Briefly 7/19/18

Democrats appeal ruling on lt. governor

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Democratic Party is appealing the dismissal of its lawsuit challenging a governor's ability to appoint a lieutenant governor.

The appeal was filed Tuesday. The party has argued ambiguity in Missouri's constitution and law mean lieutenant governors can only be elected, not appointed.

A Cole County Circuit judge ruled last week the party did not have standing to challenge Gov. Mike Parson's recent appointment of Mike Kehoe as Missouri's lieutenant governor. The judge also said governors have the constitutional ability to fill the executive branch's No. 2 position, a matter that has been open to debate for the past several decades.

Both Parson and Kehoe are Republicans.

Hospital releases shot state trooper

MANSFIELD, Mo. -- The Missouri State Highway Patrol said a trooper who was shot in southwest Missouri has been released from the hospital.

Patrol spokesman Sgt. Jeff Kinder said the trooper was shot Wednesday morning on a county road near Mansfield in Wright County.

Crewse was responding to a call about a suspicious vehicle when someone in the vehicle got into a gunfight with him and Mansfield police officers.

KYTV reported Kinder said the trooper, 39-year-old Robert Crewse, was grazed in the head by two bullets. He was released from the hospital Wednesday afternoon.

Kinder said the suspect was shot several times and was hospitalized in Springfield. His identity and condition were not available.

15 people indicted in housing complex

ST. LOUIS -- A federal indictment unsealed Wednesday accuses 15 people in a wide-ranging and sometimes fatal drug ring based out of a public housing complex in St. Louis.

Three of the suspects are accused of fatally shooting a man, and authorities say two other people died from lethal doses of fentanyl that was sold and distributed as part of the conspiracy.

The U.S. attorney's office in St. Louis said all 15 suspects have been arrested.

U.S. Attorney Jeff Jensen said the crimes were centered at the Clinton-Peabody public housing complex and involved the distribution of fentanyl. Jensen said the arrests likely have dismantled the drug ring.

Man charged in two St. Louis homicides

ST. LOUIS -- A St. Louis man is charged in two killings, including the fatal shooting of a fellow passenger on a bus.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported 36-year-old Talib Ziyad is jailed without bond and charged with two counts of first-degree murder. He is accused of fatally shooting 30-year-old Rachaud Grayer at a liquor store July 5. Authorities say the motive wasn't clear.

On Saturday, 35-year-old Kenneth Pointer was fatally shot. Police say Pointer was first shot while on a MetroBus in the suburban St. Louis town of Cool Valley. He got off the bus to try and escape but the shooter fired more shots, killing him.

Stray bullet injures care center patient

ST. LOUIS -- A resident of a St. Louis residential care center is recovering after a stray bullet came through the window of his room and struck him in the hip while he was napping.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported the shooting happened Tuesday at Union Manor Residential Care center. The 66-year-old victim was treated at a hospital and is back at the care facility.

Owner Alma Cook said the man was taking an afternoon nap in his second-floor room when two motorists were driving by while apparently shooting at each other. Cook says a bullet came through a window and hit the victim in the hip.

Police have no suspects.

-- From wire reports