Missouri

FBI Threatened Broke Stoner at Knifepoint to Buy Bomb Supplies, Leading to Trump’s First Terror Arrest

The Donald Trump administration’s Department of Justice boasted about its first FBI terror arrest on Tuesday.
After an elaborate undercover sting operation, the FBI arrested 25-year-old Robert Lorenzo Hester of Columbia, Missouri even though the only ties he had to terrorism were the two undercover FBI agents, posing as ISIS terrorists, who paid him to buy terrorism supplies from a hardware store that they convinced him were for a bomb.
The agents came in contact with Hester after becoming alarmed over his comments on Facebook posted under a pseudonym.

Muslim Activists Raise $58k To Help Repair Vandalized Jewish Cemetery

People walk through toppled graves at Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery in University City, Mo., on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017. Authorities in Missouri are investigating after dozens of headstones were tipped over at the Jewish cemetery near St. Louis. (Robert Cohen /St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)
Two American Muslim campaigners raised tens of thousands of dollars within hours of launching a campaign to help repair a vandalized Jewish graveyard.

Award-Winning St. Louis Cop Sued for Searching Woman’s Vagina for Drugs During Routine Traffic Stop

St. Louis police pulled a car over for making a U-turn, forcing a passenger out of the car, handcuffing her, then pulling her pants and underwear down as an officer probed her vagina for drugs with gloved fingers.
No drugs were found inside Kayla Robinson’s vagina, but she was still arrested on two counts of drug possession because she had already handed them a bag of weed.
But Detective Angela Hawkins believed Robinson had crack cocaine that she was not handing over. And the award-winning officer was sure the crack was hidden inside her vagina.

Missouri Cop Sentenced to Seven Years in Prison for Abusing Boy Will Serve Only 60 Days

A Missouri cop was handed a promotion in March 2015, less than a month after losing his temper and throwing a four-year-old boy against the wall, slamming his head into a cabinet.
Leadwood Police Sergeant Jay R. Bellis also admitted to pulling the boy’s ears, causing them to bleed, because the boy had misbehaved at daycare.
Bellis’ promotion was short-lived, however, as he was arrested on felony child endangerment charges three weeks later, which led to his resignation.

Missouri Police Association Sues Missouri Police Department Over Public Records Violations

A Missouri police association filed a lawsuit against the city of Columbia, accusing its police department of violating the state’s public records law by refusing to provide records in a timely manner, then charging an exorbitant amount for the requested records.
Last summer, the Columbia Police Officers’ Association requested two months worth of email correspondence between Columbia Police Chief Ken Burton and Deputy Chief of Police Jill Schlude.

Missouri Man Remains Imprisoned Despite Police Commissioner and Prosecutor Saying he is Innocent

A Kansas City man who has been in prison for two decades for a double murder has long claimed he is innocent.
And now a Kansas City Police commissioner as well as a former prosecutor who have reviewed his case are also saying he is innocent.
But Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster said it’s too late for Ricky Kidd because he did not appeal it in time.

Missouri Pays $9 Million Settlement to Family of Brandon Ellingson, Man who Drowned while Handcuffed in Custody of Police

The family of a man who fell off a police boat while handcuffed and allowed to drown by the Missouri state trooper operating the boat will receive a $9 million settlement, attorneys announced Thursday.
And there is still a chance the cop will be convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Brandon Ellingson, a 20-year-old college student from Iowa who had been arrested for boating while intoxicated.