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‘Salacious’ Report at Center of Post-Dispatch Court Battle | St. Louis Metro News | St. Louis

Published

2 years ago

August 17, 2023

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ST. LOUIS CITY JUSTICE CENTER Thomas Kinworthy is suspected of killing St. Louis police officer Tamarris Bohannon.

Last May, the Missouri public defenders office sought a restraining order against the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, seeking to prevent it from publishing information based on an accused cop killer’s mental health evaluation. Attorneys for the public defenders office argued in court today that the restraining order is necessary because the report contains information that they say would be “extremely prejudicial” to the alleged murderer — and contains specific statements he’s made about the crime he’ll stand trial for in January.

The mental health report is of Thomas Kinworthy, who is accused of killing officer Tamarris Bohannon in August 2020 in the Tower Grove South neighborhood. An armed Kinworthy allegedly ran into a house on Hartford Avenue, leading the residents to flee. Kinworthy opened fire on Bohannon when he responded to the scene.

Last December, Kinworthy was ordered to take a mental health evaluation as part of a possible defense of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. That evaluation was conducted by the Missouri Department of Mental Health, and the report was accidentally made public in May. When Post-Dispatch reporter Katie Kull came across it, she called Kingworthy’s public defender Brian Horneyer seeking comment. Horneyer said in court that he responded with “several expletives.”

Judge Elizabeth Hogan issued the temporary restraining order blocking the newspaper from publishing anything based on the evaluation — what is considered an extraordinary remedy, since U.S. Supreme Court precedent holds that the government can only order newspapers not to publish under very rare circumstances. Today’s hearing was to determine if the temporary order should be extended.

Brendan Kottenstette, the attorney representing the Missouri State Public Defender, sought to make the hearing about the secret document even more secret by closing the courtroom to the public. Post-Dispatch attorney Joseph Martineau opposed that measure, arguing that Kottenstette had only filed the motion to close the hearing 23 minutes before it began, saying, “This is a public courtroom and this is a public proceeding.” Judge Hogan ruled the hearing should remain open.

Much of the two-hour hearing was spent with Horneyer himself on the stand articulating why his office felt the evaluation ought to remain out of the public’s eyes.

Horneyer said that the evaluation contains biographical information about Kinworthy, as well as his health history and results of psychological tests. That’s all typical for an evaluation of this type, Horneyer testified. But less common is the fact that recordings of Kinworthy’s jailhouse phone calls were also requested by the evaluator and used as part of the basis of the report. Additionally, the report contains details of abuse that Kinworthy endured in his past, as well as specific information about the offenses for which Kinworthy is charged.

Horneyer said that much of the report’s contents would be inadmissible at trial. His concern is that pretrial publication of the report may taint the pool of potential jurors.

Horneyer said that details in the report are “salacious” and that for the jury, it would be “difficult, if not impossible to compartmentalize.”

Kottenstette himself referred to the report as “very long and very detailed.”

Martineau argued that “prior restraint” — the legal term for a court blocking what would otherwise be free speech before it even takes place — is “a most extraordinary remedy” only upheld in very rare cases.

Judge Hogan did not issue a ruling today, saying that both sides had 10 days to submit any additional filings in the case.

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Fenton Man Charged in Sword Attack on Roommate

Published

12 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

12 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

12 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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