Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied: The James Evans Frame Up By Alleged Dirty Rogue Cops Part II
Posted by David Adams on January 25th, 2019
The James Evans story isn’t about a drug dealer who some say killed another man in retaliation for a home invasion robbery, but perhaps his story is indeed about an obsession on one cops part, to have James Evans incarcerated by any means necessary. I’m told that when people came into detective Brad Wells’ office there were usually two pictures on his desk. A picture of Mr. Wells’ family and another picture of Mr. James Evans’ family. That’s a very interesting scenario when you consider all of the things that were published in local Alton newspapers and other media in the surrounding areasĀ back in the mid 1990’s when the Nekemar Pearson disappearance and subsequent murder were front page news.
Twenty years later, with Evans now incarcerated and serving time (over a 100 years) in an Illinois state prison, conversations regarding not only the Pearson murder, but other serious crimes that occurred in Alton during that time, and the police tactics that were used by Brad Wells and John Lakin to obtain indictments of James Evans and other black men, are starting to resurface. In fact, some of the claims are so alarming that they may become problematic for Wells and Lakin respectively, who are now prominent law enforcement officials in the state of Illinois. Wells the former “heavy handed” police detective who was well known on the streets throughout the community when he worked the streets of Alton, is now the Chief of Police in the town of Wood River, Illinois. John Lakin whose name is also on a plethora of documents and indictments for a volume of black men who now claim malicious prosecution, is in fact the current Sheriff of Madison County Illinois.
After viewing documents that have been forwarded to me and speaking with former and current citizens of Alton, my nearly 9 month inquiry into some extremely alarming allegations appear to be more than just chatter about convicts looking for a get out of jail card. If many of the allegations are in fact true, Wells and Lakin both could be indicted and sent to prison for decades themselves. Also, former Madison County Illinois prosecutor Keith Jensen could be on the hook as well for criminal allegations being made regarding the indictments of a volume of young black men from the Alton community over the years.
Is it true that Brad Wells was so obsessed with having James Evans thrown in jail forever, that he paid people who were facing criminal charges themselves, for their signed false statements to obtain a wrongful conviction of Evans? Is it true that Wells and Lakin both fabricated stories and then composed false witness statements, forced people with pending criminal charges to sign them under duress in exchange for lenient sentences, and all in collaboration with the Madison County Illinois prosecutors’ office to obtain indictments against James Evans and others? Is it true that Wells and Lakin literally snatched people of the streets and throw them in jail on trumped up charges as a scare tactic to get them to cooperate with their illegal criminal tactics? Is it true that Wells and Lakin solicited false statements from anyone (charged with a crime in Alton) willing to make a deal for leniency in their own criminal struggles, to help Wells and Lakin send an innocent man to Prison? Is it also true that Wells tried to use another murder suspect (A man name Larry Greer) by having him falsely testify against James Evans to make him eligible for the death penalty (Greer allegedly backed out of the deal after learning that prosecutors sought capitol punishment for Evans)? Why are people recanting their testimony against James Evans? Are any of these allegations true?
If any of the allegations against these two prominent police officials aren’t true, then there area a volume of other questions that must be answered to come to the correct conclusion. Why are there people who claim to have been harassed by Wells and Lakin now making some of these claims? Why are there people who have never had any brushes with the law back then nor in the past 20 plus years, now making these allegations? Why are people who are making these claims so afraid, that they don’t even drive through Madison County Illinois? Why have people who say they were falsely arrested and charged by Wells and Lakin to force them to sign false statements against James Evans living in other states after having fled Alton Illinois? Why?
More importantly, why are men like Larry Greer (pending post conviction appeal over 12 years), James Miller (pending post conviction appeal over 10 years), Jeffery Ewing (pending post conviction appeal over 15 years), Valdez Jordan (pending post conviction appeal over 15 years), along with others like Jeramy Brown (whose case was reversed by state Appellate Court), and Ramone Williams (whose case was reversed by state Appellate Court despite him having plead guilty for a lighter sentence) all claiming to have been wrongfully convicted? Also, how on earth did a known jail house informer name Demond Spruill just so happen to be the person that more than have of these men (including James Evans) confessed their alleged crimes to, as testified by Spruill during their respective criminal trials (fact)?
Furthermore, these allegations are just the tip of the iceburg of allegations that some say have been committed by Wells, Lakin, and former Madison County prosecutor Keith Jensen. False arrest charges, coercion of written statements, coercion of testimony under duress, and suppression of exculpatory evidence are just a few of the severe allegations being made against three prominent law enforcement officials. If any of these allegations are even remotely true, how on earth did these two cops arrive at their current post as top law enforcement officials in the state of Illinois?
These are some very serious questions that should be answered. A long time has past and some still remember intimate details of what happened in Madison County Illinois. As one person put it, “I am not sure how they do things down there now, but this is exactly how it was if you ran into trouble with the police in Madison County back in the mid 1990’s to early 2000’s.” However, from an outsider’s perspective while reading a volume of the articles published in the local press, its clear that James Evans and others were convicted within the media long before they were ever even inside of the Madison County Court House. So, at the very least it should be the duty of the local press to perform its due diligence in seeking the truth, and more importantly finding out why the NAACP Illinois state conference is supporting the Madison County Sheriff through political endorsements if these allegations have any merit what so ever. The local media should find out why the state continues to offer James Evans a plea deal to get out of prison in exchange for a guilty plea (something he has refused to do for years), while they hold him hostage by not timely acting upon certain post conviction appellate motions filed on Evans’ behalf. Also, with the volume of new evidence now surfacing, the local media should find out why James Evans’ hired legal counsel has suddenly stopped pursuing his appeals. Why?
Ultimately I find that there are so many people who remain afraid because of the terror they say they experienced at the hands of Wells and Lakin back in Alton and the Madison County prosecutor’s office, so much so that they are fearful for their very lives still today. Others say they “aren’t kids anymore, and it’s no longer 1995.” They just “want to do the right thing and tell the truth.” I’ll have more on this story in a series as details are still emerging….
To Be Continued…..
I’m Crime Blogger David Adams
The People’s Champion
The James Evans story isn’t about a drug dealer who some say killed another man in retaliation for a home invasion robbery, but perhaps his story is indeed about an obsession on one cops part, to have James Evans incarcerated by any means necessary. I’m told that when people came into detective Brad Wells’ office there were usually two pictures on his desk. A picture of Mr. Wells’ family and another picture of Mr. James Evans’ family. That’s a very interesting scenario when you consider all of the things that were published in local Alton newspapers and other media in the surrounding areasĀ back in the mid 1990’s when the Nekemar Pearson disappearance and subsequent murder were front page news.
Twenty years later, with Evans now incarcerated and serving time (over a 100 years) in an Illinois state prison, conversations regarding not only the Pearson murder, but other serious crimes that occurred in Alton during that time, and the police tactics that were used by Brad Wells and John Lakin to obtain indictments of James Evans and other black men, are starting to resurface. In fact, some of the claims are so alarming that they may become problematic for Wells and Lakin respectively, who are now prominent law enforcement officials in the state of Illinois. Wells the former “heavy handed” police detective who was well known on the streets throughout the community when he worked the streets of Alton, is now the Chief of Police in the town of Wood River, Illinois. John Lakin whose name is also on a plethora of documents and indictments for a volume of black men who now claim malicious prosecution, is in fact the current Sheriff of Madison County Illinois.
After viewing documents that have been forwarded to me and speaking with former and current citizens of Alton, my nearly 9 month inquiry into some extremely alarming allegations appear to be more than just chatter about convicts looking for a get out of jail card. If many of the allegations are in fact true, Wells and Lakin both could be indicted and sent to prison for decades themselves. Also, former Madison County Illinois prosecutor Keith Jensen could be on the hook as well for criminal allegations being made regarding the indictments of a volume of young black men from the Alton community over the years.
Is it true that Brad Wells was so obsessed with having James Evans thrown in jail forever, that he paid people who were facing criminal charges themselves, for their signed false statements to obtain a wrongful conviction of Evans? Is it true that Wells and Lakin both fabricated stories and then composed false witness statements, forced people with pending criminal charges to sign them under duress in exchange for lenient sentences, and all in collaboration with the Madison County Illinois prosecutors’ office to obtain indictments against James Evans and others? Is it true that Wells and Lakin literally snatched people of the streets and throw them in jail on trumped up charges as a scare tactic to get them to cooperate with their illegal criminal tactics? Is it true that Wells and Lakin solicited false statements from anyone (charged with a crime in Alton) willing to make a deal for leniency in their own criminal struggles, to help Wells and Lakin send an innocent man to Prison? Is it also true that Wells tried to use another murder suspect (A man name Larry Greer) by having him falsely testify against James Evans to make him eligible for the death penalty (Greer allegedly backed out of the deal after learning that prosecutors sought capitol punishment for Evans)? Why are people recanting their testimony against James Evans? Are any of these allegations true?
If any of the allegations against these two prominent police officials aren’t true, then there area a volume of other questions that must be answered to come to the correct conclusion. Why are there people who claim to have been harassed by Wells and Lakin now making some of these claims? Why are there people who have never had any brushes with the law back then nor in the past 20 plus years, now making these allegations? Why are people who are making these claims so afraid, that they don’t even drive through Madison County Illinois? Why have people who say they were falsely arrested and charged by Wells and Lakin to force them to sign false statements against James Evans living in other states after having fled Alton Illinois? Why?
More importantly, why are men like Larry Greer (pending post conviction appeal over 12 years), James Miller (pending post conviction appeal over 10 years), Jeffery Ewing (pending post conviction appeal over 15 years), Valdez Jordan (pending post conviction appeal over 15 years), along with others like Jeramy Brown (whose case was reversed by state Appellate Court), and Ramone Williams (whose case was reversed by state Appellate Court despite him having plead guilty for a lighter sentence) all claiming to have been wrongfully convicted? Also, how on earth did a known jail house informer name Demond Spruill just so happen to be the person that more than have of these men (including James Evans) confessed their alleged crimes to, as testified by Spruill during their respective criminal trials (fact)?
Furthermore, these allegations are just the tip of the iceburg of allegations that some say have been committed by Wells, Lakin, and former Madison County prosecutor Keith Jensen. False arrest charges, coercion of written statements, coercion of testimony under duress, and suppression of exculpatory evidence are just a few of the severe allegations being made against three prominent law enforcement officials. If any of these allegations are even remotely true, how on earth did these two cops arrive at their current post as top law enforcement officials in the state of Illinois?
These are some very serious questions that should be answered. A long time has past and some still remember intimate details of what happened in Madison County Illinois. As one person put it, “I am not sure how they do things down there now, but this is exactly how it was if you ran into trouble with the police in Madison County back in the mid 1990’s to early 2000’s.” However, from an outsider’s perspective while reading a volume of the articles published in the local press, its clear that James Evans and others were convicted within the media long before they were ever even inside of the Madison County Court House. So, at the very least it should be the duty of the local press to perform its due diligence in seeking the truth, and more importantly finding out why the NAACP Illinois state conference is supporting the Madison County Sheriff through political endorsements if these allegations have any merit what so ever. The local media should find out why the state continues to offer James Evans a plea deal to get out of prison in exchange for a guilty plea (something he has refused to do for years), while they hold him hostage by not timely acting upon certain post conviction appellate motions filed on Evans’ behalf. Also, with the volume of new evidence now surfacing, the local media should find out why James Evans’ hired legal counsel has suddenly stopped pursuing his appeals. Why?
Ultimately I find that there are so many people who remain afraid because of the terror they say they experienced at the hands of Wells and Lakin back in Alton and the Madison County prosecutor’s office, so much so that they are fearful for their very lives still today. Others say they “aren’t kids anymore, and it’s no longer 1995.” They just “want to do the right thing and tell the truth.” I’ll have more on this story in a series as details are still emerging….
To Be Continued…..
I’m Crime Blogger David Adams
The People’s Champion
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