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It does not require many words to speak the truth
– Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce
With the tax dollars spent in recent months on communications equipment, it is difficult to understand why the Pine Bluff Police Department has stubbed its toe again and flunked Communications and Credibility 101.
Evidence collected when police searched a home on March 29 looking for leads in the disappearance of a Pine Bluff woman almost two decades ago was not sent to the Arkansas Crime Laboratory at Little Rock until Tuesday, the department acknowledged Wednesday.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
We couldn’t find anyone who would hazard a guess as to who dropped the ball. However, we were told, Deputy Chief Kelvin Sergeant is investigating the delay.
Hopefully, Sergeant will be able to reach Police Chief Brenda Davis-Jones on her city-owned iPhone. Or, he could send an email to her city-owned iPad.
We wish him luck. The chief returns calls from reporters about as fast as an accused criminal who has “lawyered up” answers questions from detectives.
When the director of the crime laboratory confirms that the lab did not receive the evidence from Pine Bluff police until Tuesday, it is a bit unusual. “Normally, when we receive evidence from an agency, we don’t comment on it but we felt it was appropriate in this case so that people couldn’t say we weren’t doing anything,” he explained.
The evidence was collected from 5309 Faucett Road, the last place where Cleashindra Hall, an 18-year-old Watson Chapel High School senior, was seen before she disappeared May 9, 1994. Hall did clerical work at the house for Larry Amos, the owner of the property that was searched.
An inventory of items taken from the residence was prepared by Detective Lt. Bob Rawlinson. He was the day shift lieutenant and supervised the search. Davis-Jones reassigned Rawlinson April 4 effective April 8.
Laurell Hall, the mother of Cleashindra Hall, also has lots of questions.
“The forensics have not come back yet, there’s nothing we can do until they come back,” Davis-Jones said Monday in response to the mother’s questions. “We call the Crime Lab at least once a week and they have not got to it yet. Once they get those results back, we would be more than happy to go forward and give you the results of that crime lab report.”
If the evidence finally made its way to the Crime Lab on Tuesday, why was the city council and public basically told on Monday that inquiries were being made “at least once a week and they have not got to it yet”?
Laurell Hall and the public deserve some candid answers The advice of the Indian chief is as true today as when uttered in the late 1800s.
Deadbeat parents
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Jefferson County Sheriff Gerald Robinson understands communicating with the public. It’s appropriate that his office kicked off a two-day roundup Thursday of men and women who are delinquent with child support payments just before Mother’s Day.
The Deadbeat Dads and Deadbeat Mothers understood the message. Seven arrests were made Thursday, and another six offenders “came into compliance” by making payment arrangements to eliminate their delinquent status, the sheriff said.
Deadbeat parents should be held accountable for the financial support of their innocent children.