Over the weekend, a teenager visiting St. Louis for a volleyball tournament was struck by a reckless driver and ended up losing both of her legs. Janae Edmonson, a 16-year-old from Tennessee, was rushed to the hospital after a speeding car hit her as she was crossing the street downtown.
The suspect, 21-year-old Daniel Riley, was already out on bond related to pending robbery and armed criminal action charges from 2020 — and he had repeatedly violated the conditions of his release and his GPS home monitoring more than 50 times.
Allison Hawk, a spokesperson for the Circuit Attorney's office, said in a statement that the court was aware of Riley's violations, and that the decision to keep him out on bond was the judge's decision. Meanwhile, judges are denying any responsibility for the failure of the system to lock Riley up.
In a statement, the Circuit Court said that Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner failed to file a motion to revoke Daniel Riley's bond, and that judges cannot act on their own as an advocate for any side in a case -- even when they are aware of the bond violations.
On Tuesday night, Kim Gardner's office released a statement that said in part, "It's unfortunate that there are those who choose to twist the facts to take advantage of this situation for their own selfish motives. This is not the time for finger pointing, it's time to support this family, and ensure that justice is served."
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