A St. Joseph Woman has been charged for a second time this year with Misusing “911”.
58-year-old Haleh Lameh was charged Wednesday with a misdemeanor in Buchanan County for Misusing “911”.
According to court documents, Lameh called the emergency line four times on Tuesday. When police responded they found her reports to be false each time.
“The Defendant has called the 911 emergency line a total of forty two times since 01/01/2015,” Timothy Schweder, a Detective for the St. Joseph Police Department said in his sworn statement. “According to Officer reports and the Buchanan County/City of St. Joseph, Mo. Police, Fire and EMS Dispatching records the defendant is a habitual 911 emergency line abuser.”
During the course of the investigation Schweder said it was determined that Lameh does not have an accurate account of how many times she had called 911 in the recent past and that she becomes intoxicated on a daily basis.
It’s the second time this year Lamah has been charged with the same crime. According to online court record, in April Lameh was sentenced to three days behind bars after pleading guilty to Misusing 911 on April 4th.
She has three prior arrests for 911 abuse.
An arraignment is set for Friday.
Lameh is currently being held on $5000.00 cash bond.
St. Joseph, Mo. – Gov. Jay Nixon signed four bills Wednesday that he said will fill gaps in Missouri legislation to protect citizens of all ages.
“They’re so important because they’re going to protect kids, and support a network that we have in this state that values kids,” Gov. Nixon said.
Senate Bill 341 creates a new obligation within state law requiring the Missouri Children’s Division to conduct a Family Assessment on the family of a child, under the age of 14, who has allegedly committed sexual abuse against another child. Prior to this legislation, the Missouri Children’s Division had limited authority to take action on child abuse reports in which the alleged abuser was under the age of 14.
Additionally, Senate Bill 341 requires that all licensed child care facilities providing care for children less than one year of age shall implement a written safe sleep policy that is consistent with the most recent safe sleep recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics. It also requires day care centers, preschools, and nursery schools to inform parents, upon request, if there are other children at the facility who have obtained a religious or medical exemption from required immunizations.
“So if you have a measles outbreak coming through the town or something like that, as a parent without putting it on the front page of the paper you’ll be able to figure out whether you’re sending your kid into a situation where they might pick up something like that,” Gov. Nixon said.
Nixon also signed Senate Bill 321, allowing victims of sexual assault to seek orders of protection from the court, regardless of the perpetrator of the crime.
“It will give them a tool that they will go to the courts and get an order of protection,” said Sen. Dan Hegeman, bill sponsor. “It’s very similar to what’s already available for domestic abuse and victim’s of stalking we just added in victim’s of sexual assault to give them the opportunity for protection by the government from their perpetrator”
Jean Brown, YWCA of St. Joseph Executive Director said the bill will provide more protection for victims.
“For us as a provider of domestic violence and sexual assault services it just gives us another legal tool to use in keeping sexual assault survivors and the advocates that work with them safer,” Brown said.
The governor also signed House Bill 1149, which clarifies the Division of Youth Services’ ability to receive and distribute wages for youth in its custody, and allows DYS to establish on-the-job training to develop good work habits and marketable skills for young people in its care; and House Bill 531, which aims to protect children from ingesting dangerous chemicals used in electronic cigarettes by requiring bottles containing these liquids to meet federal child-resistant effectiveness standards.
Authorities have located a vehicle stolen in St. Joseph that authorities had warned area residents to be on the lookout for in relation to a possible burglary investigation.
Platte County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Jeffrey Shanks said the vehicle was found in Buchanan County by the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office.
Captain Erik Holland of the Platte County Sheriff’s Office warned Tuesday that four men in a white Chevy Tahoe went to homes in northern Platte County as well as southern Buchanan County, and were knocking on both the front and back doors at the same time. When residents appeared the men stated they were soliciting lawn mowing services.
The vehicle was later confirmed to be a stolen auto out of St. Joseph, MO. At this time, no burglaries have been reported from these incidents.
Shanks said the vehicle was found abandoned with no one inside. He said the identities of the subjects are still unknown.
Due to the rash a burglaries in the area, officials warn that these subjects may be casing homes to burglarize. They urge you to contact the Platte County Sheriff’s Office at 816-858-3521 to report suspicious activity and occupants on your property.
A man has died after 18-years behind bars for his part in the murder of a fellow student at a rural boarding school in southeast Missouri.
The Crossroads Correctional Center said Anthony Rutherford was pronounced dead at the Crossroads Correctional Center in Cameron, Mo. at 4:15 p.m. Tuesday.
The department said an autopsy will be conducted but at this time the department does not suspect foul play was involved.
Rutherford was a 37-year-old man serving a life sentence without parole for first-degree murder and armed criminal action from Phelps County.
He was received in the Missouri Department of Corrections on June 23, 1997.
The Cult Education Institute reported in May of 1997 that Rutherford of Siloam Springs, Ark. was found guilty of first-degree murder after a trial that lasted barely 5 1/2 hours. He was charged at the age of 19 along with another teen in connection with the murder of a fellow student, William A. Furtrelle II, 16 of Boca Raton, Fla. at the Mountain Park Baptist Church and Boarding Academy in Wayne County, Mo.
Gov. Nixon signs executive order 15-04. Photo courtesy @GovJayNixon
(Missourinet) Governor Jay Nixon (D) has ordered all departments, agencies, boards and commissions in his administration to do what is necessary to comply with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling making same-sex marriage legal nationwide.
Nixon says the order makes clear that local governments must comply with the ruling as well. One Missouri county, Schuyler, is still not issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Nixon also called again on the Missouri legislature to pass the Missouri Nondiscrimination Act, which would bar discrimination against LGBT Missourians in employment, housing, and public accommodations.
“Same-sex couples now have the right to get married, but here in Missouri, individuals can still be fired for being gay. That’s wrong, it’s not who we are, and it must change,” Nixon said.
Nixon’s order today also rescinds an executive order issued in November, 2013, that directed the Department of Revenue to accept jointly-filed state tax returns from same-sex couples legally married in other states. His order today makes it unnecessary.
A teen charged with murder in Buchanan County will remain in custody.
According to court reports, a 16-year-old boy charged with two counts of second degree murder in connection with the shooting deaths of James Johnson, 72 and Beverly Johnson, 76 continues to remain detained as a result of a detention hearing Tuesday morning.
The Johnsons where found dead outside their home at 8610 NE Hurlingen Road early Saturday morning.
The teen did not appear in court for the hearing. Judge Daniel Kellogg uttered the defendant’s name into the record and ordered him to remain in custody.
Further information is not being released about the case at this time because the suspect is a juvenile.
A certification hearing to determine if he will be tried as an adult is set for July 30 at 2:30 p.m.
Judge Kellogg identified the suspect on the court record, but until such time as he’s certified as an adult neither the St. Joseph Post nor Eagle Communications will name the teen. It’s our policy to not identify minors accused of crimes, unless they’re certified as adults.
Dr. Robert Newhart started his first official full day as interim Superintendent of Schools for the St. Joseph School District Monday.
“It’s just good to get in here and get going. I was excited to come into work today and I look forward to meeting various people and getting to know the in’s and out’s of the district a little bit further,” Newhart said.
Newhart was unanimously voted as the interim Superintendent by the Board of Education on June 4. He said as soon as he accepted the position is when his work actually began.
“I’ve been off and on like we’ve talked about the past three weeks,” he said.
Newhart has been the superintendent of the Princeton R-V School District since 2014. Before that, he was the superintendent of the Lexington R-V School District and the Polo R-VII School District. But, Newhart said he had many ties to the St. Joseph area.
“My mom actually taught at St. Joe Central High School, I did my student teaching under Bill Hedge in St. Joe Central High School and I did my Junior experience down at St. Joe Benton, so I’ve always had a connection with the St. Joseph School District in that aspect,” Newhart said. “I went to Missouri Western as an undergrad, my son and daughter were graduates of Missouri Western so I’ve always had the ability to come over to St. Joe and see things.”
The St. Joseph School District has faced much turmoil recently. Newhart is the third superintendent for the district so far this year. He was named to the interim post to fill in for Dr. Jake Long after he was named superintendent of schools in the Mountain Home, Arkansas School District. Long assumed the job of acting superintendent in St Joseph when Dr. Fred Czerwonka resigned. Czerwonka came under fire after the state auditor’s office released a report that was critical of the school district. Newhart joins the district with an FBI and a U.S. Grand Jury investigation currently underway. On June 22, the district announced the Internal Revenue Service also plans to examine federal tax returns for the 2013 calendar year. And of course the State Audit report found earlier this year that a staggering $25 million in stipends were paid over the last eight years that were “either unapproved, unauthorized or improper.” The total is estimated to be in excess of $40 million dating back to 2001.
Newhart said he isn’t scared of the challenges he knows the district is facing.
“I’ve always enjoyed challenges and I’ve never shied away from challenges at any means,” he said. “The board’s done a very good job in laying out a 22-point plan that they’ve already started on and we want to continue with. That’s been instrumental I think in getting some things going here in the right direction. We want to continue upon that as we go through the budget process, working towards being a little more prudent in what we’re doing in our budget process and also what we need to do to make the budget work.”
The public will have a chance to meet Newhart for themselves this week. The district has scheduled a reception for Wednesday July 8, from 4 to 5:30pm. The reception will be held at the Troester Media Center at 3401 Renick in St Joseph.
A teen has been charged with murder in Buchanan County after a man and woman were found dead early Saturday morning.
Chief Juvenile Officer Linda Meyer announced Sunday that a 16-year-old has been charged with two counts of second degree murder in connection with the shooting death of 72-year-old James Johnson and 76-year-old Beverly Johnson.
Because the boy is a minor his name is not being released. He remains in custody.
According to Buchanan County Undersheriff Bill Puett law enforcement officials responded to the couples home at 8610 NE Hurlingen Road around 1:05 a.m. Saturday for a check well-being.
After getting no answer at the residence they continued to investigate and found the couple dead outside of their home.
A detention hearing will be held in juvenile court on July 7, 2015 at 8:00
a.m.
A St. Joseph Woman has been charged for a second time this year with Misusing “911”.
