It’s becoming increasingly evident that the Kanawha County prosecutor’s office rushed to drop a felony charge against state Supreme Court Justice Margaret Workman’s son, Teddy Gardner.
Gardner, 27, was arrested by Charleston police Aug. 6 and charged with malicious wounding as a result of a domestic dispute with his sister, Lindsay, the previous night near their mother’s home in Charleston.
The confrontation left Lindsay Gardner, 29, unconscious and bleeding from a head injury. She spent several days in the hospital.
Kanawha County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office Chief of Staff Chuck Miller announced last week he would not pursue the charge for lack of evidence. He said his investigation determined that Lindsay took a swing at her brother, who then pushed her, causing her to fall and hit her head.
Miller said it was no more than a spat between a brother and sister.
However, Miller made the decision without having reviewed the full police report. Police say that would have been made available for a preliminary hearing, but the charge was dismissed without a hearing.
A close examination of the full police report shows consistent statements by witnesses who arrived on the scene after Lindsay had hit the ground. They say Lindsay was bleeding and repeating that her brother had kicked her in the head three times.
One witness, Lisa Pollitt, appeared on Talkline yesterday and repeated much of what she said in her statement to police. She saw Lindsay lying in the grass off the side of the road. “A male was straddling her, lifting her at the waist and had her up off the ground,” Pollitt said. “Then I guess he noticed that these two cars were waiting to get up the hill and he literally dropped her and ran to his car and drove away.”
Pollitt could not identify the man, but police are convinced it was Teddy Gardner. Gardner’s attorney, Jesse Forbes, has said his client removed himself from the scene because it was an emotional situation.
Teddy Gardner has been in trouble before. He was arrested last month by Nitro Police on charges of drunk driving and possession of marijuana. According to the criminal complaint, Gardner became combative with the police and “kept repeating numerous times ‘my mom’s a Supreme Court judge.’” He’s due in court next month on the DUI charge.
So here’s what we have: Lindsay is injured badly enough to be admitted to the hospital for several days. She told several different people her brother assaulted her and tried to kill her. A man is seen dropping her to the ground, running to his car and driving away from the scene. The prosecutor drops the charge without the benefit of the full police report and before receiving lab results on a red stain on Teddy Gardner’s shoe (that lab report is still not available). The charge is dismissed two weeks after it’s filed. The prosecutor says on Talkline he moved swiftly because Teddy Gardner’s admission to medical school was “on hold” while the matter was pending.
Charleston Mayor Danny Jones doesn’t agree with Miller’s decision not to at least bring the case before a magistrate or a grand jury. He’s called for a special prosecutor to take over.
“I just think there’s been a miscalculation,” Jones said on Talkline Tuesday. “Something very unconscionable happened up there on that hill that night and we need to find out exactly what it was.”