St. Louis Circuit Judge Steven R. Ohmer has temporarily removed Sheriff Alfred Montgomery, who has been jailed since Oct. 14, from office until a trial to oust him permanently is held.
“I don’t see how the sheriff’s office can function without his presence,” Ohmer said Wednesday, announcing his determination.
The judge made his ruling despite assertions from Montgomery’s lawyers that he’s been actively involved and making major decisions in his office before he was locked up.
Ohmer’s decision doesn’t resolve Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway’s lawsuit, alleging Montgomery abused power while in office and wasn’t doing his job. If Montgomery loses that lawsuit, he will be removed from office permanently.
Until recently, Ohmer, a retired judge who served on the bench in St. Louis for 30 years, seemed to be Montgomery’s ally. In July when the Attorney General’s office filed a lawsuit to immediately suspend and oust him from office, Ohmer denied the request, saying no crime had been committed. Again in August, when state attorneys asked that the sheriff be ousted after a misdemeanor civil rights charge on another matter, Ohmer said it didn’t rise to the level of immediate removal, either.
Earlier this month, however, after federal prosecutors indicted Montgomery with five new felonies accusing him of tampering with and retaliating against witnesses, a federal judge ordered him jailed, saying he couldn’t be trusted not to tamper further.
Since then, Montgomery’s top deputy, Col. Yosef Yasharahla, was appointed interim sheriff to oversee day-to-day operations. Montgomery, who cast himself as a “reformer” during his run for office, has maintained his innocence against all allegations and charges.
In his ruling, Ohmer ordered Presiding Judge Christopher McGraugh to head the department until an interim sheriff can be named.
Sylvester Brown Jr. is the Deaconess Foundation Community Advocacy Fellow.
Court removes St. Louis sheriff from office while case proceeds
By Sylvester Brown Jr.
St. Louis American
St. Louis Circuit Judge Steven R. Ohmer has temporarily removed Sheriff Alfred Montgomery, who has been jailed since Oct. 14, from office until a trial to oust him permanently is held.
“I don’t see how the sheriff’s office can function without his presence,” Ohmer said Wednesday, announcing his determination.
The judge made his ruling despite assertions from Montgomery’s lawyers that he’s been actively involved and making major decisions in his office before he was locked up.
Ohmer’s decision doesn’t resolve Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway’s lawsuit, alleging Montgomery abused power while in office and wasn’t doing his job. If Montgomery loses that lawsuit, he will be removed from office permanently.
Until recently, Ohmer, a retired judge who served on the bench in St. Louis for 30 years, seemed to be Montgomery’s ally. In July when the Attorney General’s office filed a lawsuit to immediately suspend and oust him from office, Ohmer denied the request, saying no crime had been committed. Again in August, when state attorneys asked that the sheriff be ousted after a misdemeanor civil rights charge on another matter, Ohmer said it didn’t rise to the level of immediate removal, either.
Earlier this month, however, after federal prosecutors indicted Montgomery with five new felonies accusing him of tampering with and retaliating against witnesses, a federal judge ordered him jailed, saying he couldn’t be trusted not to tamper further.
Since then, Montgomery’s top deputy, Col. Yosef Yasharahla, was appointed interim sheriff to oversee day-to-day operations. Montgomery, who cast himself as a “reformer” during his run for office, has maintained his innocence against all allegations and charges.
In his ruling, Ohmer ordered Presiding Judge Christopher McGraugh to head the department until an interim sheriff can be named.
Sylvester Brown Jr. is the Deaconess Foundation Community Advocacy Fellow.