Briefly 10/25/18

Columbia nurse surrenders license after man's death

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- A Columbia woman who admitted to health care fraud in the case of a man whose body was found encased in concrete has surrendered her nursing license.

Forty-nine-year-old Melissa Denise DeLap pleaded guilty in August to health care fraud in connection with the death of Carl DeBrodie of Fulton, whose body was found in April 2017.

The Columbia Missourian reported state records show DeLap surrendered her license Monday. DeLap was contracted to make monthly visits to DeBrodie and three other residents at Second Chance Homes in Fulton, which served developmentally disabled clients.

DeLap acknowledged she falsely documented visiting DeBrodie during months when investigators believe he was dead.

She was paid about $2,500 for the visits. DeLap must pay $106,795 in restitution to Medicaid as a part of the agreement.

Wandering horses cause shutdown at elementary school

SPANISH LAKE, Mo. -- Horses near an elementary school in northeast Missouri caused a brief shutdown at the school after deciding to go on a short romp.

Six or seven horses from the Division Cavalry Brigade barn in north St. Louis County wandered the campus of Larimore Elementary School on Tuesday, causing officials to keep children and staff inside for about an hour.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported the 14 horses of the Division Cavalry Brigade are used to teach Civil War history and serve children and veterans with special needs. Their owner, Terry Crowder, says the horses had visited the school before.

Police were able to coax the horses back to their home, which is about 300 yards from the school.

Crowder believes someone accidentally left a gate to a pasture open.

Landfill operator sues Mallinckrodt for help with EPA cleanup

ST. LOUIS -- The operator of a suburban landfill where an underground fire smolders near illegally dumped radioactive waste is suing the drug maker whose predecessor processed the Cold War-era nuclear material.

Bridgeton Landfill LLC seeks help paying for the $205 million cleanup of the Superfund site in the lawsuit filed Tuesday against Mallinckrodt LLC, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. The suit says Mallinckrodt's predecessor, Mallinckrodt Chemical Works, refined uranium compounds used in the U.S. government's Manhattan Project decades ago at its factory north of downtown St. Louis.

Later, leached barium sulfate from the weapons program was mixed with contaminated soil and used to cover trash at the West Lake Landfill, which is adjacent to the smoldering Bridgeton Landfill. Republic Services, which subsequently acquired both landfills through a merger, has spent millions of dollars to ensure the fire and the nuclear waste don't meet.

Teen charged with felony in assault caught on viceo

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. -- A 17-year-old Missouri boy has been charged with pointing a gun at the head of a kneeling 13-year-old after a video of the incident was widely shared on social media.

Alexander Schrader, of Independence, was charged Wednesday with first-degree robbery for allegedly taking money from the younger teen.

A police detective wrote in charging documents Schrader pressed a semiautomatic handgun against the victim's head Saturday while another teen told the boy to kiss his feet. A video also shows a friend of Schrader punching the victim in the face in an Independence neighborhood. The boy was bruised but refused medical treatment.

The juvenile who punched the boy and another juvenile who recorded the incident also were arrested.

-- From wire reports