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Fields Foods Owner Sued for Fraud, Breach of Contract Over Pagedale Store | St. Louis Metro News | St. Louis

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click to enlarge Sarah Fenske The Fields Foods in Lafayette Square was the chain’s flagship location. The owner of the now-shuttered Fields Foods chain of St. Louis-based groceries is being sued by the nonprofit he partnered with to open a grocery store in Pagedale — with the nonprofit alleging fraud and breach of contract.Pagedale Grocery Development LLC and the nonprofit Beyond Housing filed the lawsuit in St. Louis County Circuit Court late last month. They are suing Goodson along with a number of limited liability companies that he controls.Goodson opened a Fields Foods in partnership with Beyond Housing in Pagedale in March, saying he hoped to bring fresh food to a food desert in north St. Louis County. But the grocery closed just four months later, and the suit alleges that during that its brief operation, Goodson billed the store and the nonprofit for items that the store did not actually receive. The suit refers to his actions as “intentional wrongdoing.”As the suit tells it, the nonprofit’s dispute with Goodson began in September, about a month after Fields vacated the Pagedale property. The lease had held that “all improvements, shelving, refrigerated merchandising units, walk-in freezers, walk-in refrigerators, and other equipment and fixtures” belonged to the Pagedale property, not Fields or Goodson. But after surveying the shuttered store, the nonprofit realized both shopping carts and a meat grinder had been improperly removed from the store. Goodson returned those items at their request. But the suit says their absence prompted a more thorough accounting. At that point, the nonprofit says, they contacted an equipment vendor that Goodson had supposedly purchased items from — items Goodson billed the nonprofit for — and learned that Goodson had canceled the order.When pressed, the suit says, Goodson “admitted … that at least one of the orders for equipment and personal property, and for which Beyond Housing had paid, was never actually received.” The suit continues, “Goodson claimed that he had ‘shopped around’ and found comparable items to those which he represented had been ordered from the vendor, and Goodson promised to get Plaintiffs copies of the invoices for these replacement items. To date, Plaintiffs have not received the promised documentation/invoices for any replacement items.”The nonprofit alleges its missing property is worth $256,960.79. The lawsuit also says that it believes Goodson “failed to maintain adequate records of and procedures for company business and failed to keep corporate funds and assets separate from Goodson’s personal assets” and the other companies he operated. With all of Fields Foods’ locations now closed across the metro, the suit asks that Beyond Housing and the limited liability company it created for Pagedale grocery be given their property back — or be reimbursed for any proceeds from its sale. The suit was filed by Theresa Phelps of Rosenblum Goldhersh on October 25. Neither Goodson nor the companies he represents have yet filed a reply to the allegations. Fields Foods closed its final store, in Lafayette Square, in September. Neither the company nor Goodson have responded to the RFT’s previous messages seeking comment, and the Fields Foods website “contact us” form no longer works.
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Fenton Man Charged in Sword Attack on Roommate

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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

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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

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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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