ST. LOUIS — Four trials assigned to prosecutors who no longer work for the St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office were delayed, prosecutors who have left are rethinking their decisions and the governor visited the courthouse as he considers who should replace St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner. And it's only Tuesday.
The Public Defender's Office of Missouri has some of those cases assigned to prosecutors who have resigned in recent weeks. District Defender Matthew Mahaffey described the situation in the 22nd Judicial Circuit as "critical."
"These are human beings, and I think sometimes we see charges and forget that fact, that these are human beings that are innocent until proven guilty," he said. "They have support systems, their families, and when the gears grind to a halt, they are the ones that are most affected."
Mahaffey said he is not aware of any plan to assign prosecutors to cases that are still assigned to prosecutors who have resigned.
"The immediate impact is the inability to have trial dates met," he said. "With the lack of numbers of prosecutors available to try cases, you only have so many that can be in court at one time.
"So we have clients, many who are confined, that are waiting much longer than they normally would to have their speedy trial met and to have their day in court."
A visit from the governor
Gardner announced her resignation Thursday, saying she will step down June 1.
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson will have to appoint a replacement to serve out the rest of Gardner's term, which will end in November 2024.
She has vowed to run for office.
Parson's spokeswoman sent a statement to 5 On Your Side, confirming he met with Mayor Tishaura Jones Monday.
He met with "several leaders" Tuesday in St. Louis and had a conference call with Prosecuting Attorneys and commissioners in the surrounding area, in which he "discussed crime and finding a candidate who values law and order, who can help restore faith in the city's criminal justice system and who represents the community."
St. Louis Sheriff Vernon Betts told 5 On Your Side Tuesday that Parson met with him, several judges and Board of Aldermen President Megan Green at the courthouse Tuesday evening.
Betts said Parson told him he was planning to make a decision on Gardner's replacement in "a few weeks."
Betts said he was meeting with his staff to discuss recommendations to send to the governor.
Cases delayed
Also Tuesday, four cases that were set for trials were continued.
Here is a summary of those cases and what happened:
— Antonio Steed was scheduled to go on trial Tuesday for a weapons charge related to a 2015 incident.
He was charged in 2017.
The case was assigned to former Assistant Circuit Attorney Alex Polta.
On Tuesday, Judge Joseph Whyte continued the case until June.
— Carlton Jones was scheduled to go to trial Tuesday for a first-degree murder charge dating to 2019.
Jones has been accused of shooting 33-year-old Lamont Jones to death during a fight in the 5200 block of Maple.
That case was assigned to former Assistant Circuit Attorney Chris Desilets.
Assistant Circuit Attorney Chris Hinckley appeared before Judge Timothy Boyer Tuesday saying a plea deal was pending, so Boyer continued the case until Friday.
— Randall Jackson had a trial scheduled to begin Tuesday for an involuntary manslaughter charge stemming from a 2022 shootout in the Baden neighborhood that left Mark Burton, 46, dead.
It happened in the 8300 block of North Broadway.
Former Assistant Circuit Attorney Nick Lake was assigned to that case.
He started a job with the U.S. Attorney's Office Monday.
John Washington is Jackson's attorney.
He said two new prosecutors have been assigned to the case, and he believes they are going to lower the charges against his client as Lake was pledging to do before his departure.
"If they don't give me what I want, we go to trial and we let a jury decide what the results are going to be," Washington said.
Washington has been a defense attorney for 20 years. He said the turmoil in Gardner's office hasn't really affected his job much.
"My job is to be ready and prepared for my client no matter what the circumstances are," he said, adding that there is high turnover in prosecutor's offices across the region.
Washington said he believes the bigger crisis is a shortage of police officers.
"It doesn't matter who you select as a Circuit Attorney, if the case is bad, the case is bad and one of the problems is there's not enough police officers," Washington said. "You can't get around it. So that comes down to both (Board of Alderman President Megan) Green and it comes to Mayor Tishaura Jones.
"They need to deal with that issue. And that issue is you are going to have to hire qualified disqualify police who bring in good evidence so the case doesn't get dismissed."
Judge Scott Millikan continued Washington's case until May 30.
— Sturgeon Stewart was scheduled to go to trial for a first-degree murder case stemming from the deaths of two people who were killed during a home invasion in the city's Mark Twain neighborhood.
Former Assistant Circuit Attorney Chris Desilets was assigned to that case. Assistant Circuit Attorney Rob Huq appeared in his place Tuesday and asked Judge Rex Burlison for a continuance.
Burlison granted the request but set the case for trial May 22, telling Huq he had already continued the case upon Desilets' request.
Huq said Rufus Tate Jr. will serve as the prosecutor on the case.
Tate confirmed to 5 On Your Side that he has been hired as a special prosecutor for Gardner's office and hopes to remain employed there once she is replaced, too. Tate is a long-time criminal defense attorney.
Effort to remove Gardner immediately
The announcement comes amid a lawsuit Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey filed seeking to remove her from office for willfully failing her duty to prosecute and issue cases.
That case will presumably become moot once she resigns, but Bailey has vowed to keep it going until her attorneys ask to dismiss it and a judge grants that motion.
Monday, Gardner's attorneys filed subpoenas for former Assistant Circuit Attorney Natalia Ogurkiewicz as well as Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, seeking all communications the former prosecutor had with Bailey's office since Jan. 1.
Prosecutors coming and going
Assistant Circuit Attorney Adam Field has rescinded his resignation.
"I want to support and rebuild the office during this difficult transition period," Field said in a statement to 5 On Your Side.
Multiple sources within the courthouse who have spoken to former prosecutors, and the former prosecutors themselves have told 5 On Your Side they are considering returning to the office once Gardner's replacement is named.