State briefs 12/29/17

$7.3M lottery ticket remains unclaimed

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Lottery is looking for the winner of a $7.3 million Lotto jackpot. The lottery announced Thursday the winning ticket was purchased from the Brooklyn Mart in Kansas City. It contains the number combination of 5, 11, 14, 30, 33 and 34. The jackpot number was drawn Wednesday. The winner has until June 25 to claim the prize.

New trial sought for convicted killer

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A former middle-school football coach convicted of kidnapping, raping and killing a 10-year-old girl is asking for an acquittal or a new trial. The Springfield News-Leader reported attorneys for 49-year-old Craig Wood argue he didn't get a fair trial in a motion filed earlier this month. Jurors found Wood guilty last month of first-degree murder in the February 2014 death of Hailey Owens but were unable to reach a unanimous decision about whether to recommend the death penalty. A judge is expected to decide Jan. 11 whether Wood should be sentenced to the death penalty or life in prison. But first, the judge must rule on the motion for a new trial. Arguments in the motion include too much evidence was allowed into the trial.

Man accused of underwear theft bid

WASHINGTON, Mo. -- Police said an eastern Missouri man told officers he has an "underwear fetish" and admitted to sneaking into a home to try to steal a pair. The St. Louis Post- Dispatch reported 34-year-old Cody Hassler, of Washington, Missouri, was charged Wednesday with first-degree burglary, first-degree stalking and stealing. Bond was set at $75,000. Police said Hassler admitted to sneaking into the house through an unlocked basement door in October while a mother and her teenage daughter were sleeping and taking a pair of underwear from the laundry room. The teenager awoke when she heard footsteps, and police were called. Officers found a pair of underwear that apparently had been dropped when the suspect fled. Hassler also admitted to looking through bedroom windows.

NAACP opposes Westport effort

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Kansas City's NAACP branch said it opposes a weapon-screening effort in the Westport bar and entertainment district that involves privatizing some sidewalks in the area. The Kansas City Star reported the civil-rights organization plans to formally announce its opposition at a news conference today. Last week, the city council voted in favor of a pair of ordinances that would allow the city to relinquish its ownership of sidewalks along the district's main corridors to the Westport Community Improvement District. The action will allow metal-detection checkpoints on weekend nights, starting in the spring. Opponents worry the approach could lead to discrimination and sets a precedent of giving away public assets to private interests. NAACP officials said the ordinances may "increase civil rights violations, and increase racial tension."

-- From wire reports