Teen athlete's legs mangled in encounter with man Kim Gardner kept out of jail, prompting Missouri AG to demand the Soros prosecutor's resignation by high noon

Republican Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has given St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner until high noon Thursday to resign or be removed. This ultimatum comes amid outcry over the reported destruction of a teen athlete's legs by an accused robber whom the Soros-backed prosecutor kept out of jail.

Bailey minced no words about his reason for seeking the Democrat attorney's resignation: "Instead of protecting victims, Circuit Attorney Gardner is creating them. My office will do everything in its power to restore order, and eliminate the chaos in St. Louis caused by Kim Gardner’s neglect of her office."

Gardner, the Soros-backed attorney who cut loose BLM rioters in 2020 and sought to punish Mark and Patricia McCloskey for having attempted to defend their home, has a long history of going lax on criminals and seeking politically motivated prosecutions.

The last straw appears to be the maiming of a 16-year-old volleyball player, Janae Edmondson of Tennessee, who had been looking forward to playing Division II volleyball in college. She had one leg mangled and the other severely damaged after a man freed from jail with pending robbery charges allegedly hit her, reported the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Fox News Digital indicated that Edmondson was visiting St. Louis with her family for a volleyball tournament. A driver going 20 mph over the limit failed to yield and struck Edmondson in downtown St. Louis around 8:40 p.m. The victim was pinned between two cars and ultimately had both legs amputated.

21-year-old Daniel Riley was reportedly the man behind the wheel of the speeding car.

According to the Post-Dispatch, Riley was supposed to be under house arrest while out on bond for a 2020 robbery and armed criminal action. He violated his bond at least 50 times, including seven times in February. Gardner failed to put him back in jail.

Jeff Wismer, the assistant director at Middle Tennessee Volleyball Club, told KMOV, "A wonderful kid with a great smile, a three-sport athlete. ... She has lost both limbs below her waist, so for us, how do you find words to explain our sorrow? We really can’t."

Following the incident, there has been significant backlash, with many St. Louis residents and businesses alleging it could have been avoided had Gardner done her job properly.

"This crime was as preventable as it is tragic," said Jason Hall, CEO of Greater St. Louis Inc., the region's premier business organization. "While this tragedy may serve as a turning point in the efforts to strengthen public safety, it only highlights the lingering issues that have gone unaddressed for far too long. We need immediate action. These issues are not new, and solving them requires all of us stepping up and coming together as one metro to develop a regional strategy to reduce crime and strengthen public safety."

Hall added, "The ongoing failures of the Circuit Attorney’s office — with regard to the individual involved in this case as well as a litany of other cases that have not been brought to justice — are unforgiveable."

Bailey evidently agreed, demanding Gardner's resignation Wednesday evening and noting, "If she refuses, she will face immediate removal proceedings in the form of a writ of quo warranto brought by our office."

Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden said that Gardner "should resign or I will systematically and aggressively work with my colleagues in the #MOLeg to ensure her incompetence isn’t putting more lives in danger. The people of #STL deserve better and Missouri deserves better," adding that "Gardner is incompetent and grossly unfit to hold her office."

Gardner was denounced by members of her own party as well.

St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones, a Democrat, said that the Soros-backed prosecutor had "lost the trust of the people."

Former Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt previously highlighted how "Kim Gardner has an abysmal record in prosecuting violent crime, has recently released and been complicit in the release of dozens and dozens of inmates who have been charged with violent crimes, and has a record of making politically motivated decisions not based on the law."

Gardner is the radical prosecutor who originally charged Mark and Patricia McCloskey in 2020 with felonies after they defended their home from BLM protesters who had demolished a fence and trespassed onto their property. The BLM trespassers were not prosecuted.

While she sought to punish the McCloskeys for defending their home, Gardner alternatively saw fit to release at least 36 BLM rioters arrested on suspicion of trespassing, burglary, causing property damage, stealing, and assault.

The Soros-backed attorney was later removed from the case against Mark McCloskey after Circuit Judge Thomas Clark II indicated that improper fundraising emails by Gardner's campaign infringed on the McCloskeys' right to a fair trial.

Gardner was accused in 2020 of traveling across the country and world on a criminal justice reform organization's dime without reporting it, in apparent violation of city and state law.

City Journal reported that Gardner was also reprimanded and fined by the Missouri Supreme Court for being untruthful during a failed prosecution of a political rival. Gardener "admitted to failing to produce documents and failing to correct misstatements during the course of the investigation."

St. Louis' homicide rate (per 100,000) skyrocketed from 64.5 in 2019 to 87.2 in 2020 under Gardner's watch. According to Neighborhood Scout, St. Louis ranks 1 (with 100 being the safest) on the crime index. The likelihood of becoming a victim of a violent crime under Gardner's watch is 1 in 67. The likelihood of becoming a victim of a property crime is 1 in 18.

Missouri Senate leader calls for Kim Gardner's resignationyoutu.be

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!