“As Attorney General, I want to protect the people of St. Louis, and that includes ensuring prosecutors protect the public,” said Attorney General Andrew Bailey. “We gave Circuit Attorney Gardner the chance to do the right thing and resign, she has refused to do so, and my office filed a quo warranto at 12:01 PM to remove her from office immediately.”
On February 18, 2023, Janae Edmonson, a sixteen-year-old athlete, was walking back to her hotel in downtown St. Louis when she was run down by a speeding vehicle and lost both her legs. One was severed, and the other maimed. Ms. Edmonson survived the crash due to her father’s quick action and emergency medical training, but both of her legs were amputated.
The driver of the speeding vehicle, Daniel Riley, should never have been in that car. He is a dangerous gunman who should have been in jail. In 2020, the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office charged Riley with First Degree Robbery and Armed Criminal Action for stealing a firearm from a victim at gunpoint. The Circuit Attorney dismissed and refiled that case on July 18, 2022, but not before Riley- who was out on bond- earned 54 separate violations for failing to comply with the pre-trial bond conditions. After the Circuit Attorney refiled the case, Riley earned 50 more violations. The Circuit Attorney never filed a motion to revoke Riley’s bond.
The quo warranto points out that Ms. Edmonson’s injuries are the direct result of years of willful neglect from Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner. As the Circuit Attorney, Respondent is morally, ethically, and legally responsible for the conduct of her office. For years, the Circuit Attorney’s Office has failed to (1) prosecute cases to resolution, (2) has failed to inform and confer with victims, and (3) has failed to even review and file cases submitted by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.