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HomeMy WebLinkAboutGunViolenceTaskForce24.Agenda.2024-08-15.Packet Recordings will be available at cityofcape.org/gvtf within a week of each task force meeting. Public comment will be accepted online, in writing, and through staff and representative meetings scheduled by request. The Gun Violence Task Force of the City of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, may, as a part of a regular meeting or a special meeting, hold a closed session in the Council Chambers to discuss legal actions, causes of legal action or litigation, leasing, purchasing or sale of real estate, or confidential or privileged communication with its attorneys, pursuant to RSMo. Sections 610.021 (1) and 610.021 (2). City Hall 44 North Lorimier Street Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63701 (573)339-6300 www.cityofcapegirardeau.org Gun Violence Task Force Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024 7 a.m. (Not to Exceed Two Hours) City Hall, 44 North Lorimier Street Council Room Co‐Chair – Adam Kidd  Co‐Chair – Jessica Hill  Dr. Howard Benyon  Josh Crowell  Nita DuBose  Alix Gasser  Rob Gilligan  Jared Ritter  Nancy Scheller  Lee Schlitt  Laura Selbo   Dr. Melissa Stickel  Adrian Taylor  Clint Tracy  Shannon Truxel (x)  Dr. Carlos Vargas  Amber Walker  Lynn Ware  Leslie Washington  Tina Wright  City Liaisons (Non‐voting): Mayor Stacy Kinder, Dr. Kenneth Haskin, Adam Glueck, Nicolette Brennan, Gayle Conrad, Dr. Shannon Farris, Randy Morris(x), Trevor Pulley AGENDA  Call to Order – Co-Chairs Jessica Hill & Adam Kidd o Approval of Aug. 1 meeting minutes (attached)  Presentation: Court System Honorable Presiding Judge Benjamin Lewis  Group Discussion  Adjourn NEXT MEETINGS:  August 22 at 7 a.m. – Prosecution and Criminal Justice Series Conclusion/Discussion  (No meetings currently scheduled on or the week of 9/5 or 9/12)  Thursday, Sept. 19 at 5 p.m. - Chief Juvenile Officer Kevin Gruenwald  Wednesday, Sept. 25 at 8 a.m. - Cape Girardeau Public Schools – Dr. Benyon, Mr. Crowell  October - City Ordinances: Crime-Free Multi-Family Housing Program, Code Enforcement, Nuisance, Municipal Court, Chronic Nuisance  November - Community Organizations and Health  December - Priority Workshop and Presentation to Council ATTACHED: 8/1/24 Minutes, 8/15 Presentation Background City Hall 44 North Lorimier Street Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63701 (573)339-6300 www.cityofcapegirardeau.org Gun Violence Task Force Thursday, August 1, 2024 7:00 a.m. City Hall, 44 North Lorimier Street Council Room MINUTES MEMBERS PRESENT:  Adam Kidd Dr. Melissa Stickel  Jessica Hill Adrian Taylor  Josh Crowell Clint Tracy  Nita DuBose Amber Walker  Alix Gasser Leslie Washington  Jared Ritter Tina Wright  Nancy Scheller Rob Gilligan  MEMBERS ABSENT:  Dr. Howard Benyon  Lee Schlitt  Laura Selbo  Shannon Truxel  Dr. Carlos Vargas  Lynn Ware   CITY STAFF PRESENT:  Mayor Stacy Kinder  Dr. Kenneth Haskin  Nicolette Brennan  Adam Glueck  Gayle Conrad  Dr. Shannon Farris  Co-Chair Jessica Hlil called the meeting to order at 7:00 a.m. The minutes from the July 23, 2024 meeting were approved. Cape Girardeau Police Officer Scott Droddy discussed the city’s acquisition of a gun detection dog and what the dog is been trained to do relating to detecting guns and shell casings. The K-9 is currently being trained and should be in place around the middle of October. Officer Droddy reviewed how the K-9 will be used in the City to help detect guns and casings during events and for gun incidents. Alfred Lewers, Kevin Johnson and Jeffery Joeckle of SoundThinking discussed the ShotSpotter system used in the City and its expanded capabilities. Beyond gunshot detection, Mr. Lewers recommended a future deployment of Phase 2 of the program, reviewing types of programs and initiatives that could be implemented to help with gun violence prevention. Ideas included public health approach to gun violence prevention, grants and public-private partnerships for funding, and hosting events in affected areas to build connections and share resources. Bobby Bollinger, Director of the Law Enforcement Academy at Semo University and the City’s crime analyst, discussed the academy program, classes and enrollment, and reviewed city crime statistics from the Nibers system as well as how the data is collected in the Nibers system. Task force members and city staff held discussions in small groups, discussing the current and future presentations and topics. The next meeting of the Gun Violence Task Force is scheduled for Thursday, August 15, 2024, 7:00 a.m. in the City Council Chambers at City Hall with presentations from Missouri 32nd Circuit Court Presiding Judge Hon. Benjamin Lewis. The meeting adjourned at 9:00 a.m. Minutes taken by: Gayle Conrad, Director of Citizen Services/City Clerk GUN VIOLENCE TASK FORCE PRESENTATION BACKGROUND PROVIDED BY PRESENTER         1.  Missouri Courts.    The state is divided into forty-six judicial circuits. A circuit may be composed of one county (or the City of St. Louis) or as many as five counties. Each county has at least one Associate Circuit Judge and each circuit has one or more Circuit Judges. Cape Girardeau County is part of the Thirty-second Judicial Circuit which also includes Bollinger and Perry Counties. There is one Associate Circuit Judge in Perry County and one in Bollinger County. Frank Miller and Julia Koester are the elected Associate Circuit Judges in Cape Girardeau County. Scott Lipke and Ben Lewis are the Circuit Judges. While the Associate Circuit Judges are elected only in their home counties, they are regularly assigned to hear cases in any of the counties in our circuit. The Circuit Judges stand for election in all three counties and regularly hear cases in all three counties. The terms for Associate Circuit Judges are four years and the terms for Circuit Judges are six years. Every two years, one Circuit Judge is elected by all of the judges in the circuit to serve as the Presiding Judge, with duties as the chief administrative officer for the circuit. Municipal Courts are also divisions of the Circuit Court. The Presiding Judge has supervisory authority over the Municipal Courts. In criminal cases, Associate Circuit Judges issue warrants and set bonds. They hear the trials of misdemeanor cases (punishable by up to a year in the county jail). They hear preliminary hearings in felony cases to determine if there is enough evidence to send the case to the Circuit Court for trial. Circuit Judges also issue warrants and set bonds. Circuit Judges try felony cases (punishable by more than a year in the county jail). Appeals from the trial courts are heard by the Missouri Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals is divided into the Eastern, Western and Southern districts (see map). There is generally no direct appeal of criminal cases to the Missouri Supreme Court except in death penalty cases. The Supreme Court also sets the rules of procedure in civil and criminal cases. 2.  Basic Criminal Process  A criminal case begins when the Prosecuting Attorney files a complaint in the Associate Circuit Court. The complaint states that the defendant did a specific act within the county that violated a specific statute. It also cites the statute providing for punishment for that crime. The defendant may be physically served with a summons telling him when and where to appear in court. Alternatively, the prosecutor may request a warrant. A warrant request must be accompanied by a probable cause statement setting out the basic factual allegations establishing that the defendant committed the alleged crime and that there are reasonable grounds to believe that he will not appear in response to a summons or that he is a danger to the victim or to the community. The warrant must then be presented to a judge who reviews the probable cause statement and, if he finds it sufficient, sets the amount of the bond, and any conditions of bond, and signs the warrant. If a defendant is taken into custody before issuance of the warrant (for example, at the crime scene or shortly thereafter) a warrant must be signed by a judge within 24 hours. Failing that, the defendant must be released. This is why one of the judges is always on call to sign warrants. When the defendant is first brought to court he is arraigned, i.e. the charge is read to him. It may take some time for the defendant to hire counsel or for the defendant to apply for the services of the Public Defender. At this point, misdemeanors are scheduled for trial and felonies are scheduled for preliminary hearings, a non-jury proceeding. If the Associate Circuit judge finds probable cause, the case is bound over to the Circuit Court. In the Circuit Court, the State files its charges as an information. The defendant is again arraigned. The State provides the records of its investigation to the defendant through discovery. The defendant is obligated to provide discovery of intended witnesses and defenses of alibi or mental disease or defect. Each party may take the deposition of the other party’s witnesses but the defendant can never be compelled to testify at any stage of the trial. Eventually the defendant either pleads guilty or the case goes to trial. If the defendant pleads guilty, he must admit, under oath, every element of the offense. It may take a few months or potentially years for a case to go to trial. Trials are delayed because there are many witnesses who are not immediately available or who are not known until later in the process. Lawyers come in and out of the case, factual issues are sometimes not discovered until shortly before trial. There are delays caused by uncompleted lab reports, snow storms, computer outages, and pandemics. Everyone involved has many other cases and a full calendar. Further, everyone in the process is subject to illness from time to time as are their children, spouses and parents and when any mischance falls upon any of these people, the trial may be delayed. If a case is delayed, it is not delayed for a day or two, it is delayed until the next available court date, which may be months away. After a guilty plea or trial, the defendant is sentenced. If the defendant is tried by a jury, he has the right to jury sentencing, although most defendants waive jury sentencing and agree to be sentenced by the judge. A defendant is entitled to have a Sentencing Assessment Report prepared prior to sentencing. This report is written by a probation officer and gives the court information on the defendant’s education, family, employment, substance abuse and criminal record. The judge may impose a fine or impose a jail or prison sentence. If a sentence is imposed, that sentence may be suspended and the defendant may be placed on probation. The judge may also suspend imposition of sentence which reserves the right to impose up to the maximum sentence if the defendant violates the conditions of his probation. When a judge orders the payment of a fine or orders a sentence to be served that sentence is said to be executed. 3.  Statutes Related to Gun Violence  Note: this is a non-comprehensive list. Some statutes have been summarized for brevity and other, interacting statutes have been omitted. This summary is provided only as an overview. §558.011 Range of punishment for felonies and misdemeanors. 1. The authorized terms of imprisonment, including both prison and conditional release terms, are: (1) For a class A felony, a term of years not less than ten years and not to exceed thirty years, or life imprisonment; (2) For a class B felony, a term of years not less than five years and not to exceed fifteen years; (3) For a class C felony, a term of years not less than three years and not to exceed ten years; (4) For a class D felony, a term of years not to exceed seven years; (5) For a class E felony, a term of years not to exceed four years; (6) For a class A misdemeanor, a term not to exceed one year; (7) For a class B misdemeanor, a term not to exceed six months; (8) For a class C misdemeanor, a term not to exceed fifteen days. 2. In cases of class D and E felonies, the court shall have discretion to imprison for a special term not to exceed one year in the county jail or other authorized penal institution, and the place of confinement shall be fixed by the court. If the court imposes a sentence of imprisonment for a term longer than one year upon a person convicted of a class D or E felony, it shall commit the person to the custody of the department of corrections. §565.020. First degree murder, class A felony. A person commits the offense of murder in the first degree if he knowingly causes the death of another person after deliberation upon the matter. Punishable by death or imprisonment for life without probation or parole except by act of the governor. §565.021. Second degree murder, class A felony. A person commits the offense of murder in the second degree if he knowingly causes the death of another person or, with the intent of causing serious injury to another person, causes the death of another person or if in his attempt to commit a felony another person is killed. Punishable by ten to thirty years or life imprisonment. §565.023. Voluntary manslaughter, class B felony. A person commits the offense of voluntary manslaughter if he causes the death of another person under circumstances that would constitute murder in the second degree except that he was under the influence of sudden passion arising from adequate cause or if he knowingly assists another in the commission of self-murder. Punishable by five to fifteen years imprisonment. §565.002(1). “Adequate cause” means cause that would reasonably produce a degree of passion in a person of ordinary temperament sufficient to substantially impair an ordinary person's capacity for self-control. §565.024. Involuntary manslaughter, first degree, class C felony. A person commits the offense of involuntary manslaughter in the first degree if he recklessly causes the death of another person. Punishable by up to ten years imprisonment. If the victim is targeted because he is a law enforcement officer or a close relative of a law enforcement officer, the offense is a B felony, punishable by five to fifteen years imprisonment. §565.027. Involuntary manslaughter, second degree, class E felony. A person commits the offense of involuntary manslaughter in the second degree if he acts with criminal negligence to cause the death of any person. Punishable by one day to one year in jail or up to four years in the Department of Corrections. If the victim is targeted because he is a law enforcement officer or a close relative of a law enforcement officer, the offense is a D felony punishable by up to seven years imprisonment. §565.050. Assault first degree. A person commits the offense of assault in the first degree if he attempts to kill or knowingly causes or attempts to cause serious physical injury to another person. This is a class B felony, punishable by ten to twenty years. This is a class A felony if the person inflicts serious physical injury on the victim or the victim is a “special victim.” As a class A felony punishment is ten to thirty years or life imprisonment. §565.052. Assault second degree. A person commits the offense of assault in the second degree if he: (1) attempts to kill or knowing causes or attempt to cause serious physical injury to another person  under the influence of sudden passion arising out of adequate cause; or  (2) attempts to cause or knowing causes physical injury to another person by means of a deadly  weapon or dangerous instrument; or  (3) Recklessly causes serious physical injury to another person; or   (4) Recklessly causes physical injury to another person by means of discharge of a firearm.  This is a class D felony unless the victim is a “special victim” in which case it is a B felony. §565.072 et seq. Domestic assault offenses. These generally follow the assault offenses except that they are one level of offense higher for the same conduct perpetrated on a “domestic victim.” §565.002(6), §455.010(7) “Domestic victim” is defined as a family or household member including spouses, former spouses, any person related by blood or marriage, persons who are presently residing together or have resided together in the past, any person who is or has been in a continuing social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the victim, and anyone who has a child in common regardless of whether they have been married or have resided together at any time and including any child who is a member of the household or family. §571.030. Unlawful use of weapons. A person commits the offense of unlawful use of weapons when he knowingly: (1) Carries a firearm or other weapon capable of lethal use into any area where firearms are  restricted (B misdemeanor); or  (2) Sets a spring gun (E felony); or  (3) Shoots into a dwelling house, train, boat, aircraft, motor vehicle or structure used for  assembling of people (E felony); or  (4) Exhibits, in the presence of one or more person, any weapon readily capable of lethal use in  an angry or threatening manner (E felony)*; or  (5) Has a firearm on his person while intoxicated and handles it in a negligent or unlawful  manner or discharges it unless acting in self‐defense (A misdemeanor if unloaded, E felony if  loaded); or  (6) Discharges a firearm within one hundred yards of an occupied schoolhouse, courthouse or  church building (B misdemeanor); or  (7) Shoots a firearm along or across a public highway or into any outbuilding (B misdemeanor);  or  (8) Carries a firearm into any church where people are assembled for worship or into an  election precinct on election day or any government building (B misdemeanor); or  (9) Shoots at or from a motor vehicle unless in self‐defense (B felony but, if resulting in injury or  death, an A felony); or  (10) Carries a firearm, whether loaded or unloaded into any school, onto any school bus or onto  the premises of any function or activity sponsored or sanctions by school officials or the  district school board (A misdemeanor if unloaded, E felony if loaded); or  (11) Possesses a firearm while also knowingly in possession of a controlled substance (E felony).  There are exceptions to these provisions for peace officers, prison officials, members of the armed services while performing their duties, judges, process servers, probation officers, licensed corporate security officers; coroners, prosecuting attorneys and fire investigators. *571.030(4) is the most commonly charged version of this offense.  §571.070. Unlawful possession of firearm. 1. A person commits the offense of unlawful possession of a firearm if such person knowingly has  any firearm in his possession and:  (1) Such person has committed a felony; or  (2) Such person is a fugitive from justice, is habitually in an intoxicated or drugged condition or  is currently adjudged mentally incompetent.  2.  Unlawful possession of a firearm is a class D felony unless the person has been convicted of a  dangerous felony, in which case it is a C felony.