News Blog

John Wells Charged as Serial Tower Grove Groper

by Danny Wicentowski on June 23, 2017 at 5:59PM

John Wells, a 30-year-old man listed in court records as "homeless," is facing four criminal charges in connection with a spree of sexual assaults in Tower Grove South over the past two months. According to a police press release, Wells has been charged with attempted sodomy, two misdemeanors for sexual abuse and a third misdemeanor for assault.

Ferguson Will Pay Michael Brown's Family $1.5 Million to Settle Wrongful Death Suit

by Danny Wicentowski on June 23, 2017 at 10:42AM

Nearly three years after former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown on Canfield Drive, the city has agreed settle a wrongful death lawsuit with the family for $1.5 million. The terms of the settlement were initially sealed per a judge's order issued earlier this week.

Search for Serial Tower Grove Groper Leads Police to 'Person of Interest'

by Danny Wicentowski on June 23, 2017 at 7:54AM

Although no criminal charges have yet been filed, a man taken into custody Thursday is being described by police as a "person of interest" in a series of daytime sexual assaults against four women in Tower Grove South and possibly a fifth in Benton Park. All five incidents, the most recent occurring on Wednesday, are believed to be linked to the same man. The attacks follow a similar pattern of a strange man approaching women and grabbing her genitals before fleeing.

Facebook Threats Against Trump Lead to Edwardsville Man's Arrest

by Danny Wicentowski on June 22, 2017 at 8:21AM

In another of Pickett's posts, he boasted that he owned several guns, including an AR-15 and AK-47, and that he hoped someone would call the police so he could have an an excuse to "use my firepower." Citing court records, the Belleville News Democrat reports that Pickett will be detained until his trial because of concerns for his "mental instability."

Petition Demands Missouri Legislator Resign for Killing a Chicken on Facebook

by Elizabeth Semko on June 22, 2017 at 6:21AM

A Missouri legislator who snapped a chicken's neck, then pulled out its heart on a video posted to Facebook, is facing calls for his resignation. In the controversial video, Representative Mike Moon (R-Ash Grove) never comes close to explaining the connection between the chicken slaughter and his opposition to abortion.

Serial Groper in Tower Grove South Leads to Heightened Police Presence

by Sarah Fenske on June 21, 2017 at 4:57PM

Police are warning about a series of attacks on women in Tower Grove South —saying they believe one man is responsible for at least four incidents of forced groping, as well as potentially a fifth that took place in Benton Park. All five cases have taken place during daylight hours — with the most recent one an attack at 10 a.m. this morning in the 3200 block of Roger Place.

Man Stomps Kitten to Death at Belleville MetroLink Station, Police Say

by Daniel Hill on June 19, 2017 at 1:05PM

A St. Louis man brutally killed his own kitten Friday morning at the Belleville MetroLink station after he was told the animal could not ride on the train with him, according to St. Clair County police. The Belleville News-Democrat reports that DeCarlos Edwards Johnson-Foston, 23, allegedly approached the MetroLink platform with the kitten on his shoulder when a security guard stopped him and explained that the animal would not be allowed on the train.

Day Care Worker Hog-Tied 4-Year-Old Girl With Duct Tape, Yet Kept His Job

by Sarah Fenske on June 19, 2017 at 7:00AM

Joseph and Laura Day's first inkling that anything unusual had happened at day care was their daughter's conversation in the bath. The four-year-old seemed to be talking a lot about duct tape — a word that previously seemed beyond her vocabulary.

Civil War Museum to Krewson: See You in Court

by Danny Wicentowski on June 16, 2017 at 4:16PM

Update on Monday, June 19: The city of St. Louis and the Missouri Civil War Museum will indeed see each other in court. On Friday, the museum made good on its threat and filed a lawsuit against the city, seeking a "judicial declaration regarding the lawful ownership of the Confederate Memorial monument."

St. Louis is Trying to Intervene in MTC Horse Carriage Lawsuit

by Danny Wicentowski on June 16, 2017 at 10:31AM

t is necessary for the city to be allowed to intervene in this cause in order to protect the interest of its citizens." The MTC regulates taxicabs in the city and county, but it has repeatedly run into problems when it's tried to enforce its rules on non-taxicab vehicles for hire.

Missouri's Summer Nutrition Program Makes Big Gains, But Still Lags

by Sarah Fenske on June 15, 2017 at 12:28PM

Lucinda Perry is the director of strategic initiatives for St. Louis-based Operation Food Search, which actively works to end childhood hunger (and feeds more than 200,000 people on a monthly basis in the area). Some of its initiatives have seen big gains in recent years, helping the state's overall percentage to grow.

Acting St. Louis Police Chief Accused of Ordering Cops to Bend Rules for Friend

by Doyle Murphy on June 15, 2017 at 7:00AM

St. Louis' acting police chief doesn't like it when you mess with his friends, two city cops have alleged in complaints filed with the department. The officers, who are members of the the police auto theft unit, claim that Lt. Colonel Lawrence O'Toole ordered them to cut corners to help his buddy — and then berated them when they refused.

Belleville Man, James T. Hodgkinson, IDed as Gunman in Congressional Shooting

by Sarah Fenske on June 14, 2017 at 10:24AM

Hodgkinson's former lawyer, Lyndon Evanko of Belleville, tells the L.A. Times that Hodgkinson was an unhappy man. “He was a bit of a misanthrope,” Evanko tells the paper. “He came across as a very irascible, angry little man, but not somebody I would expect to do something like this."

St. Louis' Black Aldermanic Caucus Calls for Slavery Reparations

by Elizabeth Semko on June 14, 2017 at 6:54AM

it’s funding of education, immediate affirmative action and job opportunities, allocation of city contracts, access to funding and resources and/or simply an apology." Conyers has introduced reparations legislation on a yearly basis since 1989.

Juan Thompson Pleads Guilty Over Campaign of Terror Against Ex-Girlfriend

by Doyle Murphy on June 13, 2017 at 1:14PM

who said she watched child porn," the message said. "I thought she was joking until she showed me two pictures, on her phone, of a child engaged in sex acts."

Cardinals Will Host Pride Night in 2017, Team Says

by Elizabeth Semko on June 13, 2017 at 12:47PM

The Cardinals are ready for Pride Night — and it's happening in 2017. Last night, after controversy erupted over the team scheduling former player and anti-LGBT speaker Lance Berkman to speak at "Christian Day" at Busch Stadium, the club issued a statement saying that it will, in fact, host its first-ever night devoted to LGBTQ fans this year.

Taxi Commission Has Been Billing Carriage Companies, Even After Halting Regulation

by Danny Wicentowski on June 13, 2017 at 6:52AM

Last week, the RFT revealed that the area's Metropolitan Taxicab Commission, or MTC, quietly pulled back from regulating horse carriage companies in the city and county more than six months ago — saying a judge's order bars them from enforcement. But no one was more surprised by our scoop than the carriage companies.

Missouri Legislator Decapitates Live Chicken on Facebook Because Abortion

by Sarah Fenske on June 13, 2017 at 6:00AM

We welcome tips and feedback. Email the author at sarah.fenske@riverfronttimes.com

Richard Donaldson, 17, Charged as Adult in Tower Grove South Murder

by Doyle Murphy on June 12, 2017 at 4:55PM

A seventeen-year-old has been charged as an adult in the shocking murder of a grandfather, who was killed in an attempted carjacking in February in the Tower Grove South neighborhood. Richard Donaldson, who was sixteen at the time, was taken into custody and held in a juvenile detention center two days after 72-year-old Kenneth Spalter was gunned down in the 3800 block of Juniata Street.

Class-Action Suit Targets Missouri's Use of Psychotropic Drugs on Kids in Foster Care

by Sarah Fenske on June 12, 2017 at 2:04PM

is a surprise to them. It's not like they didn't know they had to put in safeguards.

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