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RFT Reviews the Week: March 13 to March 19, 2023 | St. Louis Metro News | St. Louis

Published

2 years ago

March 20, 2023

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click to enlarge St. Louis celebrated St. Patrick’s Day last week.
MONDAY, MARCH 13 In St. Charles County, prosecutors kick off the capital murder trial of Shawn Kavanagh. Saying, “I just wanted to be with my wife on Valentine’s Day,” Kavanagh killed two of his wife’s friends and one of their seven-year-old sons before stabbing said wife. She survived, but the Post-Dispatch says she endures “lifelong injuries.” In other news from St. Chuck: A jury there found 70-year-old Larry Thomlison guilty of first-degree assault and armed criminal action for shooting an Amazon driver who illegally parked in a handicapped spot. Jaylen Walker, 21, is now paralyzed from the waist down. Thomlison was found guilty of first-degree assault and criminal action, so he’ll probably be out in five years. Further proof St. Charles is a lawless hellhole. Someone summon the Missouri A.G.! Surely a quo warranto could fix this mess.TUESDAY, MARCH 14 Happy 314 Day! U. City High grad Nelly wants to start the “High School Alumni Games,” pitting all the cliques that never got past high school against each other for prizes. Way to make the transplants feel like transplants. Also, the parent company of Bally Sports Midwest files for bankruptcy. They have $8 billion in debt. How do you even run up a tab that big? Major League Baseball says the Chapter 11 filing is an opening to “reimagine” how baseball reaches “an even larger number of fans.” We’ve got a reimagining idea: How about y’all eschew the giant payday and go back to network TV? WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15 Credit Suisse’s stock plunges, and a bunch of other banks have to step in to help First Republic. It feels … jittery out there. At least we finally got some nice weather? THURSDAY, MARCH 16 Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey says he’s found even more dirt on Kim Gardner … surprising precisely no one who’s ever interacted with the Circuit Attorney’s Office. Meanwhile, in Iron County, no less than the sheriff has been arrested, along with two deputies. Supposedly they were part of a kidnapping plot. Also, the Gateway Arch saw a huge increase in visitors in 2022. Here’s the St. Louis Business Journal’s take: “The Arch attracted 42 percent more visitors last year than in 2021, crime could threaten that trend.” We can never, ever have nice things in this town. FRIDAY, MARCH 17 The party is in Dogtown and everybody’s Irish today, if by Irish you mean drunk and disorderly. The (Polish) archbishop is even letting us out of our Lenten restrictions — bring on the corned beef! This being St. Louis, we’re also pleased to report that the day continues to be an excuse to trade views of your boobs for beads that sell three for a buck.
SATURDAY MARCH 18 Dogtown is miraculously cleansed by morning, and yet it’s suddenly freezing in the Gateway City … 25 degrees! There go the magnolias and the daffodils, previously lured by the false promise of spring. In Jefferson City, former Congressman Russ Carnahan is selected as the new chair of the Missouri Democratic Party, replacing Michael Butler, who realized there was more money and less stress in selling all-you-can-drink alcohol (not to mention recording deeds). On the sporting front, the Battlehawks fall to the D.C. Defenders — but CITY SC, shockingly, wins again. They’re now 4-0, and even better, downtown is packed, even on a night that feels like 14 degrees. Now that’s the dopamine hit St. Louis needs!
SUNDAY, MARCH 19 Credit Suisse gets a white knight; banking giant UBS will take over the Swiss institution. But First Republic is still tottering and the whole giant Jenga tower feels close to falling. Back in the dystopian Mayberry known as Missouri, neighbors tell the Post-Dispatch that the man who shot a cop in Hermann on March 13 and later engaged in a lengthy standoff was a “menace.” “He’s going to do something really, really bad,” a neighbor warned the county prosecutor. “It’s going to be on the news in the evening and he’s going to be up there with his rap sheet and everyone is going to be wondering how that guy was on the loose.” More recently, Kenny Simpson was found with bomb-making equipment. Yet he was somehow out free waiting for trial — free to kill a cop at a convenience store. It’s a major scandal. Should the Missouri Attorney General get involved? What about the state legislature? Oh wait … the county prosecutor in Warren County is white. And you can call it coincidence, but the fact remains: They only care when things like this happen in St. Louis.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

8 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

8 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

8 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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