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St. Louis Judges Aim to Hire Court Security, Supplanting Sheriff | St. Louis

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click to enlarge RYAN KRULL Sheriff Vernon Betts at the Carnahan Courthouse downtown.

St. Louis Sheriff Vernon Betts allegedly once bragged to a deputy that a judge on the 22nd Circuit Court was so scared of him that Betts could tell the judge “to shit in the middle of the court building” and he would.

But a new letter drafted by the court’s presiding judge suggests that whatever power the sheriff had over the judges has waned. In a letter to the sheriff dated Tuesday, a copy of which was obtained by the Riverfront Times, Circuit Judge Elizabeth Hogan says that the sheriff’s office is likely to be relieved of some courtroom security duties and that the court itself will hire 36 bailiffs to “provide daily security to the courtrooms, the jury room, the grand jury, the juvenile courtrooms, and treatment court.” And Betts — whose office has historically handled those duties — is not happy.

The reason behind the change is the judges’ contention that there should be a deputy in the courtroom any time anyone else is present, even if it is just a clerk and there is otherwise no court in session. 

But Betts says he doesn’t have the manpower for that. 

According to a previous letter Hogan sent Betts in September, the courts buildings downtown have seen a number of “security breaches resulting in theft, vandalism and physical disruption and these have occurred outside a formal hearing, and when the courtrooms have been left without security.” 

In August 2022, for example, a south city woman was charged for trying to swipe a judge’s laptop out from under his bench while there was no court in session, as the Post-Dispatch reported at the time.  

Reached by phone this morning, Betts tells the RFT about the letter from Hogan, “They just came to me yesterday with that malarkey.”

Betts says the circuit court judges are trying to take over the sheriff’s office. 

“The judges have got their panties in a bunch and have caught themselves being slick,” he says, adding, “I know in my heart of hearts these judges want to run the sheriff’s department. And it’s not going to happen.” 

Betts acknowledges that his department is short-staffed, “like everybody else in law enforcement.” He says he’s lost 35 deputies this year, with many receiving their Peace Officer Standards and Training certification and then jumping ship to the police department or another law enforcement agency. 

“I’m losing people left and right. Because I’m so short-staffed, I got to do some juggling with my staff,” Betts says. 

He says that both the clerks’ desks and judges’ benches have panic buttons, and if they’re pushed, a deputy will show up “in an instant.”

He adds that if he had a higher budget and no staffing issues, “I’ll put a deputy in a courtroom all day wasting taxpayers’ money, doing nothing on the telephone,” if that’s what the judges want. 

A letter drafted by Betts to the judges in July states that although the sheriff’s office is authorized to have 170 deputies, only about 80 are present in the court on any given day. 

To that, Hogan replied in September, “It remains unclear to the court the reason that almost half your employees do not appear for work.”

“That Elizabeth Hogan is killing me,” Betts says. 

It’s worth noting that on any given morning, sheriff’s deputies in uniform can be spotted working secondary security jobs at everywhere from Schnucks stores to Walgreen to coffee shops in Soulard. 

Attorney Terry Niehoff, a regular presence at the buildings of the 22nd Circuit Court, says the quarrel between the courts and the sheriff’s office is indicative of city-wide dysfunction. 

“The worst part about the city is the siloes,” Niehoff says. “The sheriff’s office, the police, the courts, the jail. They’re always fighting. They all hate each other.”

We welcome tips and feedback. Email the author at [email protected] or follow on Twitter at @RyanWKrull. Subscribe to Riverfront Times newsletters.Follow us: Apple News |  Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Or sign up for our RSS Feed

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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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