A 2021 murder case that caused chaos at the St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office at the tail end of Kim Gardner’s tenure appears to still be causing problems for the prosecutor's office under new leadership.
The murder trial of 18-year-old Jonathon Jones was supposed to start this Monday. Prosecutors filed a motion asking for a continuance in the case, but Judge Scott Millikan denied it.
And so yesterday, the Circuit Attorney's Office filed a nolle prosequi, dropping the case. New murder charges stemming from the same alleged crime have already been filed against Jones.
When Gardner was in charge of the prosecutor's office, the overuse of nolle prosequi filings drew flak from both Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, as well as by activists who criticize the maneuver as keeping defendants languishing in jail or on bond in legal limbo. The tactic allows prosecutors to restart the clock on a case, so to speak, giving them more time to prepare. Prior to Gardner's resignation, an analysis of her office found that more than one-third of all cases ended in the filing of a nolle prosequi.
Prior to the case's dismissal, public defender Cecilia Appleberry filed a memorandum in court Monday saying that her client had a right to a speedy trial and "demands a trial be held immediately" relative to the original charges filed last year. Prosecutors' actions last night eliminated any chance of that.
The case against Jones has had a relatively high-profile history. The alleged crime itself occurred on September 6, 2021, when police found 29-year-old Brandon Scott dead in his car, which was parked on the steps beneath the Arch near Memorial Drive.
Scott's sister April later told the RFT that her brother was killed after a night celebrating with friends downtown because he had just completed course work to get his commercial driver’s license. On his way home he got lost, made a U-turn and then was killed in what April says was an act of road rage.
The case's probable cause statement indicates police have surveillance video of the shooting, which shows two people in the same vehicle opening fire on Scott in his.
At the time of his death, Scott had been supporting his fiancee who was pregnant. Scott's family was outspoken amid the contempt hearing, calling Gardner's handling of the case "backward" and saying the then-circuit attorney needed to resign.
Jones' original trial was supposed to start in April, but Assistant Circuit Attorney Alex Polta didn't show up to court on the first day of that trial. Judge Millikan then issued an order forcing Gardner to explain why she shouldn't be held in criminal contempt for her office's no-show.
Filings made by the Circuit Attorney's Office for that hearing included text messages between Polta and the office's then-Chief Warrant Officer Chris Hinckley in which Polta said he was taking leave. He also told Hinckley of Gardner, “I half expect her to be in jail before my vacation ends.”
At the contempt hearing, Polta took the brunt of the blame for the no-show, albeit begrudgingly. But by the end of the week Gardner was facing new contempt charges related to a different murder trial no-show and by the following week had announced she would resign.
Polta quit the office prior to Gardner's resignation. Since then, the Jones case has been taken over by Terrence J. O’Toole, Jr., a special assistant circuit attorney brought in by Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore not long after Gore was appointed to that role.
Jones remains detained at the City Justice Center.
Another man also charged in the killing of Scott, Mark Perry, 38, is free on bond. Prosecutors filed for a continuance in his case last week as well . It too was denied.
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