ST. LOUIS—Embattled St. Louis Sheriff Alfred Montgomery said late Tuesday afternoon he will not resign despite an ultimatum by the state's attorney general that failure to do so by Wednesday at noon would lead to the launch of removal procedures.

Montgomery, who won a heated election last fall and was sworn into the post in January, has been under fire for months amid criticism that he has strayed from the office’s core responsibilities, such as maintaining circuit court security, transporting detainees, including for medical treatment and serving court documents.

"I have not been found guilty of any wrongdoing and I will not be removed from this office. I will not run from this office. I will continue to serve the people of this city and I will continue to do my duties as the sheriff and protecting the courts," Montgomery said in reading a prepared statement before leaving without answering questions. 

Absent Montgomery's resignation, Bailey intends to file a writ of quo warranto, the same mechanism he used to try and oust former St. Louis circuit attorney Kim Gardner, who ultimately resigned under both legal and legislative presure.

In the months since being sworn in as Sheriff, Montgomery has been accused of false arrest in connection with an investigation into whether a sheriff’s deputy sexually assaulted a detainee at the St. Louis City Justice Center. Montgomery was also criticized for a move to let a deputy roll a dice in order to keep his job. The deputy was later fired and was one of more than a dozen dismissed once Montgomery took over, the deputy said. 

His office’s spending, on golf carts and badges, and questions over whether deputies were fulfilling an obligation to transport detainees in need of medical treatment, were among the issues that have caused consternation for the city’s board of aldermen. Legislation that would clarify the extent of the department’s duties was filed in recent weeks.

"Given the widely published and disturbing allegations, the Attorney General’s Office is prepared to act on behalf of the citizens of St. Louis. The writ will point to a troubling pattern of instability and misconduct under Sheriff Alfred Montgomery’s leadership," the attorney general's office said in a statement. "Taken together, these issues reflect a systemic failure to uphold the integrity of the office and have severely undermined public trust in law enforcement operations within the City.

Retired circuit judge David Mason, now an attorney for the sheriff's office, told reporters it is the responsibility of the agency retaining custody of the detainee to transport them for medical care and that the sheriff's administration had not refused to transport anyone. The task had been done, Mason said, as a courtesy. The other allegations have yet to be proven, Mason said.

"Is that enough to throw people out of office, because quite frankly I can have people make allegations to you guys about any public official and you can print the allegations or broadcast the allegations and what that's enough to throw somebody out of office? Of course not. That's why we have due process," he said.