A St. Joseph teen had pleaded guilty to murdering his grandparents.

Joseph “Joey” Johnson, 16 pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of second-degree murder in connection with the murder of his grandparents, James and Beverly Johnson, at their home on NE Hurlingen Road July 3.

Buchanan County Prosecuting Attorney Dwight Scroggins said a sentencing hearing has been scheduled for March 4th at 1:30 p.m. Scroggins said the range of punished is up to 10 years on each count to a max of life in prison on each count.

As we previously reported, Johnson was certified to stand trial as an Adult but the US Supreme Court has ruled that the death penalty imposed on underage defendants is unconstitutional. Under Missouri’s first-degree murder statute, that only leaves a sentence of life without parole for juveniles convicted of the crime. But the high court has also held that requiring life without parole, without some other sentencing option, is also unconstitutional.

Scroggins said Div. 3 Circuit Judge Patrick Robb has ordered a sentencing assessment report.

New information in court documents show two St. Joseph men charged in connection with a midtown shooting last week allegedly pointed their weapons at the victim inside a vehicle before shooting at him.

Gerald Lee Johnson Jr., 29 and Adrian Zominique Taylor, 27 are both charged with felonies for class C assault and second-degree count II armed criminal action in connection with the shooting of Trevor L. Keith, 23 of St. Joseph Tuesday in the 3000 block of Parkway A.

According to court documents Johnson was sitting in the rear passenger side of the vehicle and Taylor was seen in the front passenger side both with a handgun pointed towards the driver, later identified as the shooting victim.

“A fight appears to be occurring inside the vehicle and the defendant is seen exiting the vehicle while pointing his weapon at the victim inside the vehicle and ultimately firing at the victim, still located in the vehicles drivers seat,” said Detective Frank Till with the St. Joseph Police Department.

Court documents said both Taylor and Johnson fired at the victim before running from the scene.  CLICK HERE to view PC Statements on Johnson and Taylor

“The defendant has already beat and shot the victim causing him serious injuries,” Till said in Taylor’s PC statement. “This defendant is dangerous to anyone in the community that he may perceive as a potential witness or to any Police Officer coming in contact with him.”

“The defendant has already shot his firearm at the victim,” Till said in Johnson’s PC statement. “This defendant is dangerous to anyone in the community that he may perceive as a potential witness or to any Police Officer coming in contact with him.”

Till said Keith suffered a serious wound from a gunshot and was in the intensive care unit.

Taylor is currently being held on $150,000.00 cash only bond. Court documents said bail for Johnson has been denied based upon evidence the court finds the defendant is a danger to the community.

If convicted, each could face up to 7 years behind bars for the assault charge and a minimum of 3 to an unlimited number of years for armed criminal action.

The Saint Joseph City Council holds a work session Monday on a fire department recommendation to relocate fire station 9 from 22nd and Frederick to Noyes and Union.

Critics prefer city-owned land at Noyes and Messanie. City Manager Bruce Woody said that land is not as suitable as it looks.

“It would outwardly appear to be efficient.  The problem however, is there’s a major flood plain that runs through that area.  The Aquatic Park when it was constructed had to go through a significant amount of permitting from FEMA because of that flood plain,” Woody said.

Even if FEMA approved, Woody said high water could make the station an island, with trucks unable to get out of their own station.

The work session Monday is scheduled to start at 4:30 in council chambers at City Hall.

Sunday is the last day for shoppers to collect tickets in the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce’s Shop St. Joseph program.

The numbers will be drawn at the Chamber office (drawing is closed to the public) and then announced through KQTV, Eagle Radio, the St. Joseph News-Press, FOX 26 KNPN, as well as posted on the Chamber’s website, and on the office door at 5 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 21.

Once a ticket has been announced for the grand prize, the winner has 24 hours to claim their prize before another number is announced. Only one number will be drawn for secondary prizes and those numbers will not be released until the $10,000 is given away to avoid confusion.

The shopping program, designed to encourage residents to do their holiday shopping in St. Joseph.

No purchase is required to win. Customers may receive one free ticket for visiting any participating merchant and one additional ticket for every $10 increment of purchase. A maximum of 100 tickets may be issued per transaction.

Two St. Joseph men have been charged in connection with a midtown shooting that sent another man to the hospital.

Gerald Lee Johnson Jr., 29 and Adrian Zominique Taylor, 27 are both charged with  felonies for class C assault and second-degree count II armed criminal action in connection with the shooting of  Trevor L. Keith, 23 of St. Joseph Tuesday in the 3000 block of Parkway A.

Keith currently remains hospitalized with a serious injury.

Taylor is currently being held on $150,000.00 cash only bond.  Court documents said bail for Johnson has been denied based upon evidence the court finds the defendant is a danger to the community.

If convicted, each could face up to 7 years behind bars for the assault charge and a minimum of 3 to an unlimited number of years for armed criminal action.

Law enforcement agencies are stepping up enforcement operations over the winter holiday travel season.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop H is taking part in C.A.R.E. Life Saver weekend that started Friday, Dec. 18 and rungs through Monday, Dec. 21.

During that time frame enforcement will be increased in an effort to stop motorists from driving impaired this holiday season and to reduce injury and deaths caused by impaired drivers.

“The holiday season is a time to celebrate with friends and family,” said Captain James E. McDonald, commanding officer of Troop H, St. Joseph. “If those celebrations include alcohol be sure to have a sober designated driver.  No one should have to endure losing a loved one during the holiday season.”

This year’s traffic crash counting period in Missouri is 78 hours in length and begins at 6 p.m. on Thursday, December 24, and ends at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, December 27, 2015.

The MSHP said last year over the Christmas holiday, there were 1,159 traffic crashes during the 102-hour counting period. In those crashes, 14 people were killed and another 388 were injured. During the 2014 Christmas holiday, one person was killed or injured every 15 minutes.

Remember: Holiday drivers will affect traffic patterns. Check the weather forecast and plan accordingly. The Road Condition Report number is 1-888-275-6636. Allow extra time to reach your destination, and obey all traffic laws.

If faced with a traffic emergency, motorists can contact the Missouri State Highway Patrol at 1-800-525-5555 or *55 on a cellular phone. This emergency number will ring into the nearest Highway Patrol headquarters. Motorists should use this number if they are in a traffic crash, witness a crash or crime, or observe a stranded motorist in need of assistance, or other traffic emergencies.

“This is a busy, festive time of year,” said Colonel J. Bret Johnson, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol. “Family, friends, co-workers, and other groups will plan special events and gatherings. If you include alcohol in your celebrations, please don’t drive. A sober chauffer or other alternative transportation are always the best choices. Please wear your seat belt, obey Missouri’s traffic laws, and drive courteously. Make safety an integral part of your plans this holiday season.”

The St. Joseph Police Department is investigating after a one vehicle crash left some residents without power Friday morning.

A 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer was found abandoned around 8:50 after police said it traveled southbound on 36th St between Frederick and Beck and knocked over a utility pole.

Officer Brendan McGinnis said the vehicle has been determined to have been stolen from Central High School.

“Everyone had fled from the vehicle by the time we arrived,” McGinnis said. “An investigation is underway.”

KCP&L was called in to restore power.

GALLATIN, Mo. (AP) — A state audit has found that a small northwest Missouri city improperly transferred about $860,000 from utility revenues to its general fund while raising sewer and electric rates.

In the audit released Thursday, Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway gave the city of Gallatin a “fair” rating — just one level above the lowest possible rating.

Galloway said in a written statement that residents “deserve more transparency.”

The auditor’s also said that the city allocates 75 percent of the wages of the city administrator, clerk, and deputy clerk, along with other personnel costs and general expenses to the utility departments. Gallatin officials were unable to provide documentation to support the allocations.

City administrator Tony Stonecypher said the city was “happy to get some help doing its job better

Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Maryville, Mo., woman was sentenced in federal court today for a murder-for-hire scheme in which she negotiated with an undercover federal agent and, without realizing it, her intended victim.

Kristina M. Swinford, 33, of Maryville, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Greg Kays to eight years and six months in federal prison without parole.

Swinford, who pleaded guilty on May 20, 2015, admitted that she contacted two individuals to kill the wife of her ex-boyfriend. Her intended victim is identified in court documents as “AM.”

According to court documents, Swinford met three times with an undercover agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to negotiate the murder-for-hire.  Following her third meeting with the ATF agent, Swinford also negotiated via Facebook with another person, without realizing that she was actually communicating with her intended victim, who had created an online profile under another person’s name.

On Aug. 25, 2014, a cooperating source in Taylor County, Iowa, reported to law enforcement authorities about traveling to Maryville and having a discussion with Swinford. Swinford complained about AM and made it clear she wanted AM kidnapped, killed or gone. AM had gone through a brief separation from her husband, according to court documents, and during that time he was involved in a relationship with Swinford. After C.M. broke up with her, both AM and CM reported harassment and stalking behavior by Swinford. AM and her husband had been granted ex parte orders of protection in an effort to keep Swinford from stalking or harassing them.

The cooperating source was instructed to meet with Swinford again and provide her with the contact information of an undercover ATF agent if she still wanted someone to kill AM. The undercover agent contacted Swinford on Aug. 28, 2014, and arranged to meet.

Swinford met with the undercover agent on three separate occasions, each time sitting in a vehicle in a Wal-Mart parking lot in Bethany, Mo., and discussed several scenarios for killing AM. Swinford discussed several ways in which the undercover agent could gain access to AM suggesting that he make it appear that AM was killed in a drug deal gone bad, that AM be kidnapped from her house or kidnapped while she was walking (so there would be no blood at AM’s house). Swinford also discussed several ways in which AM would actually be murdered, suggesting that AM be shot, beaten and shot a couple times then thrown in the river or buried, that she be shot in the face and the chest or maybe both times in the face, or that AM be provided a lethal dose of drugs. Swinford told the undercover agent that she wanted AM to suffer and that AM should be beaten for five to 10 minutes before she was killed.

Swinford agreed to pay $10,000 prior to AM being killed and another $10,000 afterward. She provided the undercover agent with a photo of AM, a map of her house and other information. At the third meeting on Sept. 10, 2014, the undercover agent told Swinford he could pick up AM after she dropped her kids off at school, then kill her and cut off her hands and head and toss them into the river to make it look like Mexican drug dealers. Swinford agreed with this plan and the undercover agent told her to get a hold of him when she got the money.

On Sept. 19, 2014, AM reported to local law enforcement authorities that Swinford had been discussing AM’s murder on Facebook. According to court documents, AM had created a false Facebook account for a real person she knows, who is identified in court documents as WB. AM told authorities she created the account because her husband had blocked his Facebook account so she could not view her husband’s Facebook page.

AM reported that on Sept. 18, 2014, she had logged in to delete the fake account but found a message from Swinford from Aug. 9, 2014, addressed to whom Swinford clearly thought was the real WB. AM used the false Facebook account to engage Swinford in a lengthy conversation. During the conversation, Swinford expressed her dislike for AM. According to AM, further in the conversation, she and Swinford discussed WB (the real person but fake Facebook account) harming her (AM).

AM told police that she was terrified and had no way of knowing if Swinford had spoken to anyone else about having her hurt or murdered. ATF agents had not notified AM or her husband that ATF had been conducting the investigation into Swinford hiring the undercover agent.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alison Dunning. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Maryville, Mo., Department of Public Safety.