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St. Louis Jail Bans Phones After Detainee Photo Goes Public | St. Louis

Published

9 months ago

January 5, 2024

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click to enlarge Jordan Cohen A CJC detainee shows a large hernia that his family says went long-untreated in the jail.

One day after media outlets published a photo of a St. Louis City Justice Center detainee with an untreated, cantaloupe-sized hernia, the jail has banned attorneys from bringing in their phones when they meet with clients.

The photo of Kevin O’Shaughnessy was taken by public defender Erika Wurst and given to multiple media outlets yesterday at a bond hearing for O’Shaughnessy. O’Shaughnessy’s sister and mother were at the hearing, asking St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Katherine Fowler to allow Kevin to await his day in court anywhere but the city jail, where they said his mental and physical medical needs were being severely neglected. The family members, along with O’Shaughnessy’s attorney, Jordan Cohen, used the photo as evidence of the neglect.

Now, Matt Mahaeffey with the public defender’s office tells the RFT that attorneys are being barred from bringing their phones into the facility. He says that three attorneys from his office all got the same message: no phones allowed.

“Of course, this is the day after both the Riverfront Times and the Post-Dispatch published stories about an accused person, being held at the jail, who has had grossly inadequate medical attention for very serious mental and physical needs,” Mahaffey says.Department of Public Safety spokesman Monte Chambers tells the RFT that this no-phones rule for attorneys is nothing new. “The Department of Corrections has a strict, long-standing policy for all visitors to adhere to regarding the usage of cellular phones and recording devices. This is not a new policy; it is an existing policy,” he says.However, a sign posted today at the jail reads, “Beginning January 15, 2024, no cellular devices or any type of recording/photography devices will be allowed inside the facility. All previous authorizations for cellular devices are no longer authorized.”
click to enlarge Courtesy Matt Mahaffey Notice posted today at the City Justice Center.

Attorneys bring their cell phones for visits at the city jail because there is no wi-fi there, so the only way to access court documents from the internet is through cellular data. Also, attorneys may need them in an emergency, especially given that they sometimes conduct visits during extended hours at the facility with a roughly 60 percent staff vacancy rate and swelling inmate population (the dashboard that tracks the number of people at the jail appears busted).

To Mahaffey’s mind, the jail’s response is just another example of its reflex to “fight transparency to the utmost degree” when its warts become public — as happened throughout last year as the jail saw a spate of detainee deaths and a hostage situation, and reports of detainees being forced to meet attorneys in only their underwear.

O’Shaughnessy has been in the city jail since June, charged with multiple counts of assault and armed criminal action. He was shot by police officers six times after pointing a rifle at a SWAT team outside his house in the Ellendale neighborhood. He is a diagnosed schizophrenic and yesterday in court, Cohen said he had been trying to commit suicide by cop in June. Yesterday’s hearing resulted in Judge Fowler ordering O’Shaughnessy released to BJC Hospital for evaluation.

Mahaffey says that in some ways O’Shaughnessy is fortunate, as he has two family members with resources dedicated to his well being. His sister is a medical research coordinator at Washington University. His mom is a retired teacher. They have both gone out of their way to document O’Shaughnessy’s experience at the jail and advocate for his needs.

“He also happens to have a dedicated and dogged attorney, and an assigned judicial officer willing to listen,” Mahaffey says. “Oh, and he is a white male.”

But Mahaffey stressed that even though O’Shaughnessy’s case may be unique in its particulars, “every person being held at that jail is being housed in the same reality as he is,” he says.

He adds, “We need to stop listening to the jail administration’s words and start evaluating their actions and inactions. We need to stop listening to the politicians that blindly support them. And we need to stop being okay with innocent-until-proven guilty people suffering and dying in the custody of the state.”

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Fenton Man Charged in Sword Attack on Roommate

Published

4 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

4 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

5 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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