CHARLESTON, W.Va. — An employee of the city of Charleston has resigned following questions stemming from a November incident.
Community relations coordinator Alexandra Gallo submitted a resignation letter on Friday. Matthew Sutton, chief of staff to Mayor Amy Goodwin, said the letter was one sentence and did not include an explanation as to why Gallow was leaving.
Gallo’s position with the city has faced questions after her arrest in November; Gallo entered a home wanting her 3-month-old child back from the infant’s grandmother.
Gallo pleaded guilty in January to battery, trespassing and public intoxication. Charleston Mayor Amy Goodwin, who is the child’s godmother, took the infant that evening.
According to WCHS-TV, Gallo has an open criminal case in New Jersey and an active bench warrant in Pennsylvania after not showing up in court on charges including resisting arrest and drug possession.
Gallo was arrested four times before January 2019 on DUI-related charges, which were dismissed or deferred.
Sutton told reporters he could not comment on what officials knew before Gallo’s hiring.
“I will say that the city does do background checks on all of our employments, and those background checks are limited to the state of West Virginia,” he added. “What we know about employees before they come in is through those particular background checks, but those are all confidential, so I can’t get into what we were aware of.”
Sutton said officials will evaluate whether the position will be filled.
“It’s just a lot to look at at this particular time to see whether or not we fill that position or whether we take those duties internally and separate them out amongst different people,” he said.
Sutton also noted city officials will present Charleston’s budget for the next fiscal year on March 2.