St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore Receives Missouri State University Government Excellence Award
December 8, 2023

Gore to Accept Award, Deliver Fall Commencement Address


ST. LOUIS, MO (December 8, 2023) — St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore will receive the 2023 Government Excellence Award from his alma mater, Missouri State University, on December 15, 2023, in Springfield. The award is given to government officials who exemplify leadership, support the university, and have outstanding achievements.


“We’re grateful for Gabe and his continued support of the university,” said Missouri State President Clif Smart. “His leadership skills and passion for community engagement exemplify the spirit of our public affairs mission.”


“It is an honor to receive this award from the school that was foundational to the development of my character and my values as a person, a citizen, and a public servant,” Gore said. “It is only fitting that I give back to MSU, which has given me so much.”


Gore earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from MSU in 1991. He served on the University Board of Governors from 2015- 2023. During that time, he served as vice chair and chair of the board, making faculty, staff, and student diversity his top priority. The university subsequently hired the first black associate dean of the graduate college and the highest-ranking black faculty member in its history, the first black female basketball coach and the first black female human resources director. To promote student diversity, he laid the foundation for collaborative relationships with St. Louis groups serving marginalized youth, such as College Bound and Wyman Inc.


Gore has a long history of government service, serving as Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, Assistant Special Counsel for the John C. Danforth Office of Special Counsel. He was a member of the Ferguson Commission, created by former Missouri Governor Jeremiah “Jay” Nixon to study and make recommendations on issues surrounding the unrest that followed the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson in 2014. He chaired the commission’s criminal justice subcommittee, which recommended municipal court reform. Supported by the Missouri Supreme Court, those reforms helped improve accountability, and eliminate laws that unfairly fined and jailed hundreds of St. Louis area residents on traffic offenses while generating millions of dollars in revenue for municipalities.


Gore had a successful 23-year career in private practice. As a partner at Dowd Bennett LLP, he tried numerous jury trials to verdict, including cases involving breach of contract, securities fraud, employment, and property damage claims.


On May 19, 2023, Gore was appointed Circuit Attorney by Missouri Gov. Mike Person, a previous recipient of the MSU Government Excellence Award, to fill the unexpired term of Circuit Attorney, Kimberly M. Gardner, who resigned. Gore, 54, will run for a full four-year-term as Circuit Attorney in the November 5, 2024, general election.


###

For Immediate Release

For more information contact:

Amber Raub

Public Information Officer

St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office

rauba@stlouiscao.org

314-589-6233 (office)

314-312-9912 (cell)

More News

Hyde Park Man Convicted in Murder of Landlord During Eviction Dispute

May 24, 2025
ST. LOUIS, MO (May 23, 2025) — James Cody Jr., 30, was found guilty of second-degree murder and armed criminal action by a jury on Friday for the March 8, 2022, murder of Michael Kelly, 72, in the 3900 block of North 25th Street in the City’s Hyde Park neighborhood. The case stemmed from an ongoing landlord-tenant dispute. Mr. Kelly, the victim, was the landlord of a residence on the 4000 block of North 22nd Street, where Cody’s girlfriend, Deseray Rabb, had stopped paying rent. Despite a court-ordered eviction, Rabb refused to vacate the property. As the legal process unfolded, Cody, who was not listed on the lease but was the father of Rabb’s three children, began threatening Mr. Kelly. On the morning of the murder, surveillance footage captured Cody following Mr. Kelly as he drove to his office. Once parked, Cody was seen approaching the vehicle with a rifle and fatally shooting him. A Nissan Sentra rented under Rabb’s name was spotted in the area and later recovered with ballistic damage concealed by duct tape. Cody was arrested days later at a St. Louis County motel, where he and Rabb were staying with their children. The jury recommended a sentence of 25 years for second-degree murder and 10 years for armed criminal action. Cody’s sentencing is scheduled for June 27, 2025. Deseray Rabb, Cody’s girlfriend and co-defendant, was charged with accessory to first-degree murder and accessory to armed criminal action. She was acquitted by the jury. Tanja Engelhardt, Homicide Unit Chief, and Assistant Circuit Attorneys Timothy Wright and Emily Price prosecuted the case. “This was a ruthless, targeted killing over a lawful eviction. This senseless act of violence has destroyed multiple families. We will relentlessly prosecute those who choose to settle disputes with gun violence to the fullest extent of the law,” said St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore. Cody’s case number is 2322-CR01089.

St. Louis Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Shooting Former Girlfriend in the Face

May 19, 2025
Robert Harper, 43, was sentenced following a guilty plea on Monday to 10 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections for first-degree domestic assault and armed criminal action for shooting his former girlfriend.

Man Convicted in Deadly 2021 Triple Shooting in Fairground Neighborhood

May 15, 2025
Charles Anderson, 66, was found guilty by a jury on Thursday of two counts of first-degree murder, one count of first-degree assault, one count of unlawful possession of a firearm, and three counts of armed criminal action in connection to a 2021 shooting that killed two people and injured another in the 2900 block of Kossuth Avenue in the City’s Fairground neighborhood.