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Death of St. Louis City Justice Center Detainee Shrouded in Mystery | St. Louis Metro News | St. Louis

Published

2 years ago

August 23, 2023

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click to enlarge City Justice Center Carlton Bernard died on Sunday, according to attorney Mark Pedroli.

A 32-year-old man facing assault charges died in custody of the St. Louis City Justice Center this past weekend, though it is unclear if he passed away at the jail or en route to a hospital.

Carlton Bernard’s death occurred on Sunday, according to attorney Mark Pedroli, who is investigating the death on behalf of Bernard’s mother.

Pedroli says that the jail has told Bernard’s family that he died in an ambulance heading from the downtown jail to a hospital. Pedroli is now trying to verify that information and pin down other specifics as well.

Neither the city’s Division of Corrections nor the Department of Public Safety have relased any public statement about Bernard’s death. Bernard is still listed in city correction’s records as being in custody, though the facility he is listed as being in is “unknown.”

The RFT reached out to the Department of Public Safety for comment and we will update the story when we hear back.

Bernard was locked up on third-degree assault charges, filed as the lowest degree of felony. On March 29 of this year, he allegedly walked up to a woman at Lindell Boulevard and McPherson Avenue in Midtown and said, “Are you calling someone on me?” according to the police probable cause statement. He then pulled one of the woman’s Airpods out of her ear and struck her on the side of her face.

The City Justice Center has been subject to allegations of corrections officers regularly using mace on detainees and brutalizing others. Detainees twice led revolts in 2021, and the city’s own oversight board has called for Corrections Commissioner Jennifer Clemons-Abdullah, who was hired after the 2021 incidents, to be fired.

“Jail should not be a death sentence,” oversight board member Mike Milton tells the RFT. “The devastating reality is, if you are Black, arrested in St. Louis, and the judge decides to detain you pretrial, that could be a death sentence. Since April of 2022, at least 7 people have died in custody at CJC.”

Two days after Bernard’s death, a hostage situation at the city jail dominated local news on Tuesday morning. Around 6 a.m., a group of detainees held a guard against his will and reportedly demanded pizza in exchange for his release.

The hostage situation came to an abrupt end two and a half hours later upon the arrival of a SWAT team who deployed “less than lethal force.”

The Post-Dispatch reported this afternoon that five detainees took part in the hostage scheme, three of whom are in jail on murder charges.

The incident only heightened the bad blood between Clemons-Abdullah and the oversight board. In comments to the Post-Dispatch, oversight board member Darryl Gray called the corrections commissioner’s news conference about the hostage situation “comical” for the lack of information released.

“Whether it is torturing people with chemical agents inside CJC, or avoiding accountability by with holding information from the citizens appointed to oversee the jail, this administration has shown that they believe the people inside the jail are undeserving of treatment as human beings,” Milton says.

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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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