Court: Procedures not followed after weekend shooting at City Foundry

ST. LOUIS — Circuit Court authorities on Tuesday said St. Louis City Family Court intake staff and police did not follow proper procedures after a weekend shooting at City Foundry STL involving teenagers.

No one was injured in the incident Saturday in the parking lot of the Midtown development when someone leaned out of the roof of a fleeing Honda Accord and fired shots toward several teens and police officers. But the incident drew public outcry, largely because three apprehended teenagers were released after the shooting.

Police said one of the boys, 15, had a Glock 29 modified to be fully automatic; another boy, 16, had a stolen Glock 19. Police said authorities with the juvenile court, which falls under family court, advised officers to release the three boys to their parents.

But court officials said late Tuesday afternoon that the apprehended teenagers were not officially presented to the court.

“The police did not bring them to juvenile court for detention,” Joel Currier, spokesman for the 22nd Judicial Circuit, said in a press release. “No juvenile legal officer or judge was contacted regarding the incident. Instead, a phone call occurred between the intake office and a police officer. The parties disagree as to the content of the conversation.”

St. Louis Family Court Presiding Judge Steven Ohmer told the Post-Dispatch about the case: “It was never presented.”

Intake officers at the juvenile court are supposed to be available 24 hours a day to consider juvenile cases.

Monte Chambers, program manager for the city’s public safety department, said in a statement Tuesday night that “SLMPD officers followed longstanding precedent when calling the Family Court’s intake staff to report apprehended juveniles, just as the Family Court’s intake staff followed longstanding precedent by telling officers to release them to their parents.

“Saturday’s incident emphasizes the need to formalize the new communication and intake procedures discussed by the Court and SLMPD in recent weeks,” Chambers said. “The City first reached out to the 22nd Circuit Court last year to discuss gaps in communication and looks forward to formalizing an official procedure in the days ahead to prevent miscommunication and ensure better outcomes.”

Both Chambers and St. Louis police Sgt. Charles Wall noted that the juveniles’ guns were confiscated, and the teens could still be charged.

It was unclear if the boys who were apprehended were the ones being shot at, and it was unclear what happened to the occupants of the Honda Accord that fled the scene.

“The incident Saturday night at City Foundry STL was unfortunate and the first of its kind at our property,” Will Smith, asset manager at the Foundry, said in a statement Tuesday. “We are grateful no one was injured.”

He said the Foundry has 24-hour private security contracted.

“We also routinely meet with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and our security firm to access and implement recommended security practices.”

By Tuesday, a mobile surveillance camera tower, plugged into the city’s real-time crime center, was positioned in the surface parking lot, which borders Foundry Way and Vandeventer Avenue.