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IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF MISSISSIPPI COUNTY
STATE OF MISSOURI
CORNEALIOUS MICHAEL ANDERSON, III )
)
Plaintiff, )
)
vs. )
)
GEORGE LOMBARDI, In His Official Capacity )
As Director of the Missouri Department of Corrections, )
)
Defendant. )
PETITION FOR DECLARATORY JUDGMENT (Non-Jury)
Plaintiff, CORNEALIOUS MICHAEL ANDERSON, III, through the undersigned
counsel, hereby respectfully alleges as follows:
NATURE OF THE ACTION
1. This is an action for declaratory relief pursuant to Rule 87. Plaintiff seeks a declaration
by this Court concerning his continued incarceration in the Missouri Department of Corrections
pursuant to a judgment of conviction and sentence entered against him in the St. Charles County
Circuit Court on May 19, 2000 in Case # CR0199-002532F, but not executed until July 25, 2013.
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
2. Jurisdiction lies in this Court because Plaintiff is currently incarcerated pursuant to a
State judgment of conviction, and pursuant to the Fifth Amendment, Eighth and Fourteenth
Amendments of the United States Constitution and Article I, §§ 10 and 21 of the Missouri Constitution.
3. Venue lies in this County because Plaintiff is currently incarcerated within Mississippi County.
PARTIES
4. Plaintiff, CORNEALIOUS MICHAEL ANDERSON, III, is a prisoner currently
incarcerated in the Missouri Department of Corrections, Southeast Correctional Center, Inmate ID
# 1039699, located at 300 East Pedro Simmons Drive, Charleston, County of Mississippi, State of
Missouri, 63834.
5. Defendant GEORGE LOMBARDI is the Director of the Missouri Department of
Corrections, maintains and controls the Southeast Correctional Center, and is sued herein in his
official capacity.
STATEMENT OF FACTS
6. Plaintiff was convicted upon a jury verdict of Robbery in the First Degree and Armed
Criminal Action in the St. Charles County Circuit Court, Case # CR0199-002532F, on March 13,
2000, and taken into custody pending sentence.
7. Plaintiff was sentenced to an aggregate of 13 years imprisonment in the Missouri
Department of Corrections (DOC) on May 19, 2000 upon his conviction.
8. Plaintiff entered the custody of DOC on May 25, 2000.
9. On June 8, 2000, with the consent of the Prosecuting Attorney, the St. Charles County
Circuit Court granted Plaintiff bond pending appeal in the amount of $25,000.00, secured by real
property, and Plaintiff was released from the custody of DOC that same day.
10. Plaintiff unsuccessfully prosecuted a direct appeal of his conviction to the Missouri
Court of Appeals, Eastern District in case # ED77996, which affirmed his conviction on August
14, 2001.
11. Petitioner then successfully sought further review in the Missouri Supreme Court, and
prosecuted his direct appeal to that Court in case # SC84035. On May 28, 2002, the Court affirmed
his conviction in a written opinion.
12. At the conclusion of his direct appeals, Plaintiff was not ordered to return to custody
to begin serving his sentence.
13. On September 11, 2002, Petitioner filed a pro se motion for post-conviction relief in
the St. Charles County Circuit Court, Case # 02-CV-12903, collaterally attacking his conviction.
That petition was denied on August 31, 2004.
14. Plaintiff filed a notice of appeal from that order on October 8, 2004. However, the
Missouri Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal on March 23, 2005 for failure to perfect an appeal,
Case # ED85265.
15. At no time after the conclusion of his direct appeals was Plaintiff ordered to surrender
to begin serving his sentence, nor was a warrant issued for his arrest until July, 2013.
16. From 2000 until 2013, Plaintiff continued to live in St. Louis, Missouri. He did not
change his name, assume an alias, or absent himself from this jurisdiction. He maintained a
driver’s license with the Department of Revenue, updating his license to reflect a change of address
to a new residence in St. Louis, and registered several vehicles to his home address.
17. Plaintiff learned a trade as a master carpenter, married, divorced, re-married, fathered
three children, cared for a step-child, purchased real estate, incorporated three businesses and
started his own home improvement company. He paid State and Federal income and corporate
taxes, volunteered as a youth football coach and with his church group.
18. From 2000 until his incarceration in 2013, Plaintiff had no new arrests or contacts with
the criminal justice system except to receive a traffic ticket.
18. On July 25, 2013, Plaintiff was arrested by law enforcement agents at his home and
taken into the custody of DOC to begin serving the 13-year sentence imposed 13 years earlier.
FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION
19. Missouri Statutes § 558.031.1 provides in relevant part that “[a] sentence of
imprisonment shall commence when a person convicted of a crime in this state is received into the
custody of the department of corrections or other place of confinement where the offender is
sentenced.”
20. When Plaintiff’s direct appeals concluded on May 28, 2002 with a published decision
by the Missouri Supreme Court affirming his conviction, Plaintiff’s appeal bond was terminated
as a matter of law.
21. As a result of a clerical error, Plaintiff erroneously remained at liberty until July 25,
2013, through no fault of his own.
22. Because Plaintiff erroneously remained at liberty, his sentence continued to run. See
Anderson v. Crawford, 309 S.W.3d 863 (Mo. Ct. App. 2010).
23. As a result of the foregoing, Plaintiff should receive credit towards completion of his
sentence for the time spent from the date of sentencing, May 19, 2000, until the day this Court
hears this petition.
24. In the alternative, as a result of the foregoing, Plaintiff should receive credit towards
completion of his sentence for the time spent from the date he was received by DOC, May 25,
2000, until the day this Court hears this petition.
CONCLUSION AND RELIEF REQUESTED
25. Plaintiff should be entitled to credit towards the 13 year sentence from either date
urged above, thereby rendering his sentence satisfied in full.
26. Plaintiff respectfully requests that this Court grant the instant petition as set forth in
the prayer for relief below.
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff respectfully prays that this Court enter an Order as follows:
(A) Declaring that Plaintiff be awarded jail credit with the Department of Corrections from
May 19, 2000 until the present date; or in the alternative
(B) Declaring that Plaintiff be awarded jail credit with the Department of Corrections from
May 25, 2000 until the present date; and
(C) Declaring that Plaintiff’s sentence in Case # CR0199-002532F is satisfied, and direct
the Defendant to discharge Plaintiff from custody forthwith; and
(D) Granting Plaintiff such other and further relief as this Court may deem just, proper and
equitable.
Dated: April 21, 2014
Respectfully Submitted,
/s/ Patrick Michael Megaro, Esq.
Patrick Michael Megaro, Esq.
Appeals Law Group
Attorneys for Plaintiff
33 East Robinson Street, Suite 210
Orlando, Florida 32801
(o) 407-255-2165
(f) 855-224-1671
New York Bar ID # 4094983
New Jersey Bar ID # 3634-2002
Florida Bar ID # 738913
North Carolina Bar ID # 46770
Admitted Pro Hac Vice in Missouri
/s/ Samuel Henderson, Esq.
Samuel Henderson, Esq.
Appeals Law Group, of counsel
2015 Bredell Street
St. Louis, Missouri 63143
(o) 314-775-9798
Missouri Bar ID # 56330
