Alfred Montgomery is still sheriff in St. Louis — at least for a little while longer.
On Friday, a judge denied a third request from the Missouri attorney general to immediately remove Montgomery from office.
At the Carnahan Courthouse in downtown St. Louis, Circuit Judge Steven R. Ohmer said he was growing impatient with the attorney general’s office for continuing to push for Montgomery’s ouster without allowing the quo warranto process to play out.
Assistant Attorney General Gregory Goodwin pleaded with the judge, calling Montgomery’s removal an “appropriate” next step, noting the seriousness of the case since Montgomery was indicted on five new federal charges on Thursday.
“Removal is appropriate,” Goodwin said. “Obviously witness tampering is a very serious offense and the sheriff is currently on house arrest, your honor. He cannot go to work until Tuesday.”
Sheriff’s office attorney David C. Mason countered that argument, stating he was willing to put his reputation on the line by maintaining Montgomery’s innocence. He compared the case to an empty ham sandwich.
“In this case, the grand jury has been told (the case) was a ham sandwich,” Mason told the judge Friday. “But in this case, it was a mayonnaise sandwich. There is nothing between that bread."
Ohmer responded by sharing frustrations for about 20 minutes regarding the attorney general’s decision to keep pushing for Montgomery’s removal, noting the public’s high interest in the case.
“Enough is enough,” the judge said.
“I am not, for the third time, going to follow through with your request to remove him,” Ohmer told Goodwin from the bench. “I need hard evidence of what it is, not what you say it is, or what [Montgomery] says it is. We need to have a trial and evidence before I can make a ruling in your favor or in his favor.”
Ohmer said he would consider any further motions from both sides at a hearing scheduled for Oct. 29.
Montgomery was indicted Thursday on five new federal felony charges stemming from his order to handcuff then-acting Jail Commissioner Tammy Ross earlier this year — including four charges of witness retaliation and one of witness tampering. Montgomery pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Montgomery will be back in federal court on Tuesday for an evidentiary hearing after Magistrate Judge John M. Bodenhausen placed him on house arrest and ordered that he wear an ankle monitor until next week’s proceedings, during which he could be placed behind bars.
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway wrote in court documents that felony charges make it impossible for Montgomery to do his job as sheriff and that he has violated the bond conditions set in his federal misdemeanor indictment.
“The additional felony charges against Montgomery are serious and they implicate his ability to complete his duties,” the attorney general’s office wrote in its Friday petition. “Montgomery cannot personally devote his time to the performance of his duties as Sheriff of the City of St. Louis, and he will be unable to do so until Tuesday at the earliest, as he has been placed on house arrest after being charged with five felonies and he is not permitted to leave his home and go to work at the sheriff’s office.”
Mason reiterated Friday that he’ll be running the day-to-day at the office in the sheriff’s stead while Col. Yosef Yasharahla is away. Mason said that he’s having frequent conversations with Montgomery and that he’s still in charge.
“Colonel Yasharahla is out sick,” Mason said following Friday’s court proceedings. “He'll be back on duty Tuesday. Until then, we have the weekend, (then) Monday. We are prepared for any type of emergency that comes up.”
This story was updated with additional comments from attorneys and Judge Ohmer.
