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Last-Minute Moonlight Ramble Call-Off Led to ‘Harrowing’ Ride | St. Louis Metro News | St. Louis

Published

2 years ago

September 20, 2023

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Cyclists ride into the night at a previous Moonlight Ramble.

On Sunday, organizers of the annual bike ride Moonlight Ramble sent an email to participants apologizing for the event’s cancellation. A third-party security contractor failed to secure the route, the email explained, and drivers had streamed into the course.

But many cyclists decided to ride the ramble anyway — some without any knowledge that the event had been canceled due to lack of security.

The ramble was supposed to start at 11 p.m., but 40 minutes later, Scott Cunningham and a group of friends waited behind a crowd of people for the ramble to start. Other riders started to walk away from the start line and told Cunningham the ride was canceled and to go home.

Cunningham called a hotline set up for the event, and says he was told by two different staffers they had no knowledge of the cancellation. “At this point, a lot of people were leaving,” Cunningham says, but he decided to check his inbox. Organizers had notified cyclists of the event’s cancellation when it was postponed last month over weather conditions, so he figured official confirmation of the ramble’s cancellation could be found there. However, he saw no emails about the ramble.

So Cunningham decided to ride the 11-mile course of the ramble anyway — and, he says, several hundred others did as well.

Another rider, Ed Rich, says he heard an announcement through loudspeakers near the start line that announced the cancellation. Cyclists were told they could ride the course at their own risk, Rich recalls.

Rich decided to ride and it was a “harrowing” experience, he says.

For the first mile or two, Rich says there seemed to be plenty of volunteer staff and security. Signage indicated the correct route, and the streets were adequately lit. But around the halfway mark, Rich says a few cyclists were confused about a part of the route that passed through Laclede’s Landing.

“Some of them were actually riding their bike north on Broadway as if they were going to get on the interstate,” Rich says. “A lot of cyclists were yelling, ‘No, turn around!’”

Later in the route, downtown, Rich says two drivers of four-wheelers and several people on small motorbikes started to “terrorize” cyclists as they surrounded cyclists and popped wheelies. Someone of them circled a police SUV, trying to taunt them into a chase, according to Rich. Police did not engage.

“We were trying to salvage a good time, but these motorized hooligans made a real miserable time of it,” Rich says.

Cunningham notes that drivers made their way onto the route, forcing cyclists into sharing what had been meant to be designated roads.

“There were barricades taken out and cars got onto the course,” Cunningham says. “I think most of the drivers were just confused that there was an event going on. It wasn’t malicious, but it was definitely a problem.”Matt Helbig, CEO of the company that manages the ramble, Big River Race Management, says instructions announced over a PA system by the event’s MC were very clear — the ramble was cancelled due to the compromised safety of the ride. “The emcee made multiple announcements at the start line as people continued to trickle through,” Helbig wrote in an email to the RFT. “I don’t doubt that there were people who did not hear the announcement; people were talking among themselves, people were losing patience. Some left the start corral before the ride was cancelled as they were tired of waiting.”

Event staff tried to get the course secured, Helbig adds, but it was clear they couldn’t accomplish that with the people they had. They decided to cancel around 11:40 p.m. On-ground event staff alerted riders of the cancellation as well the emcee. On the ride after the cancellation, Cunningham noticed security staffers at most intersections, some of whom interacted with cyclists and told them to have fun.

“I’m not sure if they even knew it was canceled,” Cunningham says.

This year’s Moonlight Ramble was the 59th iteration of the event. Rich, who says he’s attended for the last 16 years, says Saturday’s chaos didn’t sour the event for him.

“The ride had officially been canceled, so it’s hard to say who was to blame here,” Rich says.This story has been updated with comment from Matt Helbig.

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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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