Local News

Shutdown of St. Louis’ ‘Murder Shell’ Offers Guide for Neighbors of Nuisances

Published

1 year ago

April 11, 2024

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The infamous “Murder Shell” gas station in downtown St. Louis is set to close this summer, in part thanks to a little-used state law that attorneys say could be a road map to remedying other nuisances in an expedited manner — and citizens taking action rather than waiting for city leaders.

For decades, the gas station on Tucker Boulevard near Washington Avenue in Downtown West has been a haven for violent crime and open-air drug dealing. According to court filings made in one of the lawsuits against it, the police have received more than 6,000 calls to the Shell since 1990, and the service station has been the site of at least 21 shootings. Last year, an argument that began at the Shell spilled down the street and resulted in an open-air execution that made national headlines.

The gas station’s closure, which will happen on August 1, is the result of two lawsuits filed against it in recent years.

The neighborhood improvement association for Downtown West filed the first one in July 2021, arguing that city ordinances forbade gas stations from operating in the downtown central business district and sought to pull its operating permits. In addition to the legal fight against the gas station owners, the neighborhood improvement association faced pushback from the city itself, which was named as a defendant — and actually argued against the request to eliminate the gas station’s operating permits. (They lost.)

A second lawsuit, brought by people who own property nearby, argued the business was a nuisance. That lawsuit was filed last October, with the property owners being represented by former Missouri Governor Jay Nixon and Paul Puricelli. (Puricelli also filed the suit on behalf of the neighborhood association, too.)

It was brought under a little-used state law that applies only to St. Louis and Kansas City and allows anyone who lives or owns property within 1,200 feet of a nuisance property to sue to remedy the situation.

“That law was a vital tool in our tool chest to get the action that was necessary to make a safer neighborhood,” Nixon says.

Both Nixon and Puricelli say that suits brought under this state law could be a playbook for others in the city who have to deal with nuisance properties nearby and want to deal with them in a timely manner.

The City of St. Louis recently proactively filed suit against a group of locals running what it called an illegal rooming house scheme. But the deeply researched legal case was something of a rarity in a city that’s all too often playing defense even as citizens beg for enforcement action. The Murder Shell shutdown suggests, as long as lawyers are willing to take the case, citizens have tools to do the enforcement work themselves.

“If I were to be a commentator on this, I would say certainly cases like this are the first of what could be a trend of the tool being used,” says Nixon, who joined the firm Dowd Bennett after leaving the governorship. “You can go after personal damages if you win on this.”

In addition to allowing individuals to sue nuisance property owners for damages, they can also sue for attorneys’ fees.

“It really is at a level that as a defendant in one of these situations, you just want to clean things up and get it right to avoid a lawsuit,” says Nixon.

He adds that a tool like this could be more important than ever, especially with, as he puts it, “the Wall Street Journal bringing the hammer down” on downtown St. Louis earlier this week.

Puricelli adds that the wording of the law requires that the court give the suits expedited attention. The lawsuit brought under the state law against the Shell station was filed less than six months ago.

“I think it’s good that this is getting out there and people know about it,” Puricelli says. “People should use it if they’re faced with a nuisance of this kind or any kind.”

In addition to the Murder Shell’s closure, the lot will also be subject to a deed restriction, meaning that the property cannot house a convenience store going forward.

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Fenton Man Charged in Sword Attack on Roommate

Published

1 year ago

May 22, 2024

Natural Bridge

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A warrant is out for a Fenton man’s arrest after he allegedly attacked his roommate with a sword.

Police say that on Sunday, Angelus Scott spoke openly about “slicing his roommate’s head” before he grabbed a sword, raised it up and then swung it down at the roommate.

The roommate grabbed Scott’s hand in time to prevent injury. When police arrived at the scene, they found the weapon used in the assault.

The sword in question was a katana, which is a Japanese sword recognizable for its curved blade.

This isn’t the first time a samurai-style sword has been used to violent effect in St. Louis. In 2018, a man hearing voices slaughtered his ex-boyfriend with a samurai sword. His mother said he suffered from schizoaffective disorder.

As for Scott, 35, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office was charged yesterday with two felonies, assault first degree and armed criminal action. The warrant for his arrest says he is to be held on $200,000 bond.

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Caught on Video, Sheriff Says He’s Ready to ‘Turn It All Over’ to Deputy

Published

1 year ago

May 22, 2024

Natural Bridge

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Video of St. Louis Sheriff Vernon Betts taken by a former deputy suggests that the sheriff has a successor in mind to hand the reins of the department over to, even as Betts is in an increasingly heated campaign for reelection.

“I ain’t here for all this rigmarole,” Betts says in the video while seated behind his desk at the Carnahan Courthouse. “The Lord sent me here to turn this department around and I’m doing the best I can and I think I’ve done a good job. I’ve got about eight months and I’m going to qualify for my fourth pension.”

He goes on, “Right now I can walk up out of here and live happily ever after and forget about all this…and live like a king.”

The sheriff then says his wife has been in Atlanta looking at houses and that the other deputy in the room, Donald Hawkins, is someone Betts has been training “to turn it all over to him.”

Asked about the video, Betts tells the RFT, “My future plans are to win reelection on August 6th by a wide margin and to continue my mission as the top elected law enforcement official to make St. Louis safer and stronger. Serving the people of St. Louis with integrity, honor and professional law enforcement qualifications is a sacred responsibility, and I intend to complete that mission.”

The video of Betts was taken by Barbara Chavers, who retired from the sheriff’s office in 2016 after 24 years of service. Chavers now works security at Schnucks at Grand and Gravois. Betts’ brother Howard works security there, too.

Chavers tells the RFT that she was summoned to Betts’ office last week after Betts’ brother made the sheriff aware that she was supporting Montgomery. It was no secret: Chavers had filmed a Facebook live video in which she said she was supporting Betts’ opponent Alfred Montgomery in the election this fall. “Make the judges safe,” she says in the video, standing in front of a large Montgomery sign on Gravois Avenue. “They need a sheriff who is going to make their courtrooms safe.”

In his office, even as Chavers made clear she was filming him, Betts told Chavers he was “flabbergasted” and “stunned” she was supporting Montgomery.

“I don’t know what I did that would make you go against the preacher man,” he says, referring to himself. He then refers to Montgomery as “ungodly.”

Betts goes on to say that not long ago, he was walking in his neighborhood on St. Louis Avenue near 20th Street when suddenly Montgomery pulled up in his car and, according to Betts, shouted, “You motherfucker, you this, you that. You’re taking my signs down.”

Montgomery tells the RFT that he’s never interacted with Betts outside of candidate forums and neighborhood meetings.

“I don’t think anyone with good sense would do something like that to a sitting sheriff,” Montgomery says.

Montgomery has had campaign signs missing and on at least two occasions has obtained video of people tearing them down. (Chavers notes that the sign that she filmed her original Facebook video in front of is itself now missing.)

One man who lives near Columbus Square says that he recently put out two Montgomery signs, which later went missing. “If they keep taking them, I’ll keep putting them up,” he said.

Betts says he has nothing to do with the missing signs. In the video Chavers filmed in Betts’ office, Betts says that his campaign isn’t in a spot where it needs to resort to tearing down opponents’ signs.

“If you sit here long enough, a man is getting ready to come across the street from City Hall bringing me $500, today,” Betts says. “I’m getting that kind of support. I don’t need to tear down signs.”

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St. Louis to Develop First Citywide Transportation Plan in Decades

Published

1 year ago

May 21, 2024

Natural Bridge

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The City of St. Louis is working to develop its first citywide mobility plan in decades, Mayor Tishaura Jones’ office announced Tuesday. This plan seeks to make it easier for everyone — drivers, pedestrians, bikers and public transit users — to safely commute within the city.

The plan will bring together other city projects like the Brickline Greenway, Future64, the MetroLink Green Line, and more, “while establishing new priorities for a safer, more efficient and better-maintained transportation network across the City,” according to the release.

The key elements in the plan will be public engagement, the development of a safety action plan, future infrastructure priorities and transportation network mapping, according to Jones’ office.

The overarching goals are to create a vision for citywide mobility, plan a mixture of short and long-term mobility projects and to develop improved communication tools with the public to receive transportation updates. In recent years, both people who use public transit and cyclists have been outspoken about the difficulties — and dangers — of navigating St. Louis streets, citing both cuts to public transit and traffic violence.

To garner public input and participation for the plan, Jones’ office said there will be community meetings, focus groups and a survey for residents to share their concerns. The city will also be establishing a Community Advisory Committee. Those interested in learning more should check out at tmp-stl.com/

“Everyone deserves to feel safe when getting around St. Louis, whether they’re driving, biking, walking or taking public transit,” Jones said in a news release. “Creating a comprehensive transportation and mobility plan allows us to make intentional and strategic investments so that moving around St. Louis for jobs, education, and entertainment becomes easier, safer and more enjoyable.”

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