Cleashindra Hall
Former Pine Bluff Police Chief Brenda Davis-Jones
PINE BLUFF, Ark. (KTHV) -- Protestors gather in front of city hall in Pine Bluff Friday to express outrage over the department's handling of evidence in the Cleashindra Hall murder case.
Hall disappeared 18 years ago May 11. She was last seen at the home and office of Dr. Larry Amos on Faucett Road in Pine Bluff.
Amos' home was searched on March 29 after new leads developed, but police said they didn't send the evidence to the crime lab until earlier this week.
Pine Bluff Resident Erica Allen says she worked with Cleashindra Hall the day she disappeared back in 1994.
"I offered her a ride home." says Allen.
Allen says they worked in the home of Dr. Larry Amos. Friday she protested in honor of her friend.
"The lack of detail is what we need to talk about." says Allen.
Pine Bluff residents along with local clergy says it is time for change in the city government. "The situation here is dire." says Pastor Jesse C. Turner of Elm Grove Baptist Church in Pine Bluff.
Pine Bluff Police Department blames the mishap on a breakdown in communication. "It's our money that supports this city. We are outraged and we are enraged." says Peter Daniels, a Pine Bluff resident who recently announced he's running for mayor.
Daniel says it is another example of the city's closed way of handling matters.
"I mean there's nothing more I can say more than we're investigating it." says Lieutenant Joann Bates, spokesperson for Pine Bluff Police Department.
Daniels says this is just one of many times city government has dropped the ball.
"This is Pine Bluff and we have been the city to receive the last and the less of everything." says Daniels.
Erica Allen doesn't know whether the ride she offered Hall would have saved her life, but says 18 years later she'll do whatever is needed to make sure justice is done.