ST. LOUIS — St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore gave his six-month progress report Tuesday morning.
Gore took over as the city's top prosecutor when Kim Gardner resigned.
He shared what he's been able to accomplish in office during his first half year on the job at the Carnahan Courthouse at 10 a.m. Tuesday.
Watch Gore's full progress report here:
Missouri Governor Mike Parson appointed Gore to the position in mid-May, just three days after Kim Gardner's unexpected resignation on May 16. He was one of 18 applicants for the top prosecutor's job.
Gardner stepped down after weeks of battles with Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who was trying to get her out of office.
One judge even described the office under Gardner's leadership as "chaos."
Gardner faced political backlash for her office's response, after Janae Edmondson, a 17-year-old from Tennessee was critically injured after being struck by a car in downtown St. Louis. The suspect, Daniel Riley, had violated his bond various times but was never jailed.
During that scrutiny, Gardner's office was also plagued with short staffing and case backlogs.
When Gore took over more than 250 homicides and more than 3,000 additional felonies were pending. When Gardner resigned, only one prosecutor was left to handle more than 500 serious felony cases.
Gore said his top priority when he took over was staffing, and he's done just that.
Just days into the job, Gore hired four experienced staff members. Within two months into the role, the top prosecutor added 14 key hires, including a new special assistant and five full-time assistant circuit attorneys.
Gore will serve the remainder of the current circuit attorney term, which ends Jan. 1, 2025.
He said he is open to running in the 2024 election, but he hasn't announced his candidacy yet.
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