ST. LOUIS — St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner’s Office has dropped charges against a man accused of setting a bomb off underneath his ex-wife’s car in 2018.
The move comes less than 24 hours after the I-Team reported allegations that Gardner’s office violated the bombing suspect’s right to a speedy trial.
Note: The video above is from Jan. 11, before charges were dropped.
A spokeswoman for Gardner's office said she could not comment on the case.
Prosecutors charged Dean McBaine with arson, endangering the welfare of a child, unlawful possession of a weapon, and property damage not long after police said he threw a bomb under his ex-wife's car in The Hill neighborhood in St. Louis on Sept. 2, 2018.
Before the state charges proceeded, McBaine was convicted of failure to register an explosive device and sentenced to five years in a federal prison.
In May 2021, McBaine requested a speedy trial on the state charges. The I-Team reported Tuesday that McBaine's attorney alleged Gardner's office missed the 180-day deadline it had to bring McBaine to trial or object, so the state charges against him should be dismissed.
Attorneys were expected to argue the issue during a hearing at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. But Assistant Circuit Attorney Scott Swiney dismissed the charges hours before the hearing was to begin.
Judge Timothy Boyer allowed the victim, Katie Motes, to address the court Wednesday afternoon even though the case has been dismissed.
In an exclusive interview with the I-Team, Motes said she felt “abandoned” by Gardner’s office and the technicality could mean McBaine will be released from a federal prison in December.
Had he been convicted on the four charges Gardner's office issued, he could have faced a maximum of 30 years in a state prison.
Had the judge sided with the defense, the law forbids prosecutors from refiling charges should a judge determine someone's right to a speedy trial were denied.
Now that the judge isn't the one deciding whether to drop the charges, it's possible to refile them. Still, defense attorneys could argue McBaine’s right to a speedy trial was violated should the charges get refiled.
Up until Wednesday, prosecutors appeared ready to oppose the defense’s motion to dismiss the case. On Dec. 9, Swiney filed a motion alleging McBaine’s request for a speedy trial was not filed properly, and filed another motion Tuesday afternoon.
Swiney and a victim's advocate called Motes hours before the hearing to tell her the charges had been dropped. Motes recorded the call and shared it with the I-Team.
Swiney told Motes he was caught off guard by Gardner's office's decision to drop the charges.
"I was still working on it, yesterday afternoon I filed another motion, so I didn't really know it was coming, but I found out this morning," Swiney told her.
She asked why the charges were dropped, but Swiney declined to elaborate.
"When it comes to those decisions, we don't always have all their reasons," he said. "And I'm just I'm not comfortable speculating."
Motes also asked Swiney whether the charges would be refiled.
"I don't anticipate that," Swiney said.
"Why?" Motes asked.
"Uh, again, I'm not really, I wasn't the one who made the decision and I don't feel comfortable speculating," he said.
Motes said she was happy Boyer allowed her to speak during Wednesday's hearing.
"I know it didn't make any difference, but hopefully down the road somebody will look back on this and it'll be documented that he has done this to children and he is violent and he's dangerous," she said.
Below is the impact statement from Katie Motes: