ST. LOUIS — There are three attorneys now juggling close to 500 felony cases in the St. Louis circuit attorney’s office, so what’s happening to the cases assigned to those who have recently resigned or taken abrupt leaves of absence?
5 On Your Side spent most of Monday in the courthouse and learned two of three murder trials did not proceed.
One resulted in a judge giving St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner seven days to tell him why she shouldn’t be put in jail, pay a fine or both for being in contempt of court after no one from her office showed up for trial.
One of the Assistant Circuit Attorneys who resigned Friday wrote in her resignation letter that the staff feels as if Gardner is throwing them under the bus in her responses to the Missouri attorney general’s petition to remove her from office.
Gardner is expected to appear in court Tuesday for the first hearing in that case, which Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey filed not long after a 17-year-old girl in town for a volleyball tournament was struck by a car in February by a man who had violated his bond nearly 100 times. She lost both of her legs.
Several judges told 5 On Your Side Monday two additional prosecutors have told them they have given their resignation notices to Gardner, and they are not sure what will become of their cases either.
Gardner's office has not yet responded to 5 On Your Side's request for comment. She has said she will not comment on personnel matters.
In an email Gardner sent to her staff Monday obtained by 5 On Your Side, Gardner wrote:
"As we enter a new week, by now you are aware that we have received notices of resignation from your colleagues. This is an opportune time to reach out and express my profound gratitude to each of you."
She then cited a portion of her response to Bailey's lawsuit, which read:
“To be clear: Ms. Gardner is not in any way agreeing with Mr. Bailey that an assistant circuit attorney or other subordinate actually committed any misconduct at all, let alone what he alleges, let alone that what he alleges of her subordinates is even actionable misconduct within the meaning of (the statute) per the standards cited above. It is not."
"Ms. Gardner’s point is that as a matter of law, any misconduct Mr. Bailey does allege of her subordinates, all of which she expressly denies, nonetheless cannot be attributed to Ms. Gardner for purposes of an ouster."
Gardner then continued: "I emphatically refute the suggestion that I am throwing my staff under the proverbial bus.”
Here is a summary of what happened in the cases 5 On Your Side attended:
Young mother murdered
On the morning of Nov. 23, 2020, police responded to the 3900 block of South Broadway for a shooting and found 20-year-old Joyce Freeman inside a car with a gunshot wound. She was rushed to an area hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Police said the shooting happened a few blocks away on the 3900 block of Minnesota Avenue, the same block where Freeman lived.
According to the probable cause statement, Freeman was preparing to head to a doctor's appointment with her 4-day-old son and boyfriend, when a Nissan Sentra drove by and fired shots at their car.
Judge Annette Llewelyn called Gardner’s office Monday after no one showed up for Huntley’s trial by 9:30 a.m.
“At first it was no one, now it’s Rob Huq is coming,” the judge said. “So we’ll see and we’ll go from there.”
Rob Huq is an Assistant Circuit Attorney who was in another courtroom for the beginning of a different murder trial. Ten minutes later, Assistant Circuit Attorney Chris Hinckley arrived.
He tells the judge he is “here to reiterate the state’s motion to continue this case.”
Before her resignation Friday, Assistant Circuit Attorney Natalia Ogurkiewicz filed a motion to continue the case.
Defense attorney Raphael Morris objected, noting his client has been sitting in jail for two years and shouldn’t have to do so any longer just because the state isn’t ready to proceed. The trial was already continued in March.
He asked the judge to release his client on bond after Hinckley said the office will refile the case should the judge dismiss it.
That would then start the clock over again for Huntley.
The judge asked Hinckley to call Victim Services to find out whether the victim’s family has been told what’s happening in the case. Hinckley returned, and said an investigator told him the victim’s family chose not to come to court Monday because they were told it would get continued.
The judge then set a bond reduction hearing for Friday to ensure the victim’s family can be informed.
“I’m granting this motion for a continuance reluctantly and setting this case for trial June 12,” Llewellyn said.
She then told the bailiff to call the jury supervisor and tell them they no longer need a jury for the trial.
Morris told 5 On Your Side his client is eager to prove his innocence.
"It's an unfortunate situation for the citizens of St. Louis who expect for this system to work and it's failing everyone, and something needs to be done," he said.
Murder victim crashes onto Arch Grounds
Jonathan Jones, now 18, was 16 years old when he was accused of killing Brandon Scott, who crashed his car on the Arch Grounds in September 2021 after being fatally shot.
His trial was scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Monday, but by 10:30 a.m., no one from the Circuit Attorney’s Office showed up to Judge Scott Millikan’s courtroom.
Jones’ attorney, Assistant Public Defender Cecilia Appleberry, asked the judge to dismiss the case against her client for failure to prosecute and release him on bond.
The judge said he would take those motions under advisement “due to the serious nature of the charges,” and said he would be filing an order giving Gardner one week to explain to him why she shouldn’t be held in jail, pay a fine or both for being in contempt of court.
In his order, Millikan noted how the Court and defense attorney has not received any information from the Circuit Attorney’s office regarding the case. Assistant Circuit Attorney Alex Polta had been the attorney of record on the case but has taken a leave of absence from the office for at least the next few weeks.
“This conduct thwarts and defeats the authority of the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis,” Millikan wrote.
Man barricades himself following fatal shooting
Stanley Barge was the only trial to begin as scheduled Monday.
Barge is accused of shooting 38-year-old Shawn Hunt on July 15, 2022 in the 4800 block of Leduc Street before barricading himself in a nearby home. Police say Barge admitted he shot Hunt following a dispute between them.
Polta was also listed as the attorney of record in this case, but Assistant Circuit Attorneys Rob Huq and Sean O’Hagan appeared Monday. They were assigned the case on Friday – a point Judge Theresa Counts Burke mentioned during the pretrial hearing just before jury selection got underway.
She told the jurors to expect to be in court until at least Thursday.
Attorneys picked the jury in about 20 minutes.
They were the only jurors who didn’t get sent home out of about 90 who were called in.
Editor's note: An earlier version of this story contained an incorrect spelling of Jonathan Jones.
Full email Gardner sent to her staff on Monday obtained by 5 On Your Side: