Local News

Another Prosecutor Leaves St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner’s Office | St. Louis Metro News | St. Louis

Published

2 years ago

May 1, 2023

[ad_1]

click to enlarge Courtesy photo Former assistant circuit attorney Alex Polta

A few days after a judge called the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office a “rudderless ship of chaos,” another violent crimes prosecutor is off the boat.

Assistant Circuit Attorney Alex Polta has parted ways with Kim Gardner’s office, leaving the city’s violent crimes unit with only three prosecutors remaining, according to a document shared with the RFT.

Polta has been with the CAO for more than six years. Among his high-profile cases was the prosecution of Soulard bar owner Josh Lundak, who shot and killed an unarmed man in McKinley Heights in 2020.

In early April, Polta took extended medical leave, seemingly with the blessing of the office. Text messages showed that when Polta told chief warrant officer Chris Hinckley about the planned leave, Hinckley texted back, “Be/get well.”

However, a few weeks later, when no one showed up to the first day of a murder trial in a case assigned to Polta, Judge Scott Millikan threatened to hold Gardner or someone else from her office in contempt of court.

Responding to Judge Millikan, Gardner’s attorneys wrote in court filings that no one in her office could have known about the trial starting “with the possible exception of Mr. Polta.”

At an April 24 hearing before Judge Millikan, Polta appeared in court and said, “There really is no excuse for nobody showing up for trial” but he also indicated his supervisors were well aware he was on leave.

Ultimately there was no finding of contempt in that case — though Gardner’s office saw a different outcome in another contempt hearing handled by a different judge three days later.

The text messages released between Polta and Hinckley as part of the contempt filings also showed Polta telling his supervisor that he half-expected Gardner to be in jail by the middle of May. What might have proven equally uncomfortable for office relations is that, while on leave, Polta was the subject of a KSDK article stating he was mulling a run for Gardner’s job.

On Thursday, Gardner sent Polta a letter, a copy of which has been obtained by the RFT. In it, the circuit attorney tells Polta that he was never approved to take leave, “yet you have not reported to work and have failed to cover assigned duties.”

The letter goes on to say that Polta had until 5 p.m. Friday, April 28, to either resume his duties as normal or to provide documentation supporting his leave.

The letter concludes: “If you do neither of the above, we will assume that you have abandoned your position with the Office, and we will process your resignation accordingly.”

At 4:21 p.m. Friday — a bit shy of that 5 p.m. deadline — Gardner sent a terse message to her office: “Team: We want to wish Alexander Polta well on his new endeavors.”

When asked by text what those new endeavors were, Polta replied, “The future is vast.”

According to documents sent to the RFT, the three prosecutors remaining in violent crimes are Srikant Chigurupati, Chris Desilets (who is facing a contempt of court charge after twice failing to show up for court hearings), and Adam Field.

We welcome tips and feedback. Email the author at [email protected] or follow on Twitter at @RyanWKrull. Coming soon: Riverfront Times Daily newsletter. We’ll send you a handful of interesting St. Louis stories every morning. Subscribe now to not miss a thing.Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

[ad_2]

Source link

Local News

Fenton Man Charged in Sword Attack on Roommate

Published

12 months ago

May 22, 2024

Natural Bridge

[ad_1]

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.

[ad_2]

Source link

Local News

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

Published

12 months ago

May 22, 2024

Natural Bridge

[ad_1]

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.”

[ad_2]

Source link

Local News

St. Louis to Develop First Citywide Transportation Plan in Decades

Published

12 months ago

May 21, 2024

Natural Bridge

[ad_1]

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.”

[ad_2]

Source link