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Wesley Bell
Bell in 2014
Prosecuting Attorney of St. Louis County
Assumed office
January 1, 2019
Preceded byBob McCulloch
Personal details
Born (1974-11-05) November 5, 1974 (age 49)
St. Louis County, Missouri, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Education
WebsiteCampaign website

Wesley Bell (born November 5, 1974)[1][2] is an American attorney who currently is prosecuting attorney for St. Louis County, Missouri.[3] In a major upset, he defeated long-time yet controversial county prosecutor Bob McCulloch in the August 2018 Democratic primary election,[1] and became the first Black county prosecuting attorney in St. Louis County history when he took office in January 2019.[4]

On June 7, 2023, Bell announced his candidacy in the 2024 United States Senate election in Missouri.[5] In October 2023, he opted to run for Missouri's 1st U.S. House seat instead, challenging incumbent Cori Bush.[6]

Early life[edit]

Bell was raised in northern St. Louis County, Missouri. He is the son of a police officer father and civil servant mother. Bell is a graduate of Hazelwood East High School, Lindenwood University, and University of Missouri School of Law.[7]

Career[edit]

After graduating from law school, Bell worked as a St. Louis County public defender. He later joined the faculty of Florissant Valley Community College as a professor in the criminology department. Additionally, he also was appointed to be a municipal court judge in Velda City and municipal prosecutor in Riverview. While working as a municipal judge in Velda City, Bell was sued by Arch City Defenders, a local nonprofit, for his role in Velda City's cash bail system.[8]

In 2006, Bell managed the campaign of Mark J. Byrne, a Republican candidate challenging Lacy Clay's seat in Missouri's 1st congressional district. Despite Byrne's conservative platform and strong opposition to abortion, Bell is said to have run the campaign as a "friendly favor."[9]

In 2015, following the Ferguson Protests, Bell beat Lis Smith who was backed by Furguson Protesters to be elected to the city council.[10][11]

In 2018, Bell entered the race for county prosecutor race, running on a platform of community based policing, assigning special prosecutors in homicides by police, pledging to never seek the death penalty, reforming cash bail/bond, and other progressive points, he received significant support from local and national activists and advocacy groups.[1][4][12] The election was also seen as a referendum on incumbent Bob McCulloch, for his decision not to prosecute the white police officer who shot and killed Michael Brown.[1]

County prosecutor[edit]

In his first hours in office, Bell ordered his assistant prosecutors not to prosecute marijuana cases under 100 grams without evidence of distribution of the drug; however, he still prosecuted marijuana cases where the person possessing the marijuana is armed with a weapon. His office stopped seeking warrants on cases that solely involve the possession of marijuana.[13] Additionally, during his first days in office Bell elected to stop prosecuting criminal child support cases.[14]

Bell campaigned on a platform of opposition to the death penalty, and was confronted, in 2020, with a case from 2018, in which a resident of Jefferson County, Missouri, killed a woman.[15] There was a major public outcry for Bell seek the death penalty for Bruce, but Bell refused, keeping his campaign promise.[16] Former St. Louis police chief Tim Fitch has urged Bell to turn the case over to federal prosecutors so that they can seek the death penalty. However, the family of the victim supported Bell's decision not to seek the death penalty.[17]

Bell reopened the investigation into the killing of Michael Brown in early 2020, and decided not to file any charges against the white officer. Bell ultimately concluded, like his predecessor Bob McCulloch and the United States Department of Justice, that there was not probable cause to criminally charge Darren Wilson.[18] The decision was met with anger from his supporters and Michael Brown's family who accused Bell of conducting an incomplete investigation.[19] The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, a local paper of record, was also critical of Bell for his apparent disappointment, expressed at a press conference, in choosing not to attempt to indict Wilson.[20]

Use of government resources[edit]

Bell was criticized for his use of government resources while in office. In June 2019, KSDK, a local news outlet, reported that Bell had amassed nearly $800 in parking tickets though he was provided with a parking space.[21] Bell later paid off the parking tickets using his own money.[22]

In October 2019, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch conducted an investigation into Bell's expenditures during the first ten months in office. The investigation uncovered that Bell had spent over $30,000 in government funds on travel and food during his first ten months in office. This included an $816 dinner at an expensive Miami steakhouse and a $300 meal at a Lake of the Ozarks steakhouse. In addition to food and travel, the Post-Dispatch determined that Bell had spent over $8,000 of taxpayer dollars on new office furniture, blinds, and an espresso machine for his office.[23] Furthermore, the Post-Dispatch also reported on Bell's efforts to hide details of his spending, such as omitting thousands of dollars of charges from requested records, charging the Post to provide requested documents, reimbursing expenditures only after records requests for those expenditures were made, and being nonresponsive to sunshine requests.[24] Under pressure from his supporters, Bell ultimately apologized citing the actions as "missteps" and vowed to spend taxpayer money more appropriately in the future.[25][26]

On October 29, 2020, Susan Petersen, one of Bell's assistant prosecutors, filed a lawsuit under Missouri's Human Rights Act claiming that Bell had fired her and forced out five other female attorneys in favor of male employees. The lawsuit further alleged that Bell had created a hostile work environment for female attorneys at the office. Bell responded by claiming that the prosecutor's attorney was irresponsibly and unethically attempting to litigate her case in the media.[27] On June 27,2024, circuit Judge Bruce F. Hilton ruled that Bell would have to answer deposition questions about sexual relations occurring between a supervisor and multiple subordinates in Bell’s office and denied the county’s motion to delay the Petersen trial.[28]

Campaign for US Congress[edit]

In 2023, Bell announced a challenge to Josh Hawley in the US Senate, in which he polled higher than fellow Democrat candidate Lucas Kunce.[29] In late October 2023, he dropped from the Senate race to challenge fellow Democrat Cori Bush for the Missouri's 1st congressional district seat.[6]

Politico reported that AIPAC earmarked over $800,000 for Bell's campaign as of April 30, 2024.[30]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Ferner, Matt (August 7, 2018). "St. Louis Voters Oust Prosecutor Who Didn't Bring Charges In Cop Killing Of Michael Brown". HuffPost. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  2. ^ @wesleybell4stl (November 5, 2018). "Today is Wesley's birthday! 🎉🎈🎂 He needs your helping to make his birthday wish come true. Watch to hear how. @clairecmc @McCaskill4MO @nicolergalloway @cortvo" (Tweet). Retrieved February 2, 2023 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ Jordan, Sandra (November 6, 2018). "Victory night for Wesley Bell, former Ferguson councilman makes history as first black St. Louis County Prosecutor". St. Louis American.
  4. ^ a b Levitz, Eric (August 8, 2018). "Progressive Reformer Ousts St. Louis Prosecutor Who Didn't Charge Cop in Michael Brown Case". Intelligencer. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  5. ^ Hancock, Jason (June 7, 2023). "St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell enters Missouri's U.S. Senate race". Missouri Independent.
  6. ^ a b Byers, Christine; Maxwell, Mark (October 30, 2023). "Wesley Bell announces run against Cori Bush for Congress". KSDK. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  7. ^ Allen, Ron; Noble Jones, Brittany (August 10, 2018). "Game changer: Wesley Bell ousts Bob McCulloch for prosecutor in St. Louis County". NBC News. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  8. ^ Reilly, Ryan J.; Stewart, Mariah (April 6, 2015). "Judge In Tiny City Facing Lawsuit Over Its 'Illegal' Bail System Is Running For Ferguson City Council". HuffPost. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  9. ^ Redden, Molly (June 20, 2024). "He's Running As A Progressive Democrat — But Has A Hidden GOP Past". HuffPost. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  10. ^ Deere, Stephen (May 8, 2015). "Losing Ferguson council candidates in spat with campaign manager". STLtoday.com. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
  11. ^ Deere, Stephen (April 8, 2015). "High voter turnout in Ferguson adds two black council members, for three total". STLtoday.com. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
  12. ^ Stockman, Farah (August 8, 2018). "In Ferguson, a New Prosecutor 'Gives Us Hope' 4 Years After Shooting". The New York Times. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
  13. ^ Wicentowski, Danny (January 14, 2019). "St. Louis County will stop prosecuting marijuana possession under 100 grams". The Riverfront Times. Archived from the original on February 22, 2020. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  14. ^ Long, Jacob (January 4, 2019). "Top staffer for Wesley Bell owes ex-wife thousands in back due child support". KSDK.
  15. ^ Byers, Christine; Benchaabane, Nassim; Hollinshed, Denise; Holleman, Joe (November 22, 2018). "Jefferson County man charged with murder, sex crimes in Catholic Supply store attack". St. Louis Post Dispatch.
  16. ^ Long, Jacob; Cole, Ashley (January 11, 2019). "Wesley Bell won't seek death penalty in Catholic Supply murder". KSDK. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  17. ^ Byers, Christine (November 28, 2018). "Death penalty should be on the table for Catholic Supply killer, former police chief says". The St. Louis Post Dispatch. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  18. ^ Currier, Joel (July 31, 2020). "St. Louis County prosecutor reopened Michael Brown shooting case but won't charge Darren Wilson". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  19. ^ King, Chris (July 30, 2020). "Lezley McSpadden says Wesley Bell did not do a 'proper investigation'". St. Louis American. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  20. ^ "Editorial: New investigation, same disappointing result for Michael Brown's family". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. August 2020. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  21. ^ Long, Jacob (July 15, 2019). "Using taxpayer-funded SUV, Wesley Bell racks up hundreds of dollars in unpaid parking tickets". KSDK. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  22. ^ Long, Jacob (August 7, 2019). "Wesley Bell surrenders fight to avoid paying hundreds of dollars in parking tickets on government-funded SUV". KSDK. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  23. ^ Currier, Joel (October 28, 2019). "Lobster, ribeye: Prosecutor Wesley Bell's office has charged $30,000 in meals, travel to St. Louis County credit cards". The St. Louis Post Dispatch. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  24. ^ The Post Dispatch Editorial Board (October 27, 2019). "Editorial: Bell's lavish meals, travel aren't a good fit for a self-proclaimed reformer". The St Louis Post Dispatch. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  25. ^ The St. Louis American Editorial Board (October 31, 2019). "Wesley Bell needs to clean up the mess he made". The St. Louis American. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  26. ^ Bell, Wesley (November 5, 2019). "I cannot allow my missteps to undermine our mission". The St. Louis American. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  27. ^ Currier, Joel (October 29, 2020). "Former prosecutor accuses Wesley Bell of racial, gender and age discrimination". STLtoday.com. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  28. ^ Holleman, Joe (June 27, 2024). "Holleman: Wesley Bell dogged by questions about hiring and firing practices". STLtoday.com. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  29. ^ Desrochers, Daniel; Bayless, Kacen (October 19, 2023). "Hawley talks a big game on worker rights amid union strike. Do his votes match up?". Kansas City Star.
  30. ^ Piper, Jessica; Fuchs, Hailey (June 9, 2024). "Bipartisanship or Republican meddling? AIPAC is biggest source of GOP donations in Dem primaries". Politico.

External links[edit]

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