that the White House threatened to veto.

Ag commodity group leaders believed if the bill passed the House, a House and Senate joint committee would have ironed out the details to bring a more balanced approach the White House would accept.

Missouri Corn Growers Executive Director, Gary Marshal, noted that cooler heads need to prevail.

“It is very disappointing I think to all farmers and people that live in rural America that folks out in D.C. Just can’t get their act together,” Marshal said. “Its too bad it’s politics all the time and its not whats doing right for America because if they wanted to do whats right for America they would pass a farm bill”

A Cameron teen is in critical but stable condition after being hit by a truck Thursday morning.

Cameron Police say the incident was reported at 6:59 am at the intersection of Grand Avenue and Eastridge Avenue in Cameron.

A 94 Chevrolet truck driven by 78-year-old man was traveling along Grand Avenue when the juvenile was struck along the side of the road. The teen was taken by medical helicopter to an area hospital.

A Prayer vigil was held for the victim Thursday night in Cameron.

A preliminary hearing is set next month for the murder of a Buchanan County jail-mate.

In an arraignment hearing this morning, the preliminary hearing was set for July 23rd for 29-year-old suspect Tony King.

Court documents allege King strangled his cellmate, 25-year-old Michael Bozarth, last week in the Buchanan County jail.

Bozarth, a registered sex offender, was in the jail on allegations of molestation of two children under 9-years-old.  Jury Trial was set for November on those charges.

King was convicted of killing his 7-year-old son and burning their Harrison County home to hide the crime. He was awaiting sentencing in the jail and will be sentenced on those charges in a couple weeks.

A search for a Livingston county most wanted suspect netted two arrest, the suspect and his twin brother.

The two were found Wednesday when deputies first met the suspects twin brother at a home in Chula.

Deputies arrested 24-year-old Jeremiah J Orona for alleged felony Resisting, Interfering with a Felony Arrest. They discovered his brother Jeremy, who they were searching for, was hiding beneath a whirlpool type tub inside the home.

Jeremy Orona was arrested on a felony warrant for theft. Both men were transferred to the Daviess Dekalb County Regional Jail.

Livingston County Sheriff Steve Cox says both men told deputies they were aware that Jeremy was featured on the Livingston County Sheriff’s website as a most wanted individual.

A motorcyclist was injured in a Thursday morning accident near Stewartsville on US 36 highway.

71-year-old Edward Eastwood was riding a 2012 Yamaha when the accident occurred around 8:30 yesterday morning.

He was riding eastbound in a construction zone when the motorcycle struck a pothole along the shoulder causing Eastwood to lose control. He was thrown of the motorcycle and found lying off the side of the roadway, according to the Highway Patrol.

Eastwood, of Kansas City Kansas, was taken to Heartland for treatment of moderate injuries.