Kim Gardner steps down as St. Louis prosecutor 2 weeks sooner than planned

Embattled St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, who this month announced she would resign effective June 1, said Tuesday she is leaving office immediately, ending a turbulent tenure marked by frequent criticism, especially from Missouri’s Republican leaders.

The sudden announcement created confusion about who is running the prosecutor’s office in Missouri’s second-largest city. A statement from Gardner’s office said she has been working with St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell on the transition so his office can take over city cases “to prioritize public safety.”

But Republican Gov. Mike Parson, who will appoint a replacement, told reporters that he’ll announce his pick by Friday, and that until that person takes over, the Missouri attorney general’s office will operate the circuit attorney’s office, starting Wednesday.

Parson met earlier Tuesday with Black clergy leaders who urged him to appoint a Black person to the job. The governor was non-committal.

“It’s about who I think will go in there and do the best job for the city of St. Louis,” he said.

Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey said in a statement that Deputy Attorney General Bill Corrigan and other lawyers will be sent to St. Louis “to immediately receive referrals from police and start the process of clearing the backlog of cases until the Governor appoints the newest Circuit Attorney.”

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Gardner, a Democrat, had been facing an ouster effort by Missouri’s attorney general and was under scrutiny from Republican-led state lawmakers when she announced May 4 that she would resign, effective June 1. But on Tuesday, Gardner announced the end of her tenure.

“Ms. Gardner has been committed to serving the people of the City of St. Louis and has done all she can to ensure a smooth transition,” the statement read.

Gardner was elected in 2016 to become the city’s first Black circuit attorney. She was part of a movement of progressive prosecutors who sought diversion to mental health treatment or drug abuse treatment for low-level crimes, pledged to hold police more accountable, and proactively sought to free inmates who were wrongfully convicted.

A series of events this year culminated with her departure.

Bailey filed a lawsuit in February seeking Gardner’s ouster on three grounds: failure to prosecute existing cases; failure to file charges in cases brought by police; and failure to confer with and inform victims and their families about the status of cases.

Gardner said Bailey’s attack on her was politically and racially motivated.

Meanwhile, the Missouri House weighed a bill that would allow the governor to appoint a special prosecutor in St. Louis to handle violent crimes, effectively removing the bulk of Gardner’s responsibilities. The bill was set aside after Gardner’s resignation.

A pivotal turning point came in February after 17-year-old Janae Edmondson, a volleyball standout from Tennessee, was struck by a speeding car after a tournament game in downtown St. Louis. She lost both legs.

The driver, 21-year-old Daniel Riley, was out on bond on a robbery charge despite nearly 100 bond violations including letting his GPS monitor die and breaking the terms of his house arrest. Critics questioned why Riley was free despite so many bond violations. Even Democratic St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones questioned if Gardner should remain in office.

Gardner first drew the ire of Republicans in 2018 when she charged then-Gov. Eric Greitens with felony invasion of privacy, but the charge was eventually dropped and Greitens resigned.

The Greitens case drew scrutiny that led to the conviction of Gardner’s investigator. Gardner received a written reprimand for failing to produce documents and mistakenly maintaining that all documents had been provided to Greitens’ lawyers.

In 2019, Gardner announced an “exclusion list” of city police officers prohibited from bringing cases to her office. The nearly 60 officers were accused of posting racist and anti-Muslim comments on social media.

Through her tribulations, Gardner had her victories.

In February, she convinced a judge to set aside the murder conviction of Lamar Johnson, who spent nearly three decades in prison. Johnson was convicted largely on the testimony of an eyewitness who later alleged he had been coerced into his statements.

On Friday, Gardner filed a motion seeking a hearing to vacate the sentence of another longtime inmate, Christopher Dunn, who has spent 33 years in prison for a murder that Gardner believes he didn’t commit.

For now, it’s unclear what role Bell will have in the handling of St. Louis cases. Bell and prosecutors in five neighboring counties have all pledged to help address the city’s backlog.

Bell, 48, is a former city councilman in Ferguson, Missouri, the town where the fatal police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown led to months of unrest in 2014. Bell defeated longtime Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch in the Democratic primary in 2018 and easily won in that year’s general election. He was reelected in 2022.

Like Gardner, Bell has taken progressive steps such as halting prosecution of low-level drug crimes, and establishing a separate unit to review possible wrongful convictions and allegations of police misconduct.

“The city of St. Louis’ safety is critical to the safety of St. Louis County,” Chris King, Bell’s spokesman, said.