PLATTE CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri man accused of killing four of his relatives has pleaded not guilty to charges in the case.

Grayden Denham was arraigned Thursday on four counts of first-degree murder and eight other charges in the February shooting deaths of his grandparents, his sister and her infant son. The victims were shot to death and their bodies were found outside a home Denham shared with them outside of Edgerton in northwest Missouri. All the bodies, along with the family dog’s body, were set on fire.

Denham was arrested while walking naked in northern Arizona in February.

His next hearing date is scheduled for Aug. 4. Denham does not yet have an attorney.

A possible motive for the shootings has not been released.

Local fireworks sales are on the upswing ahead of the Fourth of July weekend.

P.J. Kovac the owner of PJ’s Fireworks said people are in a buying mood this year.

“Just because it’s a four day weekend people are going to shoot more than normal,” he said. “If it was in the middle of the week, people almost would come in the night of the third and fourth then they gotta go to work early the next day, so it kinda knocks it down a bit. We’re looking forward to a really good year. They way it’s starting, it’s looking like it’s going to be.”

Sydni Hook with Kovac’s Firework said she is seeing a variety of buying trends.

“We have a lot of people come in for the cakes, the night-works. Then you have the people who always love the artillery,’ Hook said. “We have a lot of families that come in, so they’re trying to get stuff for the kids plus stuff for the night shows.”

Karen Brown with Fireworks World said fireworks are fun, but being safe is the most important part.

“Fireworks can be a very wholesome, fun family memory as long as safety directions and common sense are employed, ” Brown said. “It doesn’t mean you can’t have a beer while you’re shooting stuff off, but it means watch your kids. Help your kids enjoy them and teach them safe boundaries. Don’t drink the case of beer and try to shoot stuff off,” Brown said.

Authorities said the man believed to be tied to bank robberies in two states including one last week in Dearborn has been arrested in southern Missouri.

Jesse Bud Leaverton, 58 of Okla. was arrested Thursday around 6 a.m. by the Missouri Highway Patrol and the Northern District of Oklahoma United States Marshals Services Fugitive Task Force on a federal warrant.  Leaverton was taken into custody without incident near the intersection of Highway 60 and South Farm Road 119 between Republic and Springfield.

On June 21,a Federal Arrest Warrant was issued for Leaverton, for the bank robbery on June 18 at the Arvest Bank in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Leaverton is a person of interest in additional bank robberies in Oklahoma and Missouri including the Platte Valley Bank robbery last week in Dearborn.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol plans to take part in special enforcement operations starting Friday for the Fourth of July weekend.

Troop H officers will participate in a special enforcement operation on Friday, July 1, 2016, and Monday, July 4, 2016. During this operation, which will be conducted on Interstate 35 throughout the Troop H area, troopers will be assigned 20-mile sections of Interstate 35 to provide additional manpower during the peak travel days of the holiday period.

Captain James E. McDonald, commanding officer of Troop H, St. Joseph, said Troop H officers will also be participating in Operation C.A.R.E. during the 2016 July Fourth holiday weekend. Operation C.A.R.E. (Combined Accident Reduction Effort) is a national traffic enforcement program aimed at making holiday weekends safer. During this enforcement operation, all available troopers will be patrolling Missouri highways an aggressively enforcing traffic laws and assisting motorist with any emergency situations.

“Many motorists will be traveling over the holiday weekend, and we want everyone traveling on Missouri roadways to be safe,” Capt. McDonald said. “Make sure everyone in your vehicle is properly restrained and never drink and drive.”

Manufacturing certifications have been earned by nine area students after the launch of a pilot program last year in St. Joseph.

18 students have completed the Manufacturing Technician Certification (MT1) program, with half of those earning certification.

The St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce, the Western Institute at Missouri Western State University, the St. Joseph School District and the Innovation Stockyard in the Kit Bond Science and Technology Incubator at Missouri Western came together last year to establish the MT1 program, a highly specialized course based on the techniques and interrelationships found in high performance manufacturing and production. The class taught at Hillyard, focuses on the critical actions, knowledge, systems, and processes necessary to participate in an advanced manufacturing enterprise. Activities include a focus on math and measurement; quality and continuous improvement practices; and advanced manufacturing processes and production.

Seven of the 18 students who completed the course passed all three tests to earn their MT1 certificate. Two others passed two of the three to earn a Manufacturing Specialist (MS) certificate.

“This certification gives students the tools to be productive in the modern manufacturing environment, and tells employers that these people have the drive and abilities to be successful,” said Dr. Gary Clapp, coordinator of workforce development at the Western Institute. “Some of our graduates have already landed great jobs in local companies, including Gray Manufacturing, Hillyard Chemical, Herzog, Reardon Machine , IBEW Local 124, Altec and Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica.”

(News release) – A Kansas City, Kan., man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a large-scale conspiracy that distributed more than 15 kilograms of methamphetamine in St. Joseph, Mo., and across a four-state region.

Anselmo Salazar, also known as “Crazy Eyes,” 49, of Kansas City, Kan., was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Greg Kays to 25 years in federal prison without parole.

On Dec. 2, 2015, Salazar was found guilty of participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine from Jan. 1, 2009, to Nov. 12, 2013. Salazar was also found guilty of participating in a money-laundering conspiracy that involved financial transactions of the proceeds of illegal drug-trafficking.

In 2010, the Buchanan County Drug Strike Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration initiated an investigation into a drug-trafficking organization distributing methamphetamine in northwest Missouri, northeast Kansas, southern Iowa and Nebraska.

Salazar is among 24 defendants charged in a Nov. 15, 2013, federal indictment. Salazar, along with co-defendants Carlos Alberto Yanez, 33, of Lee’s Summit, Mo., and Marvin Carl Rogers, 54, of Gladstone, Mo. were the primary sources of supply for methamphetamine for the entire organization. Yanez has been sentenced to four years and seven months in federal prison without parole. Rogers has been sentenced to 16 years and 10 months in federal prison without parole.

Yanez and Salazar obtained methamphetamine in up to pound quantities and then delivered the methamphetamine to co-defendant Shannon Martinez (also known as “Big Homie”), 38, of St. Joseph, and another man charged in a separate case. Martinez, in turn, sold the methamphetamine to others to distribute. Martinez has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison without parole.

On Oct. 11, 2011, Salazar was arrested after a traffic stop in Platte County, Mo. Salazar, who was was driving Yanez’s vehicle, was in possession of 42 one-pound bundles of marijuana, 25 grams of cocaine and 80 grams of methamphetamine. Salazar was on his way to deliver the methamphetamine to St. Joseph for Yanez, and to pick up cash payment for the delivered methamphetamine.

Salazar was ordered to forfeit to the government a money judgment of $680,800, which was received in exchange for the unlawful distribution of methamphetamine, based on a conservative purchase price of $1,850 an ounce (for 50 percent pure methamphetamine) and the distribution of 23 pounds of methamphetamine by Salazar and others.

A man reported missing Tuesday night was found dead Wednesday morning in the roadway near Faucett. Sheriff’s deputies and first responders were dispatched to the area west of Route MM and Route DD at about 8:15am Wednesday when a passerby spotted the body and a scooter.

Colonel Bill Puett of the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office identifies the victim as William Frederick, 54, of Faucett. Mr. Frederick was reported missing Tuesday night after leaving the area of SW 45th road on his scooter and not returning.

Col. Puett says the investigation continues, and would not say if there was anything more than a traffic accident.

“It looks that way, but we’re not prepared to make a complete decision on it yet,” Puett said in an interview.

“Right now we have investigators and deputies on scene. They’re working the scene, and they will determine whether an autopsy is needed,” he said. “If an autopsy is conducted we’ll wait on the results of that.

The Livingston County Sheriff’s Office said a statewide search has resulted in the arrest of a man considered dangerous to law enforcement officials.

The sheriff’s office said it began investigating Tuesday after receiving information that a fugitive allegedly was considering killing certain officials in the judicial and/or law enforcement system. The office said it quickly coordinated with area and statewide law enforcement, notifying those potentially in danger, and increasing security at its courthouse.

Cody McClintick was arrested without incident Tuesday afternoon in Marion County on a felony warrant for probation violation of a felony drug conviction. The office said McClintick has been a fugitive since June 17.

Law enforcement from the Linn County and Marion County Sheriff, Missouri State Highway Patrol, MIAC, NITRO Task Force, the Brookfield, Chillicothe, and Hannibal Police and dispatch, and the Missouri Probation and Parole Office took part in the investigation.

LCSO said McClintick will be extradited back to Livingston County in the near future and an investigation into the potential for additional charge(s) is taking place.