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Post-Dispatch Wants to Appeal Prior Restraint in Cop Killer Case | St. Louis Metro News | St. Louis

Published

2 years ago

September 28, 2023

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Courtesy Kara Wilson Last week, a judge barred the Post-Dispatch from publishing information from a report that had been accidentally made public.

Attorneys for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch want to appeal a judge’s ruling that bars them from publishing information based on an alleged cop killer’s mental health evaluation until the trial is complete — but they face a procedural hurdle before they can even do that.

That’s because St. Louis Judge Elizabeth Hogan failed to make her order barring the paper from publishing permanent, and temporary orders, no longer how long they’re extended, cannot be appealed.

In a motion filed late last week, the Post-Dispatch’s attorney Joseph Martineau asked Judge Hogan to convert the preliminary injunction into a permanent one so he could appeal it.

“I don’t make the law, but there’s no appeal for a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction,” Martineau tells the RFT.

The two parties met again in court yesterday to make their cases.

At issue is the ruling Judge Hogan made last week, but the case began in May, when a mental health evaluation of Thomas Kinworthy was accidentally made public. Kinworthy is accused of killing St. Louis police officer Tamarris Bohannon in the Tower Grove South neighborhood in August 2020, and the mental health evaluation was conducted as part of a defense of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.

Post-Dispatch reporter Katie Kull noticed the report was publicly available and called the public defender’s office to inquire. The public defender’s office asked Judge Hogan to issue a temporary restraining order barring publication of any material from the report, which she did in May. Last week, Judge Hogan officially extended that order until the conclusion of Kinworthy’s trial.

Hogan’s order is an unusual one. As lawyers for the newspaper have pointed out in their filings, courts usually only practice “prior restraint” — the legal term for a court blocking what would otherwise be free speech before it even takes place — when the speech involves “issues of grave national security or significant threats to public safety.” Last week, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) issued a statement saying they were “extremely concerned” about the judge’s injunction.

Martineau wrote in his motion that “given the First Amendment principles at stake,” the newspaper should be able to have the previous ruling reviewed “as expeditiously as possible.”

Lawyers for the public defender’s office opposed the newspaper’s efforts to set up their appeal, writing in court filings that had they known at the previous hearing that a permanent injunction was at stake, they would have introduced additional evidence and witnesses.

The two sides met in court yesterday afternoon and made their cases. Judge Hogan indicated she would rule on the matter no later than next Wednesday.

When told by a reporter that it sounded like the paper was putting up a fight, Martineau responded, “I think it’s a principle worth fighting for.”

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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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