An 18-year-old (age corrected) St. Joseph man is facing a felony on accusations of causing serious injuries to his six-week-old baby.

Skyler Kretzer is charged in Buchanan County with a felony of abuse of a child.

According to court documents, witness statements accuse Kretzer of squeezing the baby out of anger and throwing the infant into the air three to four feet and then catching her. Det. Dustin Robinson with the St. Joseph Police Department said witness statements claim the child’s head snaps when thrown and a pop has been heard when Kretzer squeezed the baby.

Det. Robinson said the 6-week-old girl has been to the emergency room six times in those six weeks. The infant was diagnosed with four healing rib fractures, a possible fracture of the right femur, retinal hemorrhages and bruises on the right lower leg and upper left arm.

“Children’s Mercy has diagnosed the injuries to stem from physical child abuse on multiple occasions,” Robinson said. “According to witness statements, Kretzer is under a lot of stress and has anger management issues.”

Based on the probable cause statement, the court found Kretzer to be a danger to the victim and denied the setting of bail. An arraignment is scheduled for Friday.

A two-vehicle crash in Daviess County resulted in the death of a 63-year-old Rogersville man Wednesday afternoon.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Jay Williams was driving a 2003 Dodge Ram eastbound on Elmwood Ave. in Pattonsburg around 3:20 p.m. and Greg Linthacum, 52 of Ridgeway was driving a 1998 Peterbilt northbound on US 69. The Patrol said Williams tried to cross US 69 and his vehicle was hit on the passenger side by the semi. Williams was transported by ambulance to Harrison County Community Hospital where he was pronounced deceased less than two hours later. Williams was not reported to be wearing a seat belt. No injuries were reported for the other driver.

(News release) – Open burning for fall 2017 has been approved for Monday, November 6, 2017 through Sunday, November 26, 2017 by the Chief of Enforcement Section of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Open burning is permitted on these days within the City of St. Joseph under the following guidelines:

• Burning of yard waste of residential properties only – ONLY dry yard waste such
as leaves, brush and logs grown on the property can be burned. NO trash, paper,
lumber or building debris may be burned.
• Burning is allowed between 10:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
• All fires must be in an upright cylindrical metal container with a volume equal to
no more than 55 gallons. Containers must be located at least fifteen (15) feet away from
any building. Only one burn container per residence.
• All fires shall be monitored from a point on the property where the fire is located,
by a person capable of containing a fire, should containment become necessary.
• Fire-fighting material, including but not limited to, a garden hose or a container
of water sufficient to contain any fire started shall be at the site of the fire.
• If weather conditions such as high winds indicate the safety of the community or
the public may be endangered or if open burning may create a health hazard, the Fire
Chief or Health Director may invoke a temporary burning ban.
Any violation of the open burning restrictions may result in a summons to appear in
court for a misdemeanor violation.

Residents are encouraged to explore alternatives to open burning. Many options for
disposing of yard waste are easy, do not contribute to air pollution, are not dependent
on time restrictions or the weather, and provide the healthy benefit of physical activity
while doing yard work instead of breathing acrid smoke from a waste fire. Such activities
include mowing leaves into fine particles and leaving them lay to fertilize the lawn, or
incorporating leaves into a mulch container to decompose into humus for use in
vegetable and flower gardens or for use on lawns as a soil amendment. Larger wood
brush that can be chipped makes excellent mulch around trees and shrubs. Family and
friends with gardens may want additional yard waste to use as mulch.
If you choose to burn, please do so within the days provided, as open burning session
will not be extended due to weather blackout dates.

The St. Joseph Police Department has identified the officer involved in a shooting incident Sunday that resulted in a woman’s death.

As we previously reported, officers responded to the area of 10th and Sycamore streets around 6 p.m. in reference to a disturbance call. Commander Eric Protzman said when officers arrived on scene subjects took off running from the area. One of the individuals was identified as 25-year-old Samantha Hennard, of St. Joseph who goes by “Baby Girl”. Protzman said Hennard pulled out a weapon and fired at officers. He said one officer returned fire and shot and killed Hennard. The Missouri State Highway Patrol was called in to investigate the incident.



The officer involved has been identified as Brant Hutchison.  Capt. Jeff Wilson said Hutchison is a three year veteran of the police department.

Wilson said so far, the initial investigation and initial interviews have been completed.

Large donations are being made to support committees on both sides of the St. Joseph School District’s tax issue up for vote on the November ballot.

According to the Missouri Ethics Commission, the Committee to Move St. Joseph Forward, which is in support of Proposition 1 has received donations of more than $5,000 from four sources as of Wednesday afternoon. Boehringer Ingleheim Vetmedica donated $20,000 on Oct. 24, News-Press Media Group donated $25,119.82 of In-Kind on Oct. 12, Mosaic Life Care donated $20,000 on Sept. 26, and a Stacchya Gray donated $9,000 on Sept. 25.

Supporters of a Better SJSD, which is opposed to the issue received a financial donation of $10,000 from Herzog on Oct. 20.

The Missouri Ethics Commission states contributions of more than $5,000 received by any committee from a single donor are required to be filed within 48 hours of receiving the contribution.

The proposition for the $1.15 tax increase is up for vote on the Nov. 7 ballot.

(Update) – Photos from an armed robbery at Little Caesars have been released by the St. Joseph Police Department.

As we’ve reported, police responded Tuesday night shortly before 9 to the Little Caesars located at 3304 Ashland Ave.  Officers said the suspect displayed a handgun, demanded money and left on foot with an unknown amount of cash. The suspect was dressed in what was described as a white ski mask, light blue hoodie, black pants and black gloves.

Police are still investigating the incident. Anyone with information is asked to call the TIPS Hotline at (816) 238-TIPS.

(news release) ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Electrical work on U.S. Route 36 near 9th and 10th Streets will briefly close those ramps next week.

Crews from the Missouri Department of Transportation will close the ramps on eastbound U.S. Route 36 at 9th and 10th Streets on Tuesday, Oct. 31 between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. to perform routine electrical maintenance. Motorists should use an alternate route during the closure.

The City of St. Joseph announced Wednesday that it has been awarded $250,000 to help with the purchase and installation of new playground equipment for Bartlett Park and the development of a disc golf course.

According to a news release, the funding is a matching grant from the Department of the Interior – National Parks Service, Land & Water Conservation Fund administered by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. The city said, the funds were awarded for the purchase and installation of new inclusive, multigenerational playground equipment for Bartlett Park, along with the development of a disc golf course at the park and along Southwest Parkway.

The projects are expected to be completed in 2018.