News Staff

On Wednesday, October 18, 2023, U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk sentenced a Clark County man who recorded his rape of a young girl and an infant to 80 years in prison. The Kirksville Police Department/Kirksville Regional Computer Crimes Unit (KRCCU) assisted in the investigation that ultimately led to this conviction, executing search warrants and forensic searches of electronics and data. Mark Anthony Davis, 36, pleaded guilty in May to two counts of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. He admitted to recording his rape of the girl when she was under 10 years of age and of an 11-month-old boy. Davis also admitted to possessing videos containing child pornography, including the rape and torture of children. Davis was sentenced to 30 years for each production of child pornography charge and 20 years for the possession charge, which run consecutively. That was the maximum possible prison sentence.

Four people were injured, including two children, in a two-vehicle crash in Randolph County yesterday. The Highway Patrol says it happend on U.S. 63, a mile south of Jacksonville. 21-year-old Tyler Callahan was driving a 2004 Peterbilt 378 Tractor Trailer northbound, and slowed to make a turn, and was hit in the rear by a 2011 Nissan Rogue driven by 29-year-old Mercedes Simmons of Moberly, Missouri. Simmons, along with a 41-year-old passenger from Moberly, suffered serious injuries. A two-year-old male child and five-year-old male child in the Nissan suffered minor injuries. All four were taken to University of Missouri Hospital. None of those injured was wearing a safety device. Callahan was not injured.

A two-vehicle wreck in Macon County left one person dead on Saturday morning. The Missouri State Highway Patrol says 18-year-old Cassie Foote of Elmer, Missouri, was driving a 2003 Buick Century on northbound U.S. 36 at Major Avenue, five miles east of Macon, when her vehicle traveled into the path of a 2024 Peterbilt, which was headed eastbound. Foote was pronounced dead at the scene.

A fatal wreck in Marion County late last week. The Missouri State Highway Patrol says it happened on Route MM in Hannibal at 11:37 in the morning on Friday. The driver of a 2022 Winnebago, 31 year old Mathew Sims of Hannibal, tried to pass another vehicle, and hit a 2018 Jeep Wrangler, driven by 32 year old Tyler White of Hannibal. Sims was pronounced dead at Hannibal Regional Hospital. He was wearing a seat belt. White suffered moderate injuries and was taken by Survival Flight to University Hospital in Columbia. He was not wearing a seat belt.

The Macon County Health Department says they are ready for drive-thru flu clinics in Bevier and Atlanta today. They will be in Bevier from 9:30-11:30 am at the ball field. Then they will be in Atlanta from 2 until 4 p.m. outside the Atlanta community building. Please bring your insurance card if you have it; we will have flu vaccine available for those who are uninsured. If you have Medicare, be sure to bring your red, white, and blue Medicare card and any advantage plan or supplement plan card you may have. They will have flu vaccines for adults, including high-dose available for those who are 65 and older. We will also have the updated fall COVID-19 vaccine.

Kirksville police say A 38-year-old Chicago man was arrested in Kirksville Tuesday for Financial Exploitation of the Elderly or Disabled. On October 6, 2023, a local elderly resident reported being the victim of a telephone scam. The scammers continued to contact the victim, and Kirksville Police Department detectives took over communications with the suspect. With the assistance of a local bank, KPD detectives posed as the victim and set up a meeting with the suspect, where the suspect expected to collect another large sum of cash from the victim. On the evening of Tuesday, October 17, 2023, the suspect, later identified as Muhammad Sabar from Chicago, arrived at the meeting place and was arrested for Financial Exploitation of the Elderly or Disabled. The Kirksville Police Department wants to remind everyone that anyone calling and demanding money over the phone is most likely a scam. Hang up and block the number. If you have fallen victim to one of these scams, report it immediately.

Missouri Commissioner of Education Margie Vandeven announced she will be stepping down from her position effective July 1, 2024. She has served as the Commissioner of Education for more than seven years, from January 2015 to December 2017, and again January 2019 to present. Commissioner Vandeven said she announced her resignation now to give the State Board of Education ample time to complete the process of finding a successor, pledging to work tirelessly in her final months on behalf of Missouri students and educators.

Weather permitting, October 24 – 25, Knox County Route K in Baring is scheduled to close temporarily for work on the BNSF Railroad crossing. The road will be closed 0.78 miles east of Missouri Route 15 beginning at 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 24 and will reopen at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 25. Motorists will need to use alternate routes during this work. For more information on this and other projects in your area, you can visit us online at www.modot.mo.gov/northeast, or call our customer service number at 1-888 ASK MoDOT (275-6636).

A 36-year-old woman from Kahoka was taken to Scotland County Hospital after a wreck in road construction yesterday. The Highway Patrol says Tressa Boyd was driving a Buick Enclave on U.S. 136 four miles west of Wayland, when she hit the back of a Peterbuilt while stopped in road construction. Boyd suffered serious injuries.

A man from Huntsville, Missouri, was seriously injured in a wreck on Highway JJ, two miles west of Moberly. 34-year-old Leland Coonce was driving a Toyota Camry, when he ran off the left side of the road and hit a tree. His vehicle was totaled. He was taken to University of Missouri Hospital. He was not wearing a seat belt.