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Family Caught in the Middle of Gardner Contempt Hearing Speaks Out | St. Louis Metro News | St. Louis

Published

2 years ago

April 24, 2023

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click to enlarge RYAN KRULL Brandon Scott’s cousin, Terrell, and sister April outside court this morning.
The imbroglio at the Circuit Attorney’s Office that led to no one showing up to prosecute a high-profile murder case has victim Brandon Scott’s family caught up in the middle. Several of them expressed frustration with city prosecutors outside the courtroom this morning after the trial of one of Scott’s alleged killers was pushed back until June. Scott, 29, was killed in September 2021 on the Arch grounds in what his family says was an act of random road rage. The trial of one of Scott’s alleged killers, 18-year-old Jonathon Jones, was supposed to start last week Monday, but no one from the Circuit Attorney’s Office showed up to prosecute the case. Judge Scott Millikan demanded that a representative from the Circuit Attorney’s Office appear in court this morning and explain why Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner or someone else from the office should not be held in criminal contempt of court. Late last week, court filings from Gardner said that the blame should fall on Assistant Circuit Attorney Alex Polta, who was assigned the Jones case. However, Polta was out of the office on leave when the trial was set to begin. Polta appeared in court this morning along with Gardner’s attorney Michael Downey, Jones and his public defender, Cecilia Appleberry. Numerous members of Scott’s family were in the courtroom as well. Polta told Judge Millikan that he took leave because he’s been suffering from an upper respiratory infection from which he has not yet recovered. “There really is no excuse for nobody showing up for trial,” Polta said. He acknowledged that the case had been assigned to him, but he says he didn’t recognize the defendant’s name when Chief Warrant Officer Chris Hinckley texted him about it after Polta went on leave. Polta said that he told Hinckley “It was the office’s responsibility to have someone here.” Judge Millikan said that he wanted to hold the contempt hearing because, “What I’m trying to do is bring some semblance of order to this circuit.” The judge went on to tell Polta, “Between you and Mr. Hinckley, something fell through the cracks.” Millikan added that “at the end of the day” Gardner bore some responsibility as well. Judge Millikan ultimately opted to not hold anyone in contempt. He then had to rule on whether or not Jones, who has been in jail since he was 16, should be free on bond while his case continues to work its way through the courts. Judge Millikan acknowledged that it’s getting more and more difficult for judges to balance the rights of defendants to speedy trials with the wishes of victims’ families as well as the more general concerns of public safety. Millikan ordered Jones to remain in custody pending his trial, which is now set for June 5. Despite the media attention the Jones case has received in the past week, as well as the broader turmoil in Gardner’s office, things were relatively placid in the courtroom this morning. However, when Polta first entered the courtroom, Gardner’s attorney, Downey, was seated at the prosecutor’s table. Not wanting to sit at the same table as his boss’ attorney, Polta pointedly ordered Downey to “Get over there.” Downey ended up seated in the front row for the hearing. Emotions ran a bit higher outside court when Scott’s family spoke to media. Scott’s mother, Lana Morris, said that after her experience with the two cases of the men accused of killing her son, she feels that Gardner “needs to be out of office.” When asked about last week’s no-show, Terrell Herndon, Scott’s cousin, said, “That’s kind of backwards to me … Why wouldn’t you want to get this out of the way?” Scott’s sister April said that when her brother was killed, he had just completed a three week course to get his CDL and was supporting his fiancee who was pregnant. Scott’s child will be two-years-old in July. click to enlarge RYAN KRULL Members of Brandon Scott’s family outside court this morning.
On the night Scott was killed, he was downtown celebrating with friends. “On his way home, he was trying to get on the highway, and he accidentally made a wrong turn. He was just trying to come around and bust a U-turn to get on the highway,” April said. The family described Scott’s killing as an act of road rage, saying he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. April stressed that her brother didn’t know his alleged killers. “He’s never been in the streets,” she said. “He’s just a family man. … Good people who do right, they don’t even get justice when bad things happen to them.” “My son was a great son, and I can shout it to everybody,” Morris added. An Illinois man named Mark Perry is also facing murder charges stemming from the killing of Scott. He was allowed to await trial free on bond in December 2021. Since then he has racked up more than 20 GPS monitoring violations. 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

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Fenton Man Charged in Sword Attack on Roommate

Published

7 months 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

7 months 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

7 months 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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