Crime

Sharon Kinne, who fled Kansas City in 1964 after being acquitted of two murders, was the subject of one of the longest outstanding murder warrants in the area. She was convicted of another murder in Mexico in 1964, escaped from prison in 1969 and died in 2022 in Canada.

“She was going to hurt somebody that day. It just happened to be my husband,” says Adrienne Siddens. Her family’s name is on a bill that bans phone use behind the wheel in Missouri.

Pearson has held numerous positions in law enforcement in a career that has spanned 31 years, however, this is the first time he's been a Police Chief. He revealed Saturday at an event hosted by Joplin’s NAACP at the Boys and Girls Club that when interviewing for the position he was “just being himself” because he didn’t think he had a chance of being hired.

Recently southwest Missouri residents have noted on social media of being threatened by gangs of motorcyclists who block traffic and drive recklessly.

Over 3,000 communities throughout the US are currently using Flock, including Wichita, KS, and Tulsa, OK. According to Tulsa’s Flock Transparency website, over 816,000 vehicle plates have been detected in the last 30 days, while the city has had 954 hot list hits. These are vehicles that were either used in crimes or suspected to be used in crimes. Tulsa has 67 Flock cameras.

Whitaker’s death earlier this month was the first homicide in Webb City, Missouri, in 2019. Before that incident, WC Police had not investigated a murder in the city since 2006.

Overall crime based on the number of service calls received by Joplin Police trended downward in 2022. Although there were more reported assaults (454), including assaults on law enforcement (31). At the same time the number of reported robberies declined to 33, a drop of 15 from 2021.

Kastler is being held in Cherokee County, KS on allegations of Attempted Capital Murder, Attempting Killing of a Police Dog, Aggravated Assault on Law Enforcement, Criminal Possession of a Firearm, Criminal Use of a Firearm, Possession of Methamphetamine and Drug Paraphernalia, Fleeing Law Enforcement and several other traffic violations.

Good weather for winter ribbon-cuttings later this week in Joplin

Research behind Top 50 lists can deceptive says MSU Data Analyst