ST. LOUIS — Armed robbery charges brought against Daniel Riley in 2022 have been dropped by St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore's office.
Attorney Dan Diemer was reportedly told on Thursday that robbery charges against Riley have been dismissed.
"We appreciate Gabe Gore’s compassion and kindness," Diemer first told 5 On Your Side.
Gore's office confirmed the dismissal to 5 On Your Side, but declined to comment further.
The alleged robbery victim's father, Jim Dandridge, learned from 5 On Your Side Thursday that the charges had been dropped.
"It's a sad day when victims don't get justice," Dandridge said.
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Riley's repeated house arrest violations of the charges amplified the growing spotlight on former St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner in 2023. Riley struck Tennessee teenager Janae Edmondson while violating his house arrest seven months after he was originally charged with that robbery. The collision cost the teenager both of her legs.
Court documents showed Gardner’s office wasn’t ready to proceed with Riley’s trial for the alleged robbery months before the crash, and did not ask for Riley’s bond to be revoked after a combined total of about 90 violations on his GPS tracking device.
During the alleged robbery, Jim Dandridge says Riley and his two co-defendants robbed his son of a gun at gunpoint in August 2020.
"If he had been tried for that case, there's a good chance that girl would still have her legs," Dandridge said.
At one point, Gardner's office entered Dandridge's son as deceased in court records.
Dandridge spoke on his son’s behalf because his son is fearful of Riley and the other two men who pleaded guilty to robbing him.
Dandridge said he called the prosecutor's office for an explanation after learning of the dismissal from 5 On Your Side and was told by Assistant Circuit Attorney Marvin Teer that the decision was made to prioritize other cases given Riley's 19-year sentence for the crash that injured Janae.
"There's a good chance if he would have been convicted that the sentence would have just run concurrent with the 19 years, but I still wanted that conviction on his record," Dandridge said.
Dandridge, a retired St. Louis police sergeant, said his son befriended Riley on Facebook when his son was trying to sell a gun. Dandridge’s son told Riley he would have to come to his house to buy the gun, but Riley pretended to be someone else, Dandridge said.
“He, through social media, indicated that his wife was a nurse, and she was working and he needed a ride to our house, so my son agreed to go pick him up and bring him back to our house so I could do a receipt like you're supposed to,” Dandridge said. “They were waiting for him when he got there.”
Dandridge said three men got inside his son’s car. One man pointed a rifle at him and stole a gun Dandridge’s son carried with him for protection.
Dandridge said when police arrested Riley and the other two men a month after his son was robbed, one of them had Dandridge’s gun on him.
Two other suspects in the robbery investigation have pleaded guilty and are on probation.
Riley was sentenced to nearly 19 years in prison for causing the crash that caused Janae Edmondson to lose her legs.
He was convicted of second-degree assault, armed criminal action, misdemeanor assault and driving without a valid license during a jury trial on March 7. The jury recommended he be sentenced to nearly the maximum sentence on each charge.
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