Elston McCowan and Perry Molens, the two SEIU Local 2000 staff members who attacked Kenneth Gladney outside a Russ Carnahan Townhall last August pleaded "not guilty" to charges of assault from the St Louis County prosecutor's office. It's not a surprising plea, as defense attorney Paul D'Agrosa has stated in public he wants a jury trial.
The goal here is pretty simple. The trial will be scheduled out as far as possible, to help D'Agrosa in claiming the memories of the witnesses are faulty. This trial will come down to two things. The testimony of Kenneth Gladney, and that of the witnesses. It's very likely that McCowan won't testify, and it's almost impossbile to think Molens will testify. This is a real challenge for D'Agrosa. McCowan and Molens are both over six feet and two hundred pounds. Kenneth Gladney is a 130 pounds. In court, the size difference will be very apparent. They put either on the stand, and how will a jury believe they were beaten up?
Other things to keep in mind.
Somehow, D'Agrosa is going to have to show that Gladney attacked McCowan while Molens looked meekly on. This is the official story given by McCowan separately to Don Fitz and to Mark Reardon of KMOX. D'Agrosa went on the radio and let his client claim he was attacked. Will a jury believe it? No one believes it, but D'Agrosa might be able to keep this evidence out of court. KMOX has it archived, and I have a copy.1) McCowan never pressed charges against Gladney, despite his claims that Gladney attacked him and broke his shoulder.
2) McCowan and Molens both have their attorney fees paid by SEIU, and the attorney is one of the top criminal defense lawyers in St Louis.
3) McCowan's worker compensation claims were originally denied, but then were approved. Note that SEIU could not pay his legal fees if he wasn't on the clock. In what capacity was McCowan serving that his employee presence was required, despite official statements from SEIU that no one was sent to the Russ Carnahan townhall on aging? McCowan and Molens were attendees inside, but not volunteers. How exactly would this qualify him for worker's compensation?
4) SEIU Local 2000, once one of the largest and most powerful unions in Missouri, has since been dissolved and absorbed into SEIU Healthcare Illinois, and reports have surfaced that the few staff members remaining were all paid generous severance packages. Among those receiving those cash settlements were Elston McCowan and Perry Molens.
5) One of the three people arrested for assault that night have already pleaded guilty to assault, the incident involving the punching of Kelly Owens.
6) The video and pictures you have seen online are not the whole story. There were dozens of cameras and videos inside and outside the gym that night. What I chose to publish was information that would show the seriousness of what occurred. While no direct video shows the initial assault on Gladney, any attempts to provide fake witnesses will be futile, as there is plenty of photographic records to show who was and wasn't there. In other words, there is a fixed limit on the number of witnesses, and 8 minutes of audio after the assault occurs that will make it very hard for D'Agrosa to find anyone who will say Gladney attacked McCowan.
Now, there is one socialist patsy at Washington University who is acting as a shill for McCowan. He posted some x-rays (I didn't post Gladney's medical records, but the prosecutor has them) , and claims this was all a giant conspiracy by Gladney, David Brown, the three witnesses, and of course, the St Louis Tea Party leaders who not only faked the whole incident, but then somehow scared County Prosecutor Pat Redington into making false charges. Yes - we're talking about Adam Shriver, who still hasn't come up with a single person willing to speak on record, despite the presence of four, count them, four alternate people who were union or OFA members that were present.
No witnesses have stepped forward to back up Molens and McCowan, but Shriver wants you to believe some grand conspiracy brought in three witnesses to lie about an assault to police officers and commit perjury during a criminal trial. And the person we decided to have attack two hulking union members was a childhood leukemia survivor and a diabetic who first spent hours selling merchandise before turning into a Mixed Martial Arts champion.
Yeah. That's the story he's peddling.
Gladney will have his day in court. Finally.
Comments