Clinton Avenue Five

This case became one of those that I felt as if I was on the fence all the way through. One minute I could think one thing about a suspect and the next I would think something else. I have to remind myself that in the end it is what the evidence says but the problem here is that there is little to no evidence and after forty years it is unlikely there ever will be. One of the accused suspects in this case would argue later that his arrest had been politically motivated and there is a part of me that thinks I have to agree with him.

On the evening of August 20, 1978 five teenage boys disappeared from Newark New Jersey. Earlier in the day the boys had been playing basketball in a local park. Allegedly they were all planning to hook up again later and do some work for a local contractor named Lee Anthony Evans. The boys were Melvin Pittman, Ernest Taylor, Alvin Turner, Randy Johnson and Michael McDowell. Melvin and Ernest were seventeen and the other three were sixteen in 1978. By all accounts none of the boys had any real criminal record. One of the boys had some minor issues at school and had apparently had a fight of some sort that was noted but that seemed to be it.

In the course of our everyday life we do not always note the time when we see someone or something happens so it is often difficult to determine when someone saw another person. It is especially hard to determine where five individuals were at a given time, especially when they were not all allegedly seen for the last time together. The best that most can come up with is that Melvin was last seen leaving his home around dusk and Randy was last seen around seven that evening walking down the street. The other three boys were said to be seen in the accompany of Lee Evans, in the back of his truck about eleven that night. He had apparently picked them up on Clinton Avenue, hence the nickname given to the case. Allegedly all of the boys were supposed to go help Lee Evans move some boxes.

Lee Anthony Evans, in 1978, was a local contractor or handyman who was known to hire neighborhood teenagers to do odd jobs for him. It seems that in August of 1978 Evans was moving and the five boys were scheduled to help. Now by 2010 it was being said that Evans would pay the teenagers he hired with “food, money and drugs.” Whether that is true or not, I cannot say. This is one of the areas that I am on the fence about in this case and maybe you will understand why as we go along. Evans was the first, and investigators would say thirty years later, the only suspect in the case and was brought in for questioning. By all accounts he never denied being with the boys on that August evening. He would claim that he had picked them up, they helped him and he dropped them back off. It was said that Evans was always completely cooperative and he took and passed “several” lie detector cases.

Family members of the five boys would say they always suspected Lee Evans as harming the boys. Of course there is the issue that he was seen with them but I do not know if the family suspicions were solely based on that or the fact that investigators had put the idea in their head. From the investigators' standpoint they apparently felt Evans was involved but they had little to nothing to go on. And there it sat for the next thirty years. During that time the boys not only were never seen again but periodically it would be checked and none of their social security numbers had been used throughout the years indicating that they were likely dead. In the same respect Lee Evans continued to work and live in Newark without any issues involving the law. I think this part is important to the story.

The disappearance of the Clinton Avenue Five was a huge story and although Lee Evans had passed several lie detector tests investigators and the community still believed that he was responsible. It seems to me that law enforcement would be keeping an eye on Lee Evans. Even if they could not get him for the disappearance of the boys, I would think they would have attempted to get him on anything else they could and yet it appears that he was never at least convicted, or even arrested for anything over the years. As I stated earlier, by 2010 they were alleging that Evans would pay the neighborhood teenagers sometimes with drugs. They would also allege that Evans murdered the boys because within a week of their disappearance the boys had allegedly stolen a pound of marijuana from his home. And yet, it seems that he was never arrested or charged with any drug crimes either. Investigators and prosecutors would later say that this case never sat on a shelf and was constantly looked at to be solved for nearly forty years and alleged that Evans was their first and only suspect the entire time. I never even saw any allegations that Evans was “harassed” in any way over those years. You hear of case after case in which investigators believe they have their suspect in their sight and they will spend decades continually pulling that suspect into questioning over and over and yet I heard nothing of the sort in this case.

In 1996 investigators called in a woman named Dorothy Allison. She was a self proclaimed psychic. Her story was actually featured on an episode of Unsolved Mysteries back in the day. Just as is the case with most psychic there were those who believed her and those who did not. She had allegedly worked on several cases across the country over the years and the success in at least one of those cases helped her get more work. It seems that after eighteen years investigators were willing to give anything a shot. Not surprisingly Dorothy Allison predicted that the five boys were dead but she also stated she believed that they had been burned after death. She took investigators to areas she believed she had “seen” in her visions and it appears that a lot of money and resources were spent digging areas, but nothing was found. I think this part is also important. First, there was an article published in 1996 on the efforts made and her predictions. Secondly, while it led to nothing, it could give investigators another theory as to what happened to the boys. But another interesting aspect was the fact of what was going on in 1978. In my research I came across another article from 2010 that discussed the fact that at the time of their disappearance Newark was full of abandoned buildings, and by full, I mean that in 1978 alone it was said that 2,600 vacant buildings “caught fire.” It had gotten so bad that it was alleged that in many cases firefighters were not even sent and simply let the vacant buildings burn. I never found anything that stated that anyone was ever arrested for starting these fires or who or why they would.

And then nothing more became of the case until November of 2008. It was then that a man named Philander Hampton was in jail on unrelated charges and investigators began what would later be called a thirteen hour interrogation of him discussing the Clinton Avenue Five case. Hampton just so happened to be the cousin of Lee Anthony Evans. Eventually Hampton would tell investigators that he had helped Evans lure the boys to a home that Hampton had recently moved from with the promise of employment. The home was vacant and essentially abandoned after Hampton had moved. The motive? The alleged theft of the pound of marijuana. According to Hampton Evans told him to hold two of the boys at gunpoint while he went and got the other three. Once all five were together Evans allegedly led them to a closet on the third floor of the home and nailed the door shut. Hampton then said that Evans had set fire to the home using five gallons of gas with the boys all still inside.

For the next year and a half it seems that investigators tried to substantiate Hampton's story. They even had him call Evans while they recorded the call. It was said that when Hampton brought up the subject of the boys and attempted to lead Evans into a confession that Evans had said something along the lines of “What are you talking about?” Authorities also searched the area of where the home in which Hampton alleged the crime took place had burned and found nothing, not so much as a bone fragment. But, then again, it had been thirty years by then. In the same respect I have to wonder if firefighters were not even going out to many of these fires if there was any record of the exact date this particular building had burned.

Although it seems that investigators were unable to find much, if anything, to prove Hampton's story both he and Evans were arrested on March 22, 2010. They were both charged with five counts of felony murder and arson. They were each held on a five million dollar bail. However, over the next several months the judge in the case lowered Evans' first to 1.25 million and then to $950,000. Evans' family put up some property and on August 20, 2010, the thirty-second anniversary of the disappearance, Lee Anthony Evans was released from jail. When lowering the bail the judge cited the fact that he was doing so because Evans had strong ties to the community which made him less of a flight risk, his lack of criminal record and even mentioned that the prosecution case against him was weak.

In August of 2011 Philander Hampton accepted a deal with the prosecutors like no other I have ever seen before. He pleaded guilty to five counts of murder. He agreed to testify against Evans and in return not only was he given a prison sentence of just ten years it was also established that upon his release the state of New Jersey would give him $15,000 for “relocating expenses.” Under the 1978 guidelines he would be eligible for parole after serving two years and considering that he had nearly served that already he was eligible in just a few months. Ultimately he was released in February of 2017 so he did serve nearly seven years, but considering that was with five counts of murder and he was paid a hefty sum when he was released Hampton, who was already no stranger to prison time got a very sweet deal.

For his part Lee Anthony Evans was also apparently offered a deal that gave him a “short sentence” but he refused and took his case to trial. He was facing five counts of murder plus five counts of felony murder. It is not clear whether he was still facing the charge of arson. His trial began in November of 2011. He had successfully petitioned the court to allow him to represent himself. His former public defender was retained as his “legal adviser.” As the trial started it was said that Evans stumbled through some of his cross examinations and at least one report stated that he eventually turned over his defense to the public defender, especially the cross examination of Hampton.

So, lets go through what exactly the prosecution alleged that they had. Of course they had Hampton and his story. While on the stand Hampton had to admit that he had an extensive criminal record that included at least ten years in prison for two previous robberies. He also told the jury that he was a former drug dealer and heroin addict. The home in which he claims the murders were committed was a home he had lived in for two years, selling drugs from inside, and had moved out only a few weeks earlier. While it was not said explicitly I am sure the defense mentioned the deal that Hampton got for his testimony. Friends of the boys (although how many or exactly who was not made clear) testified that the boys had broken into Evans' apartment “dozens of times” over the summer of 1978 to steal small amounts of marijuana but within a week of their disappearance they had apparently taken a pound at one time. The parents of the boys testified that they had found small amounts of marijuana in their rooms after their disappearances. Whether a boy, now man, named Roderick Royster, testified during the trial, or only told his story to the media is unclear. Royster claimed that he and his brother were both in Evans' pick up truck with Ernest, Michael and Alvin but that his father had come outside and told them to get out. It seems that beyond that, and possibly a few other witnesses who would testify seeing Evans with at least three of the boys, there was not much else that the prosecution had to offer. But it appears that they tried more.

It was stated that the judge “repeatedly” admonished the prosecutors saying they were trying to slip in details that been ruled inadmissible. She accused them of of hitting “below the belt” and more than once a mistrial was asked by the defense even though it was denied. It was not clear exactly what some of those things were. However, that being said in one of these incidents it appears it was not the prosecution as much as a detective that seemed to want the jury to hear things. He would elaborate more in his answers and seemingly all but yell things out before the defense could object.

Another interesting character in this story was Rogers Taylor, the brother of Ernest Taylor. Again, it is unclear if he testified in court, or only spoke to the media from time to time. I must admit that if I had only seen one questionable thing from him I may have been able to let it pass, but that was not the case. First, sometime after Hampton and Evans were arrested Rogers would state that Evans had confessed to him in 2008 that he had murdered the boys. Something feels really off with this for me. As I stated earlier the families of the boys all believed that Evans had murdered them so I find it odd that a family member would have had any contact with the person they believed had murdered their loved one. The only scenario that I could see that happening was if Taylor was attempting to get Evans to confess, on purpose and if that was the case the only way to have proven this confession would have been to have it on audio or video, which apparently he did not. Secondly, it does not appear that Taylor contacted the authorities about this confession at any point until after the arrest. This just does not sit well with me. Then Rogers Taylor ended up back in the middle of this case again. As Evans' trial was coming to an end Rogers claimed that a man named Gary Ewing, only described as “a court watcher” had gone to his house and intimidated him, although nothing seemed to be reported in specifics. However, it was stated that the claim was investigated thoroughly and it was determined that Rogers Taylor had lied. I attempted to find out who this Gary Ewing was, and what Rogers alleged that he had done and why but I found nothing. Even still, the fact that the media reported this, taking into account that this was a close family member of a victim and the fact of how certain they seemed in Evans' guilt, leads me to believe there was much more to this.

It is not clear if the defense called any witnesses and if they did who they were. Lee Anthony Evans never denied seeing the boys on that night. He knew he was seen with them and he readily admitted it from the very beginning. In his closing arguments important points were made. Several investigators stated that he was not only the first, but the only suspect from day one and it was not a secret to him. Yet, he remained living in Newark, continually worked, and remained out of legal trouble in over thirty years. Evans stated “Why would I drive five boys to their deaths in a truck with my name on the side?” This is a valid point. If he in fact had the murders planned it would not make sense that not only had at least a few of the boys told their parents they were going to do some work for him, but that he would allow himself to be seen with them. At least on the surface no one, including investigators could prove that Evans had ever lied to them about events of that night.

The jury deliberated for twelve hours over a period of four days. It was said that their first vote was 6-6. Their second vote was 11-1 and finally they came to a 12-0 decision. They acquitted Lee Anthony Evans on all charges. According to one of the jurors who spoke to the media they simply did not feel as if Hampton's word was good enough to go on and convict a man.

After Hampton had pleaded guilty but before Evans went to trial Alvin Turner's mother had her son officially declared dead. Then, the same month as Evans' trial and acquittal she filed a wrongful death suit against both men. I made an attempt to see if there was any movement made or decision discussed anywhere. These cases can take often take many, many years before they reached a conclusion in one form or another.

In November of 2013 Lee Anthony Evans filed a lawsuit of his own. He filed against the Newark Prosecutors Office, the police department and then Mayor (currently Senator) Cory Booker alleging “malicious prosecution. Evans claimed that his arrest and eventual trial was politically motivated as Booker was preparing for an upcoming election as he was running for a second term as mayor. The lawsuit alleges that solving one of the biggest cases in Newark would have been a boost to elected officials. The last I could find on this lawsuit was a filing in January of 2015 in which the state and city filed to dismiss the complaint saying Evans had not provided facts that his constitutional rights were deprived.

When asked after the trial, prosecutors stated that the case was now closed and considered solved despite the acquittal. So, are they right? Was this an O.J. Simpson or Casey Anthony case? Is the overwhelming idea among people that a killer was allowed to go free? I would have to say no. That does not mean that I am saying that Evans was not involved in the disappearance and likely murder of the five boys. The truth is, I do not know, and neither does anyone else. In my opinion both the Simpson and Anthony cases had ample evidence to prove guilt and to be fair I watched both of those trials on television. This case, and maybe by no fault of the current prosecutor did not have the same case. They had little to nothing. They had no bodies and no science. They had a man who had admitted on day one to being with the boys that evening. Despite the fact that lie detector cases are not allowed in a court of law they are still administered and they had a man who by their own accounts passed “several” that were given. They had the word of a man with a long criminal history telling a story that got him next to no time for what they considered to be a horrific crime.

Did a murderer get away with it? Maybe... but maybe not. It is just as possible that an innocent man was railroaded to trial.