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>> Thanks so much for joining us for Last Call where we take on the topics we couldn't get to, important topics we couldn't get to in the first half hour.

Alvin, I want to ask you about uh Judge Relle Woodest.

She threw out that case against two bar owners.

Uh, one of them, Chad Morris, I believe, had been um, uh, accused of misdemeanor assault of a police officer stemming from a December 2023 incident when a police officer or rather a police cruiser with two officers inside just ran into these guys' bar.

And then when the owners of the bar came out, uh, the police officers put one in handcuffs and chased the other and then, uh, I guess basically pressed charges for misdemeanor assault, which seems really weird because it was the police officers who caused most of the damage and yet the bar owners were being prosecuted.

But Gabe Gore, the circuit attorney for the city of St.

Lewis kept prosecuting, prosecuting despite all evidence that basically these guys should have were the victims, not the perpetrators.

Why do you think this case went on so long?

>> Well, uh, first to the people new to the region, this really did happen and he's right.

Yeah.

Okay.

Um, well, I think Gabe Gore immediately I think the prosecutor, especially after the one that we had before, and we're, you know, I think he's been a great prosecutor, but I think he immediately took the side of the police and it unraveled.

so fast and in such a just a a manner of which was embarrassing that I think he couldn't.

It's almost like you would have thought he would have just withdrew the charge, but he probably was thinking like, you know what, I'm just going to let it ride out because I think the judge is just going to throw the whole thing out and nobody will point a finger at me and said like, you didn't step up for the police, right?

Cuz he did even though he's got egg all over his face right now.

>> That's an interesting theory.

My theory has always been that they just wanted these guys to like agree not to have a civil lawsuit or to drop the civil lawsuit that they had already filed.

Um, you know, they do this in the city councelor's office where they're like, "Oh, yeah, we'll make this uh charge go away as long as you agree not to sue us."

And I think these guys are going to bring a very aggressive lawsuit going after the city for damages.

I think this uh these charges being thrown out is only going to make this a higher dollar uh lawsuit.

So, I think if that's what the city was trying to do, it backfired >> and a higher profile.

>> Yeah, >> definitely.

>> Yeah.

If they hadn't charged this guy, I mean, that story went so viral when it happened.

If they had not arrested the bar owner, it would have been like a funny RFT story that people laughed about for a day.

When they arrested that guy, it turned it into national, >> right?

It was very odd because Gabe Gore has shown good judgment on almost everything else.

And and this one is just completely offthe-wall.

But when you think of the relationship between his predecessor and the police, I think this was good judgement.

>> Well, Alvin theory, >> no, I think I think that at first he thought it was good judgment and then he knew that it wasn't shortly thereafter, but just said like, I'm going to let it ride out and put it that way.

By the way, this also happened right about the same time another police officer crashed into something.

There was a church sign.

They kind of seemed to cover that up in a way that they was the big new SUV.

Yeah.

And people weren't used to I mean that you know that wouldn't be a good defense for us.

Oh, wait.

He swerved to avoid a deer.

Remember that.

>> Well, supposedly the bar pm thing.

He swerved to avoid a dog and then like >> that was it.

Yeah.

>> Casham video.

There was no dog.

>> No dog.

>> Wow.

It was >> This really did happen again.

Let me >> Hey Sarah, I want to ask you about Kelly Dunaway, former member of the St.

Louis County Council who was on uh St.

Louis Public Radio last week and talked about her new career as a witch.

She actually uh like reads tarot cards for people for a fee.

And I happen to think this is quackery and kind of an example of how our poor region has been led by some people who may not have the best judgment.

What's your take on this one?

>> Well, you know, tarot and and wikah, none of that is my thing whatsoever.

I'm enough of a Catholic that I I'm scared.

I don't want to mess with the occult.

>> It's a portal.

>> Yeah.

You don't know what will happen.

But I will say there's no arguing that traditional religion has not given women positions of leadership, not allowed women to sort of find their own power.

And that's been the case for centuries.

And so I think women that are attracted to Wikcan, it's it's more of a female centric sort of thing.

It's a way of finding your power and tapping into it.

And I say more power to her.

I I think that good for her if she's able to find clients who want this kind of advising.

It seems like a good move.

I I remember a fellow I wrote about who was wickah and he was a guy and uh he was a sex offender and he was terribly offended that he said to me Halloween is like our Christmas and I'm supposed to keep my lights off on Christmas.

>> Yeah.

See, I think you buried the lead.

I mean the fact that he was wiccan and he was a Sagittarius and he was a sex offender.

Yeah.

>> Well, I'm not saying that they go together.

I'm just saying I'm just trying to say that there are men who are >> wic I thought they were warlocks as a long >> I think you are if you're not a witch you're a warlock I I >> it's one where I said like okay like right I'm not a tarot card person and and all that but at the same time I think there is something to the um ethereal that really is there and I think it has to do with space and you know and nature and so thus you know I I kind of get it all right I don't think it's really like a religion more than it's just like that there's a belief that there is more to all this than than we can understand.

>> Well, I've no I you're a fan of Carl Sean and he always said, you know, apply scientific principles to people who purvey things like this and see if it stacks up.

And I don't think it does.

And I think that when you're asking people for money, that's a horrible thing.

Well, well, Charlie, if they want to give money and they want to believe in >> No, they're No, that's one more time when people who don't have money are probably at the very >> the Post had a story, okay, about seances are suddenly popular again.

I think that's a bunch of phony bologoney stuff there.

And I was like, why is this on the front page of the Post Dispatch, you know?

Now, does that make me change my mind about Dunaway?

No.

I mean cuz but at the same time maybe to each his own but you got to judge everything a little separate.

>> But this is yeah this is the United States and everybody should be able to within the framework of the law do whatever makes them most >> believe whatever they want even if it's quackery.

>> It's quackery to you and Carl Sean quackery some people is logical to somebody else.

>> Yeah but I just feel that there's too many pe people being taken advantage of.

Charlie, that is a long list of things.

>> It is.

So, why add to it?

>> I don't think that that's what she's doing.

I think she's being very earnest.

I I mean, >> wait.

Oh, hang on a second.

Louis the 14th is talking to me.

>> Yeah, exactly.

>> And some of us have made a career out of being witches.

>> Speaking of frauds, and I she's not fraudulent yet.

But let me ask you, Bill, we had two more cases this week where St.

Louisis's pleaded guilty to ripping off the federal government and its pandemic relief or COVID funds.

Uh, one is Dana Kelly and the other is Corey Elliot, but they join a long list of people who have either been accused like Courtney Merritt, the uh, husband of former Congresswoman Corey Bush, but also John De, the House Speaker, and people like Connie Boowbo.

And we've had quick Google search, I found at least nine St.

Louisans who have been convicted or accused of this.

Is this part of uh I mean is this part of the big problem here in St.

Louis, >> that's part of the big problem everywhere.

And I think what it really goes to the fact that white collar crimes are not punished nearly as hard as if if you go rob a 7-Eleven and admittedly, you know, there might be a firearm held on somebody, but you're going to get a lot of time.

But the legislators have always been a little bit soft on white collar crimes because they think there, but for the grace of God, go I. And so these people who steal a million dollars or $700,000 of COVID funds, they're looking at a few months probably and a couple of years at most.

And and I I'm afraid it in if it doesn't encourage them, it doesn't discourage.

>> What did the Washington Post put on its mast head?

Democracy dies in the darkness.

You've also got you got a greatly reduced fourth estate these days.

And so I I'm sorry.

I think that there's a lot to that.

You don't have the same beat reporters at certain places.

Sorry.

>> Well, that's true.

But I think I think we could have three daily newspapers and people still going to steal and people are still going to do nefarious things.

I It's just It's terrible.

And my whole thing with this is like like say there's the person that holds up the liquor store, the 7-Eleven, there's a person that does this.

But people who steal CO funds or run scams in the name of uh diseases or things like that, to me, they're stealing from the people that died from COVID or actually got CO.

They're not stealing from the government.

They're they're they're stealing from a cause.

And that's why they should really do the job.

>> And then they stand up and say, "I just want to give back to my community like I'm accustomed to."

>> Oh, come on.

Give me a break.

>> But I just don't think it's unique to St.

Louis.

I think it's >> No, it's not.

It's not.

Well, I will say, you know, I subscribe to a lot of newspapers around this country.

I'm not seeing it elsewhere.

I mean, I get the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, the Chicago Tribune.

>> I didn't realize it was until you said that, though.

And I You kind of changed >> and I gave up after five minutes.

>> When you said nine, I'm thinking like, woo, that is a lot of local thievery there.

>> Well, you're not even touching on the board of owner.

>> And it wasn't 700,000.

One of these women is accused of taking $17 million in CO funds in illegally.

That's a lot of money.

I wouldn't work for that little, but >> hey, thank you so much for joining us.

We'll have another edition next week.