Lazaro Yoshioka's blog ::Harris County Juvenile Indigent Defense
'Clinton Avenue Five' Cold Case: How it All Started In Newark, New Jersey in the summer of 1978, the phrase 'Clinton Avenue Five' became the designated label for a missing persons case involving five young male teens all under the age of 18. The youth had been shooting basketball hoops earlier at a nearby park--as was their custom--on the afternoon they disappeared. Each boy eventually found their way into a truck owned by Lee Anthony Evans, a local carpenter who sometimes used the boys to assist with odd jobs, but never made it home after that. The case has lied dormant for over 30 years, awaiting the day when new information would arise to point detectives to the identity of their whereabouts, killer--or their bodies. Their families, convinced of the guilt of one man, have waited in the wings as well, seeking closure that never came. That day has now arrived. 'Clinton Avenue Five' Cold Case: Recent Turn of Events On Tuesday, March 23, 2010, two men were finally arrested in the disappearance and murder of the five youth: Lee Anthony Evans (now aged 56, but age 25 at the time of the crime) and Philander Hampton (Evans' cousin, aged 53 now, 23 back then). A third man would have been included in that arrest, Maurice Woody-Olds, but he died one year ago this month. This is the first arrest in a criminal case against Lee Anthony Evans, according to his attorney (Michael Robbins), and he has lived a life of hard work and family commitment to date. In addition, Evans took a polygraph test when the police originally investigated the crime, and he supposedly passed it. But as we have seen with the Green River Killer murders in Washington, an individual can appear to be law abiding and a decent member of society and a family man, while also committing atrocious crimes, unbeknownst to their loved ones. Some criminals that don't have records don't have them because they haven't been caught yet--not because they are innocent. No information about priors for Evans' co-defendant, his cousin Philander Hampton, were forthcoming from his public defender, John McMahon. And his attorney wasn't spouting what an upstanding citizen he was in news casts either. 'Clinton Avenue Five' Cold Case: 'Ice Cream Parlor' Defense Using various news reports, the account of the disappearance appears to have gone down much like this: The teens were shooting hoops at the nearby park and began to make their way back home, at least some of them, since two youth were reported being at the their home and the family seeing Lee Anthony Evans drive up and leave with them in his truck. After the five youth had been picked up, a sixth was supposed to be--and Lee Evans attempted to get him too--but the young boy's father saved his life: he refused to let his son go that night. And the son's willingness to obey kept him from being added to the death count. Evans claims that he had asked the boys to help him move from one house to another and that after they assisted him he dropped them off at the corner of an ice cream parlor, where he says he had picked them up. But this is where his story and the families stories differ, since he had picked up some of the boys from their homes, and attempted to pick up one other one that way, to no avail. So while he may have picked up some of them at the corner of Clinton Avenue and Fabian Street, he didn't pick them all up there, that's lie #1. And he never took any of them home that night, other than Matthew McDonnel--and that was so he could change his clothes and return to the vehicle, according to sources. The Ice Cream Parlor workers--nor anyone else near the corner of Clinton Avenue, ever saw Evans or anyone else bring those boys back to that location either. 'Clinton Avenue Five' Cold Case: The Investigation Since there were no juvenile arrest records or problems with these youth, and they had never (individually) attempted to runaway from home before, their absences (all at once) were suspicious to police and family alike. And the investigation focused on Evans, who it was believed had harbored an anger at some of the teens for a breakin that had occurred at his home, where he kept marijuana. And since he was the last known person to be seen with the youth, it was only logical that police would question and polygraph him about the disappearances. But he passed the poly and he never confessed to the crime. Without any physical evidence that he had harmed the youth, and no dead bodies, police had to let him go. And the investigation stalled--for 30 years. A fire that took place around the time of their disappearance did not raise the red flags it would have done so during our day and age, now that we have learned one crime can have a bearing on another, especially in covering up the earlier crime. So the fire that occurred on the night of the boy's disappearance was a dot never connected on the map of this investigation back then. But a witness who has come forward since connected the dots for police recently, explaining that those boys met with their fate in that burned down home all those years ago, and the fire destroyed the evidence of it. The case of Paula Sladewski in Miami Florida during the New Years weeking this year is another example of a "Fire used to mask another crime. You can read about that case here. 'Clinton Avenue Five' Cold Case: Time to Pay the Piper If you think that the recent arrest of the suspects in this case has managed to loosen the tongues of the defendants--and the years that have passed have worked on their conscience--you don't know criminals. They ponied up with nothing more than the standard 'not guilty' plea they always do in matters like this. They don't care that these five families have suffered over the years, with one mother dying one short year after her son went missing. And they don't care that these families are getting some small measure of closure now, with the confirmation that who they suspected was the guilty party. All these alleged killers care about now is getting off from the crime yet again. That's why the lawyer for Evans is making it loud and clear that his client passed the poly years ago and that police don't have any physical evidence--or lost the evidence. He is blowing smoke in the wind, bringing up the fine outstanding citizen spiel and the lack of priors on Evans to date, as the reason we should all jump on the 'he can't be guilty cause he hasn't ever been caught before' bandwagon! 'Clinton Avenue Five' Cold Case: My Ten Cents So, once again, victims have to fight for justice, just like they did for their lives. And since they didn't succeed with the former, obviously, they can't do the latter: their families have to do it for them. And these are families who have already been through the wringer of grief for over 30 years. Now they have to go toe-to-toe with a defense lawyer bent on getting the suspect off scottfree, and tarnishing the memory and reputation of the victims if he has to in order to do it. But as one victim's sister pointed out: five boys don't just all decide to runaway from home on the same night and no one ever see or hear from them again. She is 'right on the money' with that thought process. And it is a dang shame that a murderer can be allowed to throw such comments out there in the first place, attempting to make their horrendous actions appear to be just some kids taking a hike. What a wicked thought to plant in a mother's mind. But at least this time someone else has come forward to see that all such 'possibilities' are laid to rest once and for all now, and the true criminals are brought to justice...even if it is late in coming. Thank you Essex County law enforcement for listening to this new information and taking the actions needed to bring closure to these families once and for all. Sources CNN.com: Suspects in 1978 disappearance plead not guilty WCBStv.com: Uncovering Mystery of The 'Clinton Avenue Five' |
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