ST. LOUIS – One month after a judge overturned a man’s conviction for the murder of a retired St. Louis police officer’s son, the Circuit Attorney’s Office filed to dismiss the charges altogether on Thursday, leading to the man’s release from prison.
On Dec. 30, 2022, Judge Timothy Boyer overturned Lamont Cambell’s conviction in the death of Leonard Gregory III.
Gregory was gunned down in July 2011 while driving his SUV in south St. Louis after leaving a local tavern.
Cambell, who was 17 at the time of Gregory’s murder, was convicted in 2016 of first-degree murder and armed criminal action, and sentenced to life imprisonment. Cambell maintained his innocence during the trial and later argued he had ineffective counsel.
Judge Boyer ruled certain witness testimony was unreliable, and that investigators failed to disclose one of the detectives on the case was having an affair with a witness.
The St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office released the following statement Thursday afternoon:
Based upon court findings and the judge’s extraordinary ruling that vacated the conviction and sentence of Lamont Darnell Campbell, the Circuit Attorney’s Office has dismissed the underlying case against Mr. Campbell. The investigation must be restarted to hold the perpetrator accountable for the crime committed. In every case, the Circuit Attorney’s Office is dedicated to ensuring that it carries out its duty to prosecute criminal cases in a manner that is fair and seeks justice on behalf of the residents of the City of St. Louis. At this time, we ask the general public to provide any information that will assist in the investigation of this crime.
St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner