ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis alderman was arrested Tuesday following a traffic stop.
According to Sgt. Keith Barrett, a spokesman for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, officers pulled Alderman John Collins-Muhammad (21st Ward) over for speeding.
Police discovered Collins-Muhammad had four active city bench warrants and five fugitive traffic warrants from other jurisdictions. He was arrested for the outstanding warrants and ticketed for speeding, driving without a seatbelt, and driving while his license was revoked.
This is not the first time the alderman has been arrested on traffic violations.
In March 2018, Alderman Collins-Muhammad was arrested after rear-ending a vehicle at a stop sign. At the time, Collins-Muhammad had five active city bench warrants and a fugitive warrant from Jefferson City. At the time, he was ticketed for driving on a suspended license and failure to display proof of insurance.
Collins-Muhammad had three warrants tied to 2015 ordinance violations for two traffic cases and petty larceny. At the time, he agreed to pay a fine, but Collins-Muhammad never paid the fine nor did he appear in court to ask for a postponement. In 2017, the alderman was charged with three new ordinance violations for running a stop sign and driving with a suspended license. He did not show up for court in that matter.
The Jefferson City warrant was issued afterCollins-Muhammad failed to appear in court for a local traffic offense.
The day after his arrest, Collins-Muhammad sat down with You Paid For It investigative reporter Elliott Davis to discuss the unpaid traffic tickets. Collins-Muhammad said he regretted the mistake and said he was too busy dealing with business in the ward that he neglected to handle the matter.
During the interview, Davis asked the alderman why he didn’t take advantage of the city’s amnesty program for people with tickets. Collins-Muhammad said it was something he should have considered.
