Stan Unruh – Page 791 – St. Joseph Post Archive

Audit Criticizes Vacancies on Advisory and Regulatory Boards

Posted on January 11, 2014January 11, 2014

(AP) – A new audit says Missouri has too many vacancies on several advisory and regulatory boards.

Friday’s report from State Auditor Tom Schweich says 27 percent of seats on boards overseen by the Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions and Professional Registration were vacant as of June 2013. Vacancies are filled by the governor, an insurance department official or the board itself.

Five of the 37 boards examined lacked enough appointed members to make a quorum during meetings. The report also found 63 percent of the appointed board members served beyond their term expiration date.

In a response included with the audit, the department says it will continue to work at filling vacancies.

Overall, the department received a “fair” rating, the second lowest on the auditor’s four-part scale.

DNA links executed convict to 1984 triple murder

Posted on January 10, 2014

(AP) — An Iowa man who was executed in Missouri for the 1987 murder of a 12-year-old girl has now been linked to an unsolved triple homicide three years earlier, investigators announced Friday.

New DNA evidence implicates Andrew Six in the 1984 bludgeoning deaths of 20-year-old Justin Hook Jr.; Hook’s fiancee, 19-year-old Tina Lade; and Hook’s mother, 41-year-old Sara Link, according to the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. Analysts did testing on evidence recovered from the inside of Lade’s jeans to develop a profile, which matched Six’s DNA.

Missouri authorities executed Six by lethal injection in 1997 for the kidnapping and murder of 12-year-old Kathy Allen. Six and his uncle kidnapped the girl from her family’s trailer in Ottumwa, a city in southeast Iowa, then slit her throat and dumped her body in northern Missouri.

Retired DCI supervisor Sam Swaim said that Six had long been a suspect in the 1984 triple homicide, but that investigators could not come up with enough evidence. He said that he was happy that scientific evidence has finally linked Six to the crime, but wishes Six had been caught earlier.

“I regret that we didn’t get that case solved. That would have saved Kathy Allen’s life,” he said in a phone interview.

Hook’s body was found outside his burned-out trailer in rural Drakesville, a sleepy town of 200 people near the Missouri border, in April 1984. When authorities tried to notify Hook’s mother at her home in Farmington, they learned that she was missing.

Days later, a farmer found her body on a hilly, wooded section of his home near Eldon, about 15 miles northeast of Drakesville. Two days later, police dogs found the body of Lade in a ravine a half-mile from where Link’s body was recovered. Investigators said all three had been killed by blows to the head, and that the deaths were related and probably happened around the same time.

The discovery of the bodies — day after day — shook a rural area that typically sees little violent crime. Friends said Hook had given Lade, of Ottumwa, an engagement ring days before their deaths on the birthday they shared, when she turned 19 and he turned 20.

“I’m glad they did the work that they’ve done,” said Cynthia Moyes of Coralville, the sister of Hook and daughter of Link. “It provided some closure.”

SW Mo. police seeking missing infant

Posted on January 10, 2014January 10, 2014

(AP) Police in far southwest Missouri have issued an Amber Alert for a 6-month-old boy missing for more than a week.

The Anderson Police Department issued the alert Friday evening for Mitchell Farris, who has been missing since Jan. 2 from an apartment in the McDonald County town.

The alert identified two adults being sought as 34-year-old Preston Farris, described as a 5-foot-10 white male weighing 230 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes; and 30-year-old Anastasia McDaniel, a 5-foot-8, blue-eyed white female weighing 172 pounds.

The alert did not describe the relationship, if any, between baby Mitchell Farris and Preston Farris, and a call to police was not immediately returned.

The alert said the adults may be driving a red 2004 Ford Freestar with the Missouri license plate UH7D2R.

Missouri truck driver found dead at Iowa rest stop

Posted on January 10, 2014January 10, 2014

(AP) Authorities are investigating the death of a Missouri truck driver whose body was found near a rest stop in central Iowa.

The Story County Sheriff’s Office says the 51-year-old man was found dead in his truck Wednesday night at a rest stop off Interstate 35.

Capt. Barry Thomas says that a Missouri police department contacted Iowa officials Wednesday night about an overdue truck driver. Authorities traced his cellphone to the rest stop.

The driver’s name has not been released. Additional information is not available.

The station reports authorities don’t believe foul play was involved.

Silver Alert issued after 70-year-old goes missing

Posted on January 10, 2014

ATCHINSON — A Silver Alert was issued by the Atchinson Police Department on Friday, after a 70-year-old man went missing.

The APD said Garry Clyde Sandy is described as 5 feet, 8 inches and 200 pounds, balding with brown hair and blue eyes.

Sandy owns a gold 2005 Dodge Ram 1500 regular cab pickup with a long bed bearing Kansas license plate 764 CVR. There should be damage to the left front fender of the vehicle, and the left head light is missing.

Sandy is known to always wear a Kansas City Chiefs ball cap and jacket. Sandy likes to frequent casinos. He has a heart condition and is a diabetic.

Anyone with information about Sandy’s whereabouts are asked to call.(913) 367-4323.

Growing Concerns Over Missouri Execution Drug

Posted on January 10, 2014January 10, 2014

(AP) – As Missouri prepares for its third execution in two months, a chorus of concerns is raised about the secretive process of obtaining the lethal drug.

The source of the pentobarbital used in Missouri executions remains a mystery. The Missouri Department of Corrections gets it from a compounding pharmacy but won’t reveal details, saying the secrecy is justified because the drug maker is part of the execution team.

Democratic state Rep. John Rizzo of Kansas City says he will file legislation Monday for a year-long moratorium on executions and appointment of a special commission to investigate Missouri’s process. Attorneys for death row inmates have asked U.S. attorneys to intervene. Even a federal appeals judge has expressed outrage.

A Corrections Department spokesman says the procurement process complies with all laws.

Woman injured in Friday morning rollover crash UPDATE

Posted on January 10, 2014January 10, 2014

12:19 p.m. UPDATE A woman is recovering from injuries she received in a Friday morning rollover accident in Clinton County.

According to the Missouri Highway Patrol forty eight year old Kate M. Lawson of Excelsior Springs, Mo was driving a 1998 Jeep Cherokee north on US 69 approximately 3 miles south of Cameron at 6 a.m.

The Jeep travelled off the east side of the road and overturned, coming to rest on its top in the ditch facing east. Lawson was transported to Cameron Regional Medical Center. She was not wearing a seat belt.

6: 10 a.m. First responders have been dispatched to report of a rollover accident on US Highway 69, approximately 4 miles south of Cameron.

The roads in many areas are very slick. Stay tuned to Eagle Radio/KFEQ and check St. Joseph Post for additional details on the accident as they become available.

Mo. Man sentenced in Prison in Cocaine Case

Posted on January 10, 2014

(AP) – A California man has been sentenced to 19 years in prison after about 13.3 pounds of cocaine were found in his vehicle in northwest Missouri.

Platte County prosecutor Eric Zahnd announced Friday that 37-year-old Marcos Gonzalez, of Stockton, Calif., was sentenced Thursday after pleading guilty in October to first-degree drug trafficking. Zahnd says the cocaine was valued at $600,000.

In April 2013, a Platte County deputy stopped Gonzalez’s U-Haul van for a routine traffic violation. While searching the van, the deputy found heat sealer and rubber bands, which Zahnd says are commonly used to package narcotics and bulk cash. The deputy found the cocaine inside the bottom lining of three black suitcases.

Mo. Officials Discuss Rosecrans, Create Missouri Military Partnership

Posted on January 10, 2014January 10, 2014

11:45 a.m. UPDATE (AP) – Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon is creating a new military partnership led by state Treasurer Clint Zweifel to focus on keeping and enhancing military bases, force strength and federal defense spending in the state.

The Missouri Military Partnership was given a March 31 deadline to submit a report laying out a strategy for protecting and improving the state’s defense installations.

Nixon said Friday the military bases and service members are important for national security and Missouri’s economy. He said an economic impact study indicates the Missouri National Guard, Whiteman Air Force Base and Fort Leonard Wood support about 65,000 direct and direct jobs in Missouri.

(AP) – Missouri officials are announcing plans to retain and strengthen military bases and federal defense spending in the state.

Gov. Jay Nixon and state Treasurer Clint Zweifel scheduled news conferences Friday at or near three military installations.

Nixon and Zweifel planned to start the day at Rosecrans Air National Guard Base in St. Joseph, where Adjutant Gen. Stephen Danner was to join them.

They were heading later Friday to the University of Central Missouri, located in Warrensburg near Whiteman Air Force Base, and to St. Robert, which is near Fort Leonard Wood.

Senator Blunt Applauds Introduction Of Bipartisan Trade Bill

Posted on January 10, 2014January 10, 2014

U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.) applauded the introduction of the “Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities Act of 2014,” legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives to re-establish U.S. Trade Promotion Authority (TPA):

“America is the second largest exporter of goods, the largest exporter of services, and the largest combined exporter in the world. Free trade is critical for growing our nation’s economy and encouraging private sector job creation. I strongly urge my colleagues to pass TPA to open economic opportunities overseas and break down trade barriers for farmers, ranchers, manufacturers, and millions of job creators nationwide.”