ST. LOUIS–One year after he arrived to a Circuit Attorney’s office described as being in “near-collapse”, Gabe Gore says the team he leads now is on its way to being one that is “competent fair, operating with high integrity and in the interest in service of the community," but has a "long way to go."

Gore was appointed last May as the permanent replacement for Kim Gardner, who resigned under state legislative pressure and removal proceedings by the attorney general, along with an ongoing state audit investigation.

The Circuit Attorney’s office was crumbling under the weight of skyrocketing caseloads falling on a shrinking number of attorneys and a backlog of 6,700 cases brought by police which had not been reviewed by prosecutors for a charging decision.

Today, that backlog is down to 2,600 cases described as low-level offenses after violent crimes—including nine homicides— were charged out. The new administration’s policy has been to make charging decisions on the same day they’re requested if possible, as a way to reduce future backlogs.

There is another backlog–of homicide cases awaiting trial–that is still too high, especially with a workforce that is short of the 58.5 attorneys Gore has budgeted. There are currently 237 homicide cases pending in the St. Louis circuit; the number is historically between 100-115, and Gore is about to lose some of the outside help from the U.S. Attorney’s Office and attorneys in private practice who together have been handling a total of 50 cases. Gore said that number is the typical equivalent of one homicide prosecutor’s caseload. His office currently has three homicide prosecutors.

Despite those numbers, Gore sees optimism in other figures, including last year’s total crime numbers that show a reduction in homicides, shootings and property crimes.

“I’ve gotten a lot of very positive reports back from downtown business leaders who have said we can feel the difference in downtown since you have been circuit attorney and have been making more timely prosecuting decisions and getting dangerous offenders off the street. Now of course perception will always lag reality so it’s going to take a while for people to understand that things have turned around a bit,” Gore said. “It does make a difference having a circuit attorney’s office that is effectively fulfilling its role in the criminal justice system and that that is having a very positive impact on public safety.”

Gore attributes part of the reason for the turnaround to his relationship with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and Chief Robert Tracy. Gardner frequently clashed with SLMPD on a variety of issues, including the fact that her office refused to file charges in cases connected with certain officers. Gore reiterated Thursday that no such “exclusionary list” exists now, and that each charge is filed on a case-by-case basis.

Gore added that SLMPD has resubmitted 30 homicide cases which were refused by the Gardner administration. Gore’s prosecutors have filed charges in seven of them.

After never holding elected office, Gore, a Democrat, decided earlier this year to seek the Circuit Attorney’s Office in his own right this fall. He has no primary or general election opposition. He has won near universal praise, even from Republicans, including the man who appointed him, Gov. Mike Parson, and the three leading contenders for governor in the GOP primary. 

While his work thus far has cooled talk in Jefferson City about rekindling legislation that would otherwise strip prosecutors here of responsibility for violent crime cases, there appears to be an appetite among Republicans at the state capitol to continue pressing for state control of the police department. 

Gore disagrees.

"I am in favor of maintaining local control….I think we’ve seen good progress last year," he said. 

“I think currently they have the resources to be effective because they’re being effective, they’re bringing us cases, their work is having an impact and they are creating a safer St. Louis.” 

He has not spoken with his predecessor, who has virtually disappeared from public life since early May 2023.

"She resigned, and I got here and had to start figuring things out and moving forward so, you know if she did ever want to reach out to me and talk, I would welcome that, I'd be glad to do it, but it doesn’t surprise me that she has not, nor do I think it’s been a detriment to the office that she hasn’t done that." Gore's office has cooperated with a continuing state audit probing Kim Gardner's tenure. Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick's office has been unable to locate her to serve subpoenas but has said he will still produce a final report with or without her cooperation.

Gore offered praise to the holdovers from Gardner's time who have remained in the office, augmented by new hires with previous experience including the homicide division head Mary Pat Carl, Marvin Teer, now the chief trial attorney and former Missouri Supreme Court judge George Draper, who is the office's chief training officer.

While Gore is all but assured of being in office for another four years starting in January, he believes he'll have the experienced hands he's brought back into the fold for two to three years.

"When you have a well-functioning prosecuting attorneys office you can absorb that kind of turnover because you’re building the capacity to replace your more senior attorneys on a daily basis….that’s where we need to be. We need to be where if we lose somebody we’ve got multiple capable qualified individuals ready to step and fill that role. We have some of that now but we have to continue to build that capacity."