St. Louis Sheriff Alfred Montgomery is heading to jail after a judge ruled the sheriff violated his bond.
U.S. Magistrate Judge John M. Bodenhausen made the ruling Tuesday morning after Montgomery was accused of several violations of his federal release conditions.
Montgomery’s second-in-command, Col. Yousef Yasharahla, is now in charge of the daily operations of the sheriff’s office.
The arrest marks a major development in Montgomery’s monthslong legal saga, during which he has maintained his innocence.
Montgomery was indicted by a federal grand jury in August for having then-acting jail Commissioner Tammy Ross handcuffed in February. Bodenhausen placed Montgomery on house arrest last week after the sheriff was charged with five additional federal felonies, including four for witness retaliation and one charge of witness tampering. The sheriff was ordered to wear an ankle monitor and put on house arrest until Tuesday’s hearing.
During the hearing, Bodenhausen focused his attention to the later counts, which allege the sheriff retaliated against a fired worker.
A large portion of Tuesday’s hearing focused on testimony from U.S. Pretrial Services officer Mallory Griep, who detailed her interactions with the sheriff. She said communications between her and the sheriff started combative before improving.
U.S. attorneys said that Montgomery also used a burner phone that he didn’t report to Griep and that, while on a call, he had said that he would find someone and knock them out.
Griep also claimed that the sheriff misreported the number of guns in his possession. She said Montgomery had told her that he had six guns, which he relinquished to his second in command. When she reached out to Yasharahla, he said the sheriff had 14 guns. She asked Montgomery about the discrepancy and said she was told he wasn’t home when Yasharahla came to the house. She claimed Yasharahla said that wasn’t true.
“It would be impossible for our office to enforce any conditions,” Griep said. “I don’t feel like we can effectively supervise.”
While being cross-examined by Montgomery’s lawyer, Justin Gelfand, Griep said she learned about Montgomery’s burner phone through the U.S. attorneys.
Prosecutors said there wasn’t a way to effectively monitor Montgomery’s communications while he was on bond. Bodenhausen agreed that the burner phone was a step too far.
“I don’t know how to stop that,” the judge said.
Gelfand said he would appeal the ruling and argued that the sheriff should have remained on house arrest while staffing issues would be handled by David C. Mason, the sheriff's office attorney.
“What happened here is that the sheriff was indicted for five felonies that he did not commit,” Gelfand said. “Since when do you have a defense lawyer begging to put on evidence of actual innocence in a federal criminal courtroom and a prosecutor saying, 'I don't want to hear evidence of actual innocence?'”
St. Louis officials have chimed in on the matter. Mayor Cara Spencer called on Montgomery to resign.
"The absurd situation at the Sheriff's Office has reached new heights and must now come to an end,” Spencer said. “I urge Sheriff Montgomery to do what's right for the city and resign his office. Should he continue to only prioritize serving himself, I hope the court will move quickly to remove him.”
Montgomery told STLPR before the hearing that he has no intentions of stepping down.
Board of Aldermen President Megan Green also called for his resignation and questioned how he could handle his duties behind bars. Green said she is working with members of the public safety committee and the board’s legal counsel to create an application process for an interim sheriff and to schedule a special election.
"The Board of Aldermen takes its responsibility in this matter seriously and is committed to an open and transparent process that restores the public’s confidence in the Sheriff’s Office,” Green said.
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway had filed a motion in St. Louis Circuit Court on Friday asking a judge to immediately oust Montgomery from office — the third attempt to remove the sheriff in the department's long-running quo warranto against Montgomery.
Circuit Judge Steven R. Ohmer denied the request Friday, citing a need for a trial and a lack of evidence from the attorney general’s office. Hanaway’s office said in court documents that it would be impossible for Montgomery to do his job as sheriff if sent to jail.
Hanaway has also since called on Montgomery to resign. Before the ruling she told STLPR that while she understands the ruling on Friday, she was surprised by it.
“I just don't see how he can be fulfilling his duties when he's facing all of that,” Hanaway said.
Ohmer has scheduled the next hearing in the quo warranto for Oct. 29. The trial in the case is set for November.
This story has been updated.
