ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - The trial for the Missouri Attorney General's attempt to remove St. Louis City Sheriff Alfred Montgomery from office continued Monday morning after seeing nearly two dozen witnesses testify last week.
The morning saw more witness testimony with former Sergeant Bryan Robins, Major Martin Lammert and two members of the Gateway Security Service. Colonel Yosef Yasharahla was also recalled to the stand before the lunch recess.
Last week the Missouri Attorney General's office called 22 witnesses to testify in front of Judge Steve Ohmer. The AG's office has brought six counts of misconduct that they think should have Montgomery removed from his elected position as the St. Louis City Sheriff.
The AG's office accuses Montgomery of:
This trial is a bench trial, which means the attorneys don't need to convince a jury, only the judge. The AG's office only has to prove one of these counts to have Ohmer rule to remove Montgomery from office.
During trial Friday, Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway was in the gallery watching the proceedings. During the lunch break, Hanaway told the press she has empathy for the position Judge Ohmer has been put in with the pending federal criminal trial.
"I hope that we've put on enough evidence of how he's abused his office and not done his job to persuade him that's enough for removal," Hanaway said.
So far, only the AG's office has been able to call their witnesses.
David Mason, Montgomery's lawyer, spoke to the press Friday evening and called the AG's office's key witnesses unreliable.
"I can't imagine the U.S. Attorney going forward with those people in front of a jury of 12 citizens, trying to convince them of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt," he said.
The Sheriff's Office has been embroiled in controversy as First Alert 4 Investigates has been covering all year.
Trouble for the office began in February, a month after Montgomery was sworn into office. On Feb. 14, a sheriff's deputy was accused of sexually assaulting a detainee at the St. Louis City Justice Center. This sparked several investigations, including an internal affairs investigation by the sheriff's office.
Unlike other sheriff's offices, the St. Louis City Sheriff's Office does not operate the CJC. Instead, the jail is operated by the St. Louis City Department of Public Safety. The sheriff's office transports detainees to and from circuit court and provides security for the court.
As the Sheriff's Office began its internal investigation, an incident occurred between the sheriff and the acting Deputy Commissioner of CJC at the time, Tammy Ross. Montgomery says Ross was not allowing the sheriff's office investigators into the jail. Ross was then handcuffed by a sheriff's deputy at Montgomery's order.
"I was only summoned over to the jail when our investigators were denied access over to the jail," Montgomery told First Alert 4 on Feb. 15.
At the end of May, Montgomery announced that the sheriff's office would no longer transport detainees to hospitals, which is a duty the office had handled for decades.
"To just drop this on us at a time when our city is dealing with the worst calamity we have seen in my lifetime, and now to say that we're no longer able to transport people in our custody to much-needed medical assistance -- it's ludicrous," St. Louis City Mayor Cara Spencer said to First Alert 4 at the time.
Montgomery said that the hospital transportation was no longer sustainable because the department was short-staffed and financially stretched.
In June, First Alert 4 Investigates began reporting on controversial spending by the sheriff's office, including a 2025 Tahoe, golf carts and over $50,000 in badges and uniforms.
Later in the month of June, former Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey filed a writ of quo warranto to remove Montgomery from office, the case that led to this week's trial.
In August, Montgomery was indicted by a federal grand jury on a misdemeanor deprivation of rights charge. This case would see a superseding indictment in October that charged Montgomery with felony witness tampering and retaliation charges. Due to the superseding indictment, Montgomery was taken into federal custody.