By Mike Lear (Missourinet) – The people seeking the release of the only man serving life in a Missouri prison for marijuana offenses could have an answer from Governor Nixon in the next couple of months.

Jeff Mizanskey of Sedalia has been in prison for 21 years. He was sentenced to life without parole for marijuana possession and distribution under laws from the 1990s that have since been changed, and is unique in his circumstances.

Governor Jay Nixon (D) has been petitioned more than once to release Mizanskey and this year, a bill was even filed in the legislature that sought his release.

Asked when he might have a definitive answer regarding Mizanskey, Nixon told reporters Friday he’s in the process of considering several possible commutations.

“That matter is in that next group that is being reviewed,” said Nixon.

He said consideration of such requests has had to wait during the legislative session.

“It’s been a busy last five or six weeks, and while there may have been meetings like that on my schedule, some of those have been bumped recently,” said Nixon. “That’s something that I’d like to get to relatively early this summer.”

128 lawmakers signed the latest petition asking for Mizanskey to be released.

By Alisa Nelson (Missourinet) – Funding for Missouri’s roads and bridges is expected to be an important topic next year in the Legislature.

Missouri lawmakers considered several versions of a bill to raise the state’s gas tax to support the transportation infrastructure, but none of those passed before the Legislative session ended Friday. A general lack of consensus on how to fund transportation, coupled with more than two days of holding up debate by Senate Democrats, effectively killed those proposals.

The new Speaker of the House, Todd Richardson (R-Poplar Bluff), elected by the body on Friday, says the issue will be a priority in 2016.

“We have a good team that’s going to be working on what those proposals are going to be and will be ready to come forward with solutions in January.”

Senator Doug Libla (R-Poplar Bluff) sponsored the bills that didn’t make it, this year. He says the Legislature needs to focus on transportation funding.

“The voters of Missouri decided in 1924 to fund our highways with a motor fuel tax,” said Libla. “It’s been twenty years since we’ve increased the gas tax and we have deteriorating roads and bridges.”

House Minority Floor Leader Jacob Hummel (D-St. Louis) says the state is not going to be able to maintain Missouri’s roads without a new plan.

“I don’t think there’s any question that something needs to be done,” said Hummel. “What that level is, I don’t know. I would’ve voted for the gas tax increase. I think that was the responsible thing to do.”

Senate Majority Floor Leader Ron Richard (R-Joplin) said he thinks the transportation bill was the most significant proposal that wasn’t passed.

“We had a dialogue, but couldn’t get it through the line,” said Richard.

The Governor, in the final weeks of the session, called on lawmakers to send him a gax tax increase proposal, but time ran out. Missouri could lose millions of dollars in federal matching funds in 2017 if a transportation bill is not passed.

By Kyle Loethen (Missourinet) – Drivers are paying more to fill up their gas tanks ahead of the Memorial Day weekend.

Gas prices have increased nationwide, but Missouri is still below the national average of $2.71 per gallon. In Missouri, the average price is $2.44 per gallon.

Missouri AAA Spokesman Mike Right said experts say gas prices will still remain lower than last year.

“We’ve seen an up-tick in gasoline prices in the last few days, but we’re basically going to enjoy gasoline prices that are noticeable below what they were this same time last year,” said Right. “In most instances, it will be at least 80 cents a gallon less than what we paid in 2014.”

Right said consumers should be saving more on gasoline compared to years past.

“A family should be saving somewhere in the neighborhood of about $600 on their gasoline bill this year compared to what they spent last year,” said Right.

Right offers an explanation of why gas prices increase around this time of year.

“Typically, we pay the highest price for gasoline during the month of May and then we see some moderation as we get into June and July and it remains fairly steady throughout the summer drive season,” said Right. “Much of the ramp up in cost associated with the month of May has to do with the change over from winter fuel to summer fuel and the refineries beginning to get back online after some shut downs for maintenance.”

A Kansas City, Mo., man who tried to flee from police by breaking into a nearby home was charged in federal court Monday with robbing the Commerce Bank in the Brookside area on Saturday morning.

Frank L. White, 35, of Kansas City, was charged in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., with one count of bank robbery.

Today’s criminal complaint alleges that White stole $1,971 from Commerce Bank, 6336 Brookside Place, Kansas City, Mo., on Saturday, May 16, 2015.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the federal criminal complaint, White originally came into the bank that morning, approached a teller while she was helping a customer and asked when the bank closed. He then left the bank and returned about 10 or 15 minutes later. White approached a teller station while she was helping another customer, the affidavit says, and she told him to step back. Another teller told him they could help him in a moment. White came back to the first teller station, the affidavit says, and was fumbling with a white piece of lined notebook paper that he was not able to get open. The teller locked her bottom teller drawer. White allegedly told the teller not to press any buttons, but she activated the alarm. White allegedly demanded money, stating words to the effect of “give me all the money in the drawer, give me everything” and “give me all the 100’s.” The teller gave White all of the money in her top drawer, the affidavit says, and White left the bank.

Kansas City police officers spotted White walking quickly eastbound on 65th Street across Holmes, according to the affidavit. When White saw their unmarked car, he allegedly began to run through the back yard of a residence on Holmes. The officers pursued on foot, with several citizens showing them the direction where White was running.

As officers entered the back yard of a residence on East 65th Terrace, they saw a broken rear door window. The owner of the residence was in the front yard and pointed the direction White was running. The homeowner later told police that when White broke into his house, he stated several times, “I have a gun, give me the keys to your car.” The homeowner kept telling White, “No, get out of my house” and told him the police were coming. White ran out the front door without taking anything.

When the officers reached the back of another residence on East 65th Terrace, White was being taken into custody by other responding officers.

Dickinson cautioned that the charge contained in this complaint is simply an accusation, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charge must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

A LaGrande, Ore., man pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to traveling across states lines to Missouri to engage in illicit sexual activity with two minors, whom he believed were the daughters of an undercover law enforcement officer.

Abdul Lamont Gamble, 40, of LaGrande, Ore., pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief District Judge Greg Kays to the charge contained in an April 30, 2014, federal indictment.

By pleading guilty today, Gamble admitted that he traveled from Oregon to Missouri between March 25 and April 9, 2014, to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor and a commercial sex act with a minor.

Gamble contacted an undercover law enforcement officer through an online social media site in October 2013 and offered to have sex with her fictitious 12-year-old and 15-year-old daughters. Gamble engaged in numerous conversations with the undercover detective through late 2013 and early 2014 via this social media site, email and text messages. Gamble described the specific sexual acts he intended on performing with and on the two minor females, for which he agreed to pay $250.

Gamble traveled to Kansas City, Mo., on a Greyhound bus and arrived on April 9, 2014. The undercover officer met him at the bus station. Gamble reconfirmed the sexual acts he intended on performing on and with the two minor girls.

Gamble and the undercover officer stopped at a CVS on Independence Avenue. Police officers arrested Gamble when he exited the car and began to approach the CVS.

Under federal statutes, Gamble is subject to a sentence of up to 30 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

By Mike Lear (Missourinet) – Elected officials agree more could have been done by the legislature to deal with issues related to law enforcement and Ferguson, but differ in assessing how much it did accomplish.

“This has been a very trying year,” said Legislative Black Caucus Chairman Brandon Ellington (D-Kansas City). “There has been absolutely no positive movement on any piece of legislation that deals with law enforcement reform.”

Ellington said bills to require body cameras and mental evaluations for police and a change in Missouri law regarding officer use of deadly force all failed.

House Speaker Todd Richardson (R-Poplar Bluff), though, said the legislature did respond to the unrest in Ferguson, with bills tightening regulation of municipal courts and changing Missouri’s student transfer law.

“Those are two signature accomplishments of the session. For anybody to say that we didn’t address [the issues in Ferguson] or didn’t look at them, I just flatly disagree,” said Richardson.

Richardson was sworn in after the resignation of John Diehl, Junior, on the final day of the session. Ellington said under the leadership of Diehl, the House Republican majority had blocked bills seeking law enforcement reforms. He said he’s hopeful for better results with Richardson.

“I don’t think that he will put a blockage on these bills like we’ve seen from the last administration,” said Ellington. “The last administration guaranteed that none of these bills would move.”

Senator Jamilah Nasheed (D-St. Louis) said the biggest failure of the 2015 session was the failure to pass a bill making the wearing of body cameras by police, mandatory.

“I think many of those individuals who were out there protesting and those that decided to rise up against the establishment, I think they would have felt a victory if we were able to bring about the body cameras,” said Nasheed.

Opponents said if the state would require body cameras on police, it would have had to pay for the cameras and the expensive data storage for using them, or be in violation of the constitution’s prohibition on the state issuing an unfunded mandate to local governments.

Governor Jay Nixon (D) in assessing the session and what lawmakers did related to Ferguson, echoed praise for the municipal courts bill and frustration that the deadly force revision didn’t reach him. He also cited actions taken by his administration and the federal government.

“The summer jobs program, the $5-million department of labor competitive grant we got, the Ferguson Commission is still working, the receiving of Federal Promise Zone Designation, we had a recent youth empowerment summit, and hundreds of thousands of loans to businesses effected there,” said Nixon. “There’s still more work to be done, but we’re working on a lot of levels to move forward.”

By Alisa Nelson (Missourinet) – The relationship between former House Speaker John Diehl, Jr. and a college intern has lawmakers saying they will take a hard look this summer at the state Capitol’s internship program. Diehl resigned as speaker after admitting to exchanging sexually-charged messages with an intern.

His successor, Todd Richardson (R-Poplar Bluff), says several state representatives have already approached him about reviewing the House’s intern policy.

“I want to make sure that this state Capitol is an environment where young people can come and get the experience in public service that I think they really deserve as part of their college career.”

Governor Jay Nixon (D) said of the scandal involving Diehl that the Capitol should be a place where public servants carry out the people’s business transparently and ethically.

“Young men and women should be able to learn how their government works without fear of harassment, intimidation or other inappropriate conduct,” said Nixon. “Sadly this past week has been a jarring reminder of what happens when people lose sight of what they’re here to do and who they are here to serve.”

House Minority Floor Leader Jacob Hummel (D-St. Louis) said lawmakers will spend some time this summer addressing the matter.

“I know that on both sides of the aisle, this is a bi-partisan issue that needs to be fixed.”
Richardson says they plan to have a new policy in place by next year. Diehl resigned last week after the release of a story by the Kansas City Star.