“Leave Kim Gardner alone! Hands off Kim.” “It’s a Legal Lynching!”
Shouts from protestors rang out Tuesday during a Community Justice Coalition (CJC) rally at the Carnahan Courthouse downtown.
At issue is the evolving story related to a Feb. 18 vehicle accident where a criminal defendant, Daniel Riley, caused a crash that led to the double leg amputation of visiting high school volleyball player, Janae Edmondson.
Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner has come under fire for failing to put Riley, who was out on bond for a 2020 robbery, back in jail. The 21-year-old was placed on a recognizance bond, with GPS monitoring by Circuit Court Judge Bryan Hettenbach.
Because Riley had violated conditions of his bond more than 50 times, Gardner has been blamed for not doing enough to have his bond revoked.
Walle Amusa of the Campaign for Human Dignity said during the rally, “The circuit attorney nor any other lawyer in the state of Missouri can impose or revoke a bond.
“In fact, [Gardner] wanted to. She went before the judge to have his (Riley) bond revoked,” Amusa said.
On his “St. Louis Criminal Justice Blog,” St. Louis defense attorney Terry Niehoff, who was Riley’s lawyer on the robbery case, wrote that Gardner’s assistant circuit attorney brought Riley’s bond violations to the attention of Hettenbach.
“Yet, after a bond hearing,” Niehoff wrote, “the judge allowed Riley to remain free.”
Niehoff, who said Gardner has “done incalculable damage to the city,” is clearly no fan.
However, he criticized local media [with a noted exception of KMOV] for not contacting him about his client, Riley, and for making Gardner the sole culprit in the case.
“The prevailing sentiment that’s being reported is that this accident could have been avoided if only the Circuit Attorney’s Office had done their job properly and filed a motion to revoke Riley’s bond,” Niehoff wrote, adding: “But that’s simply not true.”
Niehoff even took some responsibility for a trial date set for Riley on July 18that was dismissed by Hettenbach and refiled by Gardner’s office.
“This was because I thought the state and I had reached a plea agreement,” Niehoff wrote on his blog, adding: “But that deal fell through on the morning of the scheduled trial when we were going to conduct the plea.”
Speakers at Tuesday’s rally said the brunt of blame regarding Riley’s bond revocation should rest on the shoulders of Hettenbach, not Gardner’s.
“You have sitting here an unprofessional, negligent man, who does not deserve to be sitting on the bench,” Amusa said.
“Why do we have a judge sitting in this building today and they’re trying to impeach or demand the resignation of the circuit attorney elected by the people?”
The St. Louis American contacted Gardner’s office for comment, and did not receive an answer before press time.
In a recent interview with TV journalist Roland Martin, Gardner responded to the host’s question of “what’s going on” in St. Louis?
“This was a surprise to my office, to actually be blamed for something that is a criminal process that prosecutors do not control,” Gardner said.
“So, this, to me, is shocking but we know what it is. It’s a politically motivated attack by the unelected attorney general and the governor who, from day one since he’s been in office, has tried to take (away) my duties as the elected prosecutor in the city of St. Louis.”
Attorney General Andrew Bailey was appointed by Parson to replace Eric Schmitt, who was elected to the U.S. Senate in November.
Last week, Bailey gave Gardner an ultimatum to resign or face removal from office. On Monday, Missouri Court of Appeals Judge, John Torbitzky, gave Gardner a 14-day deadline to file her plea or response to the petition and send a copy to Bailey’s office.
During Martin’s interview, Gardner took aim at Missouri House Bill 301 which gives the governor the authority to appoint a special prosecutor to the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office to handle most cases involving violent crime.
The bill that passed in committee was initially written for St. Louis only but had to be “perfected” due to constitutional issues. If passed, the special prosecutor will hold the role for five years and could hire up to 15 attorneys with the state providing the budget.
“This special prosecutor will be appointed to have exclusive jurisdiction in the city of St. Louis,” Gardner told Martin during their interview.
“Many individuals are championing this because, of course, they want to blame the violent crime in the city on the first African American prosecutor in the city and, of course, we know that is a problem.”
Gardner agreed with Martin’s comparison of her troubles with those of another “progressive’ prosecutor, Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby. MarylandGov. Larry Hogan, in 2021, called for an investigation of Mosby’s handling of violent crimes. Additionally, he threatened to appoint a special prosecutor to oversee all violent crimes and pull state funds from Mosby’s office.
Republican Prosecuting Attorneys Eric Zahnd of Platte County and Tim Lohmar of St. Louis County slammed House Bill 301 on Tuesday.
They described the legislation aimed at appointing a special prosecutor to replace an elected prosecutor in murder, assault, armed robbery and vehicle hijacking cases as “unnecessary and counterproductive.”
“That doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense when (the law) provides a mechanism to immediately remove a local prosecutor,” Zahnd told the Missouri Independent.
Gardner will remain in office while Bailey’s petition plays out in court.
“People are asking what’s going on in the city of St. Louis and the state of Missouri,” Gardner said. “Well, we know what’s going on…it’s about voter suppression. It’s about the people in the city having the right to vote for elected officials like the prosecutor.
Pointing out that the 2024 election is coming up, Gardner explained why the attorney general, the governor and others are feverishly trying to remove her from office.
“It’s because I’ve been elected twice and the possibility of the people having a voice, causes them great fear.”
