Riverfront Times

A St. Louis police officer tried to tase a fellow cop who was driving their patrol car down Washington Avenue, according to new criminal charges.

Officer Christopher Childers, 34, attempted zap the female officer with his department-issued Taser on February 26 as they drove near the Thirteenth Street intersection in Downtown West. He was cited for fourth-degree assault following an Internal Affairs investigation, police say.

"The victim was afraid she would lose control of the patrol car," police said in a probable cause statement.

The document was first unearthed by KSDK reporter Jacob Long.

Childers was charged with misdemeanor assault and issued a summons.

The brawny veteran officer is a repeat contender in the annual Budweiser Guns N' Hoses charity event, where cops and firefighters box each other to benefit the BackStoppers.

The police department refused to comment on Childers' job status.…

Andrew McKissick, whose wife was found burning to death Monday in the Metro East, has been charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery and aggravated arson.

The 36-year-old was captured late Monday night in Memphis and has been held in the Shelby County, Tennessee jail as a fugitive from justice.

Police and passersby in O'Fallon, Illinois discovered McKissick's wife, 35-year-old Sherry Billups, in flames next to her Kia Optima about 7:25 a.m. near Family Sports Park, authorities say.…

In an act of selflessness that would bring a tear to the eye of even the most hardened cynic, a Francis Howell Central student reportedly drove an SUV through the front doors of the school early Wednesday morning, resulting in its closure on the very day of ACT testing. The sixteen-year-old, who has not been identified due to his being a minor, is no doubt being hailed as a hero by his fellow students for his courageous act.…

Just days after a late-night fire forced the closure of Goody Goody Diner, another north St. Louis business is stepping in to fill the void.

Matt Quinlisk, the owner of Bel-Nor's Breakaway Cafe (8418 Natural Bridge Road, Bel-Nor; 314-381-3554), says that he has reached out to both kitchen and wait staff and offered them positions while Goody Goody has closed. He's also adding breakfast hours, in hopes of "filling the void" while the diner rebuilds.…

Two years ago, a pair of former high school sweethearts opened a pretzel shop in Affton. Pretzel Pretzel (9614 Gravois Road, Affton; 314-631-8000) has been such a hit, the owners are now doubling down on the pretzel business: They plan to open a second shop on Telegraph Road just south of 255 in June.

A complete build-out is currently underway on the new location, a strip mall storefront at 4338 Telegraph Road.…

When I catch up with Akif Guney it's about 9:30 in the morning and he's walking a sprawling lot of used cars in search of a few low-priced ones he can resell with minimal repair at maximum profit. He's got his eye out for Corollas, Camrys and Altimas.…

Your first clue that Sultan is something special comes courtesy of its dolmas. It's not that their presence is novel; you can find rice-stuffed grape leaves at just about any Mediterranean restaurant.…

In 1972, Aretha Franklin, already one of the greatest R & B performers of all time, decided to return to her roots by recording a live album of gospel favorites not in a concert hall but from the pulpit of a church, backed by the Reverend James Cleveland and a full choir. Recorded on two successive nights in Los Angeles, the performances/services were filmed by Sydney Pollack but left unfinished when the filmmakers were unable to synch the audio recordings to their footage.…

Ethan Hawke has been a dependable presence in films for nearly 35 years, but it was only when he entered his forties — illustrated by Richard Linklater's decade-spanning personal epic Boyhood — that the former juvenile star gained his current status as the reigning king of independent films. Directors know that if he's given a difficult film like First Reformed, he'll provide energy and depth to hold it together.…

As a self-professed comic book nerd and pop culture consumer, Derrick Kilgore is in his zone this spring. Game of Thrones is back on air after almost two years away, and the season's biggest film event — the final Avengers movie — is so important to him that he has an app on his phone counting down the minutes until the premiere.…

The latest music coming from the long-running St. Louis hip-hop band iLLPHONiCS runs at a lean six minutes and 45 seconds, which might not seem like a huge amount of material. But what the new release lacks in quantity, it makes up for in quality, with a special assist from a big name in recording.…

It was a tragedy made to order for a provocative news story. Marcia Johnson, 54, of St. Louis was found brutally murdered in her south city home, and the suspect — her husband, Samuel Lee Scott — had apparently come straight from jail to commit the crime after making bail.…

A former St. Louis cop was sentenced today to five years probation for her role in a crooked chiropractor's bribery scam.

Terri Owens, 57, was paid by Central West End chiropractor Mitchell Davis and wife Galina Davis to provide accident reports.

The couple used the reports to solicit crash victims for services.…

It was bound to happen eventually. Now that local bats are coming out of hibernation, KMOV reports that the first rabid bat of the year has been confirmed by the St. Louis County Health Department.

And while the Health Department takes this opportunity to caution animal owners about keeping their pets’ vaccinations up-to-date, if you follow even basic bat safety, there is really very little reason for humans to worry about contracting rabies themselves.

If you find a bat in your home (alive or dead), stay the heck away from it and call animal control to have them come and catch it.…

Miniature golf, that salve for many a dull summer night, returns to the Sheldon Galleries (3648 Washington Blvd., 314-533-9900) this summer, with creative and challenging holes designed by artists. The indoor golf course will fill the Sheldon's second floor, providing a welcome respite from the summer heat.

Golf the Galleries officially opens Saturday, June 1, with nine all-new holes.…

St. Louis is among the ten best cities for new college graduates in 2019.…

Andrew McKissick, the husband of an Illinois woman who was burned to death yesterday, has been arrested in Memphis.

The 36-year-old was booked into the Shelby County Jail in Tennessee this morning after a multi-state manhunt. 

McKissick's wife, 35-year-old Sherry Billups, was discovered on fire outside of her car about 7:25 a.m. yesterday near Family Sports Park in O'Fallon, Illinois. Passersby and police tried to save her, but she died there.…

St. Louis bites.

A new study by the pest control company Mosquito Squad ranks St. Louis in the top ten nationally for cities affected by mosquitoes. The company looked at the number of services it provided last year, as well as those from its sister company, Thermacell.…

Across the country, states are cutting off access to abortion services, denying women the essential reproductive health care they need. Emboldened by the Trump administration’s Supreme Court picks, conservative lawmakers are growing more and more confident that Roe v. Wade will be overturned — and they’re already taking steps to outlaw abortion when that happens.…

Goody Goody Diner (5900 Natural Bridge Avenue, 314-383-3333), a north St. Louis institution since its opening in 1948, was badly damaged in a fire Monday night, resulting in its indefinite closure.

The Post-Dispatch reports that firefighters arrived on the scene at about 9:40 p.m. to find smoke billowing out of the restaurant. St. Louis Fire Department Captain Leon Whitener tells the daily that the crew had to cut the diner's metal doors to gain access to the building.…