Metro-east man accused of threatening judge, jury in volleyball player case in St. Louis
Police have arrested a Madison man accused of making threats against the judge and jury in the trial of a man convicted of causing the downtown St. Louis crash in which a volleyball player from Tennessee lost both of her legs last year.
Erick M. Buntyn, 34, of the 800 block of Iowa Street in Madison, was arrested Thursday, and on Friday he was charged with tampering with a judicial officer, which is a felony, according to authorities and charging documents
After Daniel Riley, 22, was found guilty Thursday of causing the injuries to Janae Edmondson, a deputy in the courthouse hallway heard Buntyn say, “(Expletive) the judge and the jury, they are all racists, if I see any of them outside, I’m going to (expletive) kill them,” according to authorities and court records.
A probable cause statement filed Friday says Buntyn made an “audible outburst in the courtroom” before he entered the hallway.
Buntyn was being held in the St. Louis city jail Friday. His arrest warrant says no bond is allowed for him.
A defense attorney is not listed in court records for Buntyn.
Edmondson, a high school senior at the time of the crash, was injured on Feb. 18, 2023, after leaving The Dome, where she had played in a volleyball tournament.
She was pinned between two vehicles in the crash caused by Riley at the intersection of St. Charles and North 11th streets, according to a news release from the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s office.
Her father, James Edmondson, said his military training kicked in when he saw his daughter’s injuries.
“My mind actually went from father mode to military,” he said in the prosecutor’s news release. “And when I looked down and saw her leg was severed, and I knew she only had seconds and not minutes, my mind just kinda’ blocked everything out. It was like God had control of my hands...”
He used a bystander’s belt to apply a tourniquet to this daughter’s legs before paramedics arrived.
Janae Edmondson was able to graduate from her high school in Tennessee in May.
Riley was found guilty of second-degree assault and armed criminal action for reckless driving that caused the accident that severed Janae Edmondson’s legs, one count of fourth-degree assault for his role in the collision that injured another person, and driving without a valid license, the prosecutor’s news release said.
Jurors recommended that Riley be sentenced to about 19 years. Circuit Judge Michael Noble set sentencing for April 18.
