Two men are accused of holding up a Boost Mobile at gunpoint in St. Joseph and taking the victim’s wallet to have the witness possibly assaulted in the event of their arrest.

Jose Diaz-Garcia, 42 and David Matias-Torres 35 both listed as residents at the same St. Joseph address have been charged in Buchanan County. Matias-Torres is charged with a felony for first-degree robbery, Diaz-Garcia is charged with a felony for 2nd-degree robbery.

According to court documents, Officer A. King with SJPD said Diaz-Garcia and Matias-Torres entered the Boost Mobile in the 6400 block of King Hill Ave. around 4:40 p.m. Wednesday.

King said Matias-Torres was seen on video with no covering over his face.

“The defendant pulled out a firearm and pointed it at the clerk. The defendant is seen pointing behind the counter to the second suspect,” King said in reference to Matias-Torres.

King said Diaz-Garcia is the suspect accused of walking behind the counter and grabbing the money from the drawer as well as a cell phone and a wallet from the victim while Matias-Torres held the victim at gunpoint.

He said both suspects then left the store on foot and left the area.

King said the victim’s wallet was later found at Matias-Torres residence and that Matias-Torres has been known to intimidate witness’ in past cases.  Matias-Torres is also listed on court documents to have two prior arrests for robbery. King said Diaz-Garcia kept the victims wallet possibly to have the victim’s address in case they were arrested.

“Defendant is looking for someone to assault witness in this case,” King said in reference to Diaz-Garcia.

Online court documents said an arraignment for Diaz-Garcia was continued from Tuesday to Wednesday in order to request an interpreter.   Matias-Torres appeared by video conference in court Tuesday and a preliminary hearing has been scheduled for May 13.  Both are being held without bail.

ST. JOSEPH, MO— The Trails West! ® festival committee has released its 2016 entertainment lineup, which includes funk rock, country, and blues-pop.

The festival will take place August 19-21 in Civic Center Park in downtown St. Joseph.

Here Come the Mummies takes the stage Friday night, Farewell Angelina, Steve Moakler and Sawyer Brown entertain crowds Saturday; and festival attendees Sunday will hear from John Waite (from Bad English and The Babys).

“We are thrilled to announce such a fantastic lineup for the 2016 festival,” says festival co-chair Robbie Morton. “Trails West! ® offers a great weekend full of exceptional entertainment at a very affordable price.”

Here Come the Mummies, however, are not strangers to Civic Center Park. They performed at Trails West!® in 2013. Here Come the Mummies is an eight-piece rock band with a “terrifying funk from beyond the grave” sound. They have opened for P-Funk, Al Green, and Cheap Trick, and they rocked Super Bowl Village 2012.

Farewell Angelina is an all-female country band. Band members Nicole Witt, Andrea Young, Elizabeth Elkins and Lisa Torres began recording together in 2015, and they released their debut single and video, “Hillbilly 401K” earlier this year.

Steve Moakler received rave reviews for his album “Wide Open” after releasing previous records “Watching Time Run,” which debuted at number 1 on the Singer/Songwriter chart and Top 50 Overall iTunes® chart, and “All the Faint Lights.” Moakler’s music has been recorded by country artists Dierks Bentley, Jake Owen and Kellie Pickler, among others.

After winning Star Search, country-rockers Sawyer Brown have been churning out hits over the past few decades. Their debut album, “Leona,” rose to the Top 20 charts, and their next hit, “Step That Step” climbed to number one, and the album claimed the number two slot. In the ‘90’s, they released hits “This Thing Called Wantin’ and Havin’ It All,” “Treat Her Right,” and “Drive Me Wild,” and in the
early 2000’s released the pop hit “Can You Hear Me Now?”

The festival’s entertainment concludes Sunday with John Waite, who first rose to fame as the lead singer of Bad English, and the The Babys. Waite formed the The Babys in England in the ‘70’s and grew in popularity across the U.S. and the U.K. for the hit “Isn’t It Time.” Later on, Waite created the group Bad English and became a huge success with hits like “When I See You Smile” and “Price of Love.”
Waite is now enjoying a solo career, releasing famous albums “Temple Bar,” “No Brakes” and “Rough & Tumble.”

“We are very excited to bring back a band that was such a crowd pleaser at a previous festival, and we’re also delighted to showcase some new performers at Trails West!®” said Shana Meyer, festival co-chair. “We believe this lineup will be a great draw for the region’s largest arts festival.”

Admission to the festival is by souvenir button or 2016 Trails West!® t-shirt. The buttons, good for admission to all three days of the festival, are $8 in advance and $10 at the festival gates. All festival guests over the age of 10 will need a button for admission. Trails West!® t-shirts must be purchased in advance and can be worn to the festival as an alternative option to purchasing an admission button.
Buttons will go on sale July 1, and will be available for sale online and at various locations across St. Joseph. Button locations will be announced at a later date.

A man has been charged in Nodaway County after a fight over the weekend sent another man to the hospital.

The Nodaway County Sheriff’s Office said deputies responded to a fight around 3:50 p.m. Sunday on Elm St. in Maryville.  The sheriff’s office said the fight was reported to have started over money.

53-year-old David Hagg of Maryville was taken by ambulance to St. Francis Hospital in Maryville for treatment of serious injuries he sustained from allegedly being beaten and kicked.

Deputies arrested a 55-year-old Rickie Stanton of Skidmore at the scene.  According to online court documents, Stanton has been charged with a 2nd-degree felony for assault.

Stanton is being held on $40,000 bond.

The three-vehicle crash shut down traffic in the neighborhood for about five hours. Witnesses were moved away from the crash scene by police who feared some leaking gasoline could ignite.

Police have not yet released the names or medical conditions of the victims. We were expecting to learn more on Monday.

The crash happened at about 7:30 p.m. Witnesses were moved away from the crash scene by police who feared some leaking gasoline could ignite.

Police called in accident reconstruction experts to investigate the crash.

Kindergarten screenings for the St. Joseph School District begin Monday, April 18, 2016.

Screenings are for students who will enter kindergarten with the SJSD in 2016 (birthday Aug. 1, 2010 – July 31, 2011). Screenings test students’ developmental progress, checking language, motor, physical, cognitive and health development. Each student will also receive a vision and hearing screening from a school nurse.

Parents receive information about the child’s development, with ideas about how to help prepare the child for kindergarten. They may also sign the child up for pre-K summer school.

Parents can make appointments by calling the school or by visiting http://www.sjsd.k12.mo.us/screening Appointments will last approximately one and one-half hours.

Parents should bring the following:
1. Child’s birth certificate
2. Child’s immunization record
3. Child’s insurance card
4. Child’s social security card

Each child who attends a kindergarten screening will receive a free ticket to the June 15, 2016 St. Joseph Mustangs baseball game, donated by the Mustangs.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The northbound Interstate 229 Bridge in St. Joseph will be narrowed to one lane Monday, April 18 and Tuesday, April 19 from approximately 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Crews from the Missouri Department of Transportation will close the driving lane of northbound I-229 to make repairs to a barrier wall. The work is scheduled to take only two days to complete.

During the barrier wall repair work, the ramp from westbound U.S. Route 36 to northbound I-229 will also be closed.

On Wednesday, April 20 and Thursday April 21, crews will close the passing lane of northbound I-229 from approximately 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. for additional barrier wall repair work.

All work schedules are weather permitting.

The St. Joseph Health Department is offering a free testing day this week as it works to highlight the impacts of sexually transmitted diseases during STI awareness month in April.

The City of St. Joseph Health Department Community Health division is offering a free clinic on Tuesday, April 19th to test for the STI’s chlamydia and gonorrhea. No appointment will be necessary. The free testing will be available from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. at Patee Market Health Center, 904 South 10th Street.

The Department said in 2015, the 16 county-region in Northwest Missouri diagnosed over 1,000 new cases of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also known as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), not including HIV, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services data.

A report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that half of all new STIs in the country occur among young men and women aged 15 to 24.

The department said year’s awareness theme, “Talk, Test, Treat”, emphasizes a comprehensive approach to prevention of new infections.

It said there are effective ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat ST16Is.

Early screening and diagnosis are essential in preventing transmission and the long-term sexual and reproductive health consequences of STIs. The City of St. Joseph Health Department, located at 904 S. 10th Street, offers STI testing for chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, HIV, and Hepatitis C, Monday through Friday, by appointment only, from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. There is a $10.00 charge for the visit but treatment for curable STIs is free of charge.