蜜芽传媒

ST. LOUIS 鈥� A former city sheriff鈥檚 deputy was charged Thursday with having sexual contact with an inmate at the downtown jail 鈥� an incident that led to a standoff between the city sheriff and a jail official.

The charges say James Short, 26 鈥� who had previously been charged in connection with the accidental shooting of a toddler 鈥� had sexual contact with a female inmate earlier this year while transporting prisoners at the City Justice Center.

The investigation into his conduct in February led to his immediate firing, a sheriff鈥檚 department spokesman said Thursday.

It also led to the city鈥檚 deputy jail commissioner Tammy Ross accusing Sheriff Alfred Montgomery of violating her civil rights, after Montgomery demanded access to the detainee 鈥� and then handcuffed Ross when she refused to let him in.

Short鈥檚 lawyer, T.J. Matthes, said his client would plead not guilty.

鈥淭here are some serious credibility issues regarding these allegations,鈥� Matthes said in a text message. 鈥淲e look forward to challenging them in court.鈥�

Short was hired by the sheriff鈥檚 department in November 2023, court documents say.

In March 2024, he left his service pistol unattended in a bedroom at his Ferguson home while his 2-year-old nephew was visiting during a family gathering, charges say. The boy found the loaded gun, shot himself and was taken to the hospital, documents say.

Short was charged with a misdemeanor count of endangering the welfare of a child. He pleaded not guilty.

Sheriff Vernon Betts said at the time that Short would remain on duty.

But Betts lost a re-election bid last year to Montgomery.

Montgomery took over the office in January. Weeks later, Short submitted a two-week resignation notice, spokesman Jack Gieseke said Thursday.

Within that two-week period, a tip came in to the jail that Short was having an illegal sexual relationship with a female detainee. Police launched an investigation.

Montgomery then marched into the jail and demanded access to the detainee so he could conduct his own investigation.

But Montgomery鈥檚 office, unlike other sheriffs across the state, does not run the jail or perform general law enforcement. Instead, deputies transport prisoners to and from court, provide courthouse security and serve legal papers.

Ross told Montgomery she鈥檇 need to check with her superiors, then refused his request, and Montgomery ordered his deputies to handcuff her. He said he would detain her for 48 hours, but he eventually released her, according to a suit Ross later filed against Montgomery.

Montgomery鈥檚 lawyer maintained that the sheriff acted lawfully. Montgomery has repeatedly expressed a desire to take over jail operations from the city.

On Thursday, Short was charged with two counts of having sexual contact in the course of his public duty. He was allowed to be released on bond and is not allowed to have contact with the victim.

蜜芽传媒 Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore said in a statement the charges outlined 鈥渁n abuse of authority and a violation of the public鈥檚 trust.鈥�

The child endangerment charge is still pending. A hearing has not been set in the new case.