ST. LOUIS _ A St. Louis judge has recused himself from the criminal case against a police officer accused of killing a colleague last month.
The lawyer for Officer Nathaniel Hendren made the request last week, saying the statements of Associate Circuit Judge David Roither showed "explicit bias against the defendant, that he is biased and prejudiced against the defendant's potential defenses, and has already predetermined the outcome of this case."
At a Jan. 31 bond hearing, Roither said unholstering a gun, unloading it, reloading it and pointing it at someone else were all intentional acts. He also said, "You don't point a muzzle at anything you don't intend to shoot."
"It is a rare case indeed that a judge has so explicitly and publicly made his personal thoughts known regarding a set of allegations (with no evidence or witnesses being presented) at this early stage of the proceedings," the motion filed by attorney Talmage Newton IV said.
A hearing for the motion was set for Wednesday. Roither recused himself Friday. On Monday, Associate Circuit Judge Thomas McCarthy was assigned to handle the case.
At the hearing, Newton had sought a lowering of Hendren's $50,000 cash-only bail. Roither instead raised it to $100,000, but allowed Hendren to post 10 percent, effectively making it easier for Hendren to get out of jail.
Hendren, 29, is facing charges of involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action in the shooting death of Officer Katlyn Alix, 24, early on the morning of Jan. 24.
Hendren and his partner were supposed to be patrolling a different part of the city but were in Hendren's home with Alix, who was off duty, authorities said. Charging documents say Hendren loaded a revolver with one bullet and the two took turns firing it at each other, according to court documents. Alix was struck in the chest and died from her wounds at St. Louis University Hospital.
A court spokesman said last week that the case would have soon moved to a new judge anyway.
