Embattled Kim Gardner Faces the Press

The Circuit Attorney is facing a fight for her job after an out-of-town teen gets maimed by a suspect with 50 bail violations

Written by RYAN KRULL

Amid increasing calls for her resignation, embattled Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner dug in Thursday afternoon, hosting a press conference that at times turned contentious, with supporters taking it upon themselves to shout out answers to questions reporters put to Gardner.

With several dozen of her supporters gathered on the fourth floor of the Carnahan Courts Building, Gardner’s own demeanor was measured, but some of the supporters were feisty in their defense of her, applauding much of what Gardner had to say and jeering at several questions asked by reporters.

At the press conference, Gardner doubled down on her strategy of blaming Judge Bryan Hettenbach for 21-year-old Daniel Riley remaining free on bond even after he violated that bond dozens of times.

On February 18, Riley struck a teenager visiting from out of town, leading to both her legs being amputated. The blowback against Gardner’s office was swift, with critics saying Riley was not in jail due to Gardner’s mismanagement. Yesterday, Mayor Tishaura Jones said that Gardner “needed to do some soul searching” and had lost the trust of the people.

On Thursday Gardner, after expressing sympathy for the victim Janae Edmondson and saying that she is holding Edmondson’s family in her thoughts and prayers, said that “on three separate oc- casions my office requested the defendant’s bond be revoked. The court either denied or ignored each of these requests.”

One of the instances cited by Gardner happened on August 10, 2022, when Gardner says that Riley was taken into custody by the court but released again on his own personal recognizance against her office’s wishes.

One reporter asked, “Why doesn’t the court record show one example of a motion to revoke bond?”

“It’s in Casenet, you must not have looked at it,” said a Gardner supporter.

Gardner replied that it is “normal practice” for such motions to be made orally, not in writing.

A transcript of the August 10 hearing obtained by the RFT shows the judge asking Assistant Circuit Attorney Jonathan Phipps, “What does the state propose we do with Mr. Riley this time around?”

Phipps replied that he had reached a deal with Riley’s defense attorney for Riley to be released on house arrest and GPS monitoring, according to the transcript.

If Phipps made a case for Riley to be held in jail, the transcript does not capture it.

In her remarks this afternoon, Gardner said that Riley subsequently left his home multiple times in direct violation of his bond. “In spite of this, the court modified the bond, allowing him to leave home for work against the state’s objections,” she said.

A question from a reporter about Mayor Jones’ statement that

Gardner had lost city residents’ trust brought a chorus of shouts from Gardner’s supporters. “We are the public,” said a supporter. “She hasn’t lost it,” said another.

After they died down, the reporter asked the question again.

“We answered for her!” someone shouted, to applause.

“Ask the mayor why she’s not at the press conference,” shouted a member of the crowd.

The reporter put the question to