Following an uplifting Wednesday night memorial service that marked the 18th anniversary of her missing daughter’s disappearance, Laurell Hall lashed out at Pine Bluff Police Chief Brenda Davis-Jones and also had some pointed remarks for Mayor Carl A. Redus Jr.
Hall was upset by the police department’s Wednesday afternoon admission that possible evidence collected over a month ago from the home where then 18-year-old Cleashindra Hall was last seen wasn’t sent to the state crime lab in Little Rock until Tuesday.
“She said that since she’s the chief, she’s ultimately responsible,” Laurell Hall said of Davis-Jones. “Police department regulations say that any evidence collected on a case has to be sent to the crime lab within 24 hours, so I think she should be suspended or terminated.
“And what is the mayor going to do? He always rushes to her defense. The chief looks bad and if the mayor continues to defend her, he’s going to look bad, too. We don’t know what happened to the evidence before it was sent to the lab. Has it been tampered with? Is it tainted? Can we be sure of its integrity?”
Speaking outside of St. Peter’s Rock Baptist Church at 1201 South Catalpa St., Hall said the police department “dropped the ball 18 years ago” in its initial investigation and “now we’re back to square one” because of the lapse in transporting the recently-found evidence to the crime lab.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Noting that Davis-Jones said at Monday night’s city council meeting that she had been in frequent contact with the crime lab to check on its progress in processing the possible evidence, Hall said the chief “would have known” no materials had been delivered there if she had indeed been telephoning the facility.
Hall believes the “lack of communications” indicate there’s actually “no detective working on our case.”
“The chief knew about all of this on Tuesday and nothing was announced until Wednesday,” said Hall, “and she never called me to tell me about the delay in processing the evidence. She’s never called me to apologize.”
Hall stressed that she’s not displeased with the entire department.
“I’m not talking about every officer,” she said. “I know that there are some who truly care. But I am unhappy with the chief and and the mayor. They’re going to be seeing more of me. I’m going to be highly visible in my fight to gain justice for Clea.”
For a second time, Hall said she will “expose corruption” within city government if she and her family aren’t “respected.”
“Pine Bluff is small, and there are very few secrets in this town,” she said. “I don’t want to expose the police department – and it’s not everyone in the department – but I will.”
Hall said investigators weren’t “aggressive enough” in their March 29 search of a house and property at 5309 Faucett Road, the last place her daughter was seen alive.
“They should have dug up the yard and torn up the house,” she said, adding that she had seen more active searches at suspected drug houses.
“This is about the life of my daughter,” said Hall. “I think life is more valuable than drugs.”