0:39

Welcome to True Crime Garage. Wherever you

0:41

are, whatever you are doing, thanks

0:44

for listening. I'm your host, Nick. And

0:46

with me, as always, is a

0:48

man who's been eating scrambled catberry eggs

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for breakfast. Here is

0:52

the cat. There's not a damn thing he can do

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about it. It's good to be seen and good to see

0:56

you. Thanks for listening. Thanks for telling

0:58

a friend. Today,

1:03

we are very happy to be

1:05

featuring Shotgun Wedding Brown Ale

1:08

aged with vanilla beans by the

1:10

fine folks at Country Boy

1:12

Brewing. Shotgun Wedding is a vanilla

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and a little on the lighter

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side. So pretty easy drinking.

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ABV 5 .5 % garage grade. three

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and three quarter bottle caps

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out of five. And captain, let's

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give some thanks and praise

1:33

to our good friends that helped us

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fill up the old garage fridge. Yeah,

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big we like you. Jib goes

1:39

out to Carlo and Avon, Connecticut. Next

1:41

up, here's a cheers to dawn

1:44

from Hampstead, New Hampshire. Big talkings in

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the air to Linda and parts

1:48

unknown. Here's a shout out

1:50

to Doc Triple Z from

1:52

Boynton Beach, Florida. And last

1:54

but certainly not least, we

1:56

have Christy Kelly and her

1:58

fiance Greg from Reynoldsburg, Ohio. They

2:00

are getting married in May. So

2:02

everyone raised a glass to toast their

2:05

wedding. They would probably

2:07

want glasses of champagne. We have

2:09

beer. But anyway, congratulations to

2:11

you crazy kids. And thank you

2:13

to everyone that helped us

2:15

out with this week's beer run.

2:17

Yeah, BWRU and beer run

2:19

for everything true crime. Check out

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Sign up on the mailing list

2:25

and colonel that's enough of

2:27

the B .U .S. Alright everybody gather

2:30

around grab a chair, grab a beer,

2:32

let's talk some true crime. There

2:53

are a few things more tragic and senseless

2:55

than the murder of a child. When

2:57

that child also has a child of

2:59

his own, the tragedy

3:02

intensifies beyond comprehension. How

3:05

could a chance encounter at

3:08

a local agricultural fair, presumably

3:10

a very wholesome activity, turn

3:12

so deadly? When

3:15

Jimmy Townsend of West Monroe,

3:17

Louisiana was attacked and beaten

3:20

to death, an entire grieving

3:22

community wanted answers. Could

3:24

it have been jealousy of a

3:26

gifted golden boy that prompted the

3:28

attack? Were his assailants

3:30

perhaps envious of the prize he

3:33

had recently won? Or

3:35

was the motive even more sinister?

3:38

Regardless, the merciless

3:41

beating callously administered on

3:43

that terrible night would forever

3:45

rob his parents of

3:47

their only child and deny

3:49

a daughter the opportunity

3:51

to ever know her father.

3:54

This is True Crime

3:56

Garage. West

4:13

Monroe and Monroe, Louisiana,

4:15

sometimes known as the

4:17

Twin Cities, these are

4:19

cities that are both part of

4:22

the Bible Belt in the United

4:24

States that are situated about 100

4:26

miles east of Shreveport, Louisiana.

4:29

This is where this week's true crime

4:31

story will take place. Monroe

4:33

is the ninth largest city in

4:35

Louisiana. In the mid

4:37

1980s, as with today, Monroe

4:40

possessed a very diverse population.

4:42

Back then, the area boosted

4:44

a youthful demographic with a

4:46

significant portion of the population

4:48

being under the age of

4:50

18. The economy was

4:52

fueled primarily by manufacturing

4:55

and retail, and a significant

4:57

number of educational institutions

4:59

are located in the area. In

5:01

the 1980s, one of the

5:03

premier events in the region

5:05

that occurred during this era

5:07

was the Arkla Misfair.

5:09

First introduced in

5:11

1975, the fair rapidly

5:13

evolved into the region's

5:16

annual highlight, becoming an integral

5:18

part of local culture. Ultimately,

5:21

this was an annual fundraising

5:24

event that everyone looked forward

5:26

to. Along with livestock

5:28

and agricultural displays, the

5:31

family -friendly event

5:33

included games, rides, music,

5:35

food, and craft exhibits.

5:38

It was here at this

5:40

seemingly innocuous event, that

5:42

Jimmy Townsend would become embroiled

5:44

in an argument that would

5:47

cost him his life. We

5:49

need to go back to December

5:51

of 1971. On December 20th,

5:53

1971, James Allen Townsend, soon

5:55

to be known to all

5:57

as Jimmy, is born

5:59

to James Allen and Rita

6:01

Gale Townsend in

6:03

West Monroe, Louisiana. He

6:06

was and will be the

6:08

only child born to the

6:10

couple. Jimmy grows up

6:12

in West Monroe with a

6:14

passion for playing sports and

6:16

he rapidly gains a reputation

6:18

as an extremely gifted athlete.

6:20

By the time he's a

6:22

student at Ryzer Middle School,

6:24

his physical attributes and superior

6:27

athletic ability win him praise

6:29

and accolades in several sports,

6:31

notably baseball, football and

6:33

boxing. Besides securing

6:35

a spot on the All -Star

6:37

team, he also excels academically and

6:39

socially, and he fits in

6:41

with every team that he joins.

6:44

His coaches and trainers have

6:46

nothing but praise for the

6:48

young man, the one that

6:50

they describe as a sturdy

6:53

young man with the looks,

6:55

maturity, and athletic abilities of

6:57

someone far exceeding his years. Jimmy's

6:59

parents are both extremely supportive

7:02

of their son's endeavors, but

7:04

his father, his

7:06

father's working for an oil

7:08

pipeline. So he is

7:10

frequently unable to attend Jimmy's

7:12

sporting events due to

7:14

this demanding job. Jimmy's

7:16

mother, Gail, more than

7:18

makes up for his absence

7:20

by attending virtually all of

7:22

her son's games and practices.

7:25

Now let's go to 1985. By

7:28

this time James is known to all

7:30

as Jimmy. He is 13

7:32

years old. He's an eighth

7:34

grader still living in West

7:36

Monroe, Louisiana He's attending riser

7:38

middle school He is the

7:40

pride and joy of his

7:42

parents Although only a junior

7:44

high school student Jimmy was

7:47

already an accomplished athlete who

7:49

excelled in school team sports

7:51

Given his natural abilities in

7:53

athletics. It was not surprising

7:55

that he also enjoyed hobbies

7:57

like bowling, fishing, and hunting,

8:00

as well as riding his bike

8:02

all over West Monroe. By

8:05

all reports, the bright and engaging

8:07

young man was well liked within his

8:09

school and throughout the community. His

8:12

name frequently appeared in

8:14

hometown newspapers, underscoring his outstanding

8:16

achievements in local sports. Jimmy's

8:19

athletic career was at the

8:22

center of his mother Gale's

8:24

universe. And the young

8:26

athlete had no shortage of

8:28

male role models and encouraging

8:30

figures, often finding inspiration in

8:32

his coaches and athletic instructors.

8:35

And the admiration seems to be

8:38

mutual as many of these

8:40

adults in his orbit had nothing

8:42

but praise for the remarkable

8:44

young man. Yeah, whether it's sports

8:46

or academics or music or

8:48

whatever it is when you're roughly

8:50

this age. It seems like

8:52

the adults around you, they see

8:55

the promise and they see

8:57

that his talents possibly could take

8:59

him somewhere. Maybe it takes

9:01

him to a good university, which

9:03

then would lead to a

9:05

good job to a bright future.

9:08

Yeah, and we often see that around

9:10

this age, 12, 13,

9:12

14, is when kids that

9:14

are excelling in any

9:16

of the areas that you

9:19

just mentioned, They do

9:21

start to separate themselves from

9:23

the pack. And you

9:25

can start to see who has talent,

9:27

who has the drive. And

9:29

Jimmy's passion was sports of

9:31

all types. Now he's

9:34

described, and I've seen some pictures of

9:36

him, he's described as a

9:38

strapping young man who often

9:40

towered over his classmates. At

9:42

times even seemed to be

9:44

like a man among boys from

9:46

several perspectives. Now he

9:48

was tall, he was brawny and

9:50

powerfully built. He was a star

9:52

on the baseball diamond, participating as

9:54

both a pitcher and a shortstop

9:57

to the more difficult positions to

9:59

play. And in

10:01

fact, it was practically a

10:03

foregone conclusion that he

10:05

would likely go pro, become

10:07

a professional baseball player

10:10

once he graduated high school.

10:12

His contributions were so significant that

10:14

the year before he died,

10:17

Jimmy was elected to the All

10:19

-Star team. at the age of

10:21

12 by a unanimous vote

10:23

by his coaches in small town

10:25

westman road jimmy was acknowledged

10:27

by numerous adults within the school

10:29

and church leagues and was

10:31

described as an asset to any

10:33

team that he joined in

10:35

any sport his coaches and friends

10:37

characterized him as a regular

10:39

kid who fit in with everyone

10:41

but he was also a

10:43

smart and creative thinker in early

10:45

1985 this is pretty cool

10:47

jimmy won first prize in this

10:49

promotional contest that was held

10:51

by the local newspaper. So

10:53

they were promoting a boxing event.

10:56

He won first prize

10:58

for his submission

11:00

of an upcoming boxing

11:02

match. This was run

11:04

by a local news outlet, the Monroe

11:07

News Star, and he took first

11:09

place in this contest. The

11:11

contest was to name,

11:13

provide a name, a cool

11:15

creative name for this

11:17

upcoming fight. And

11:19

so his submission of Rocking

11:22

Richard's Rumble was selected

11:24

from dozens and dozens of

11:26

entries as the winner. The

11:29

upcoming fight, this was a

11:31

featherweight match that would take

11:33

place April 18th, featuring Richard

11:35

Savage and Gerald Hayes. In

11:38

addition to two tickets

11:40

for the future fight, Jimmy

11:42

also receives a prestigious

11:45

invitation to have lunch

11:47

with the legendary former

11:49

heavyweight champion smoking Joe

11:51

Frazier. So Joe Frazier

11:53

would be in town for the

11:55

event and Jimmy, winning this contest, gets

11:58

to meet a former heavyweight

12:00

champion and have lunch with him.

12:02

But his triumphant accomplishments in

12:04

sports and winning newspaper contests weren't

12:06

the only things that made

12:09

Jimmy stand out from his peers.

12:11

The good -looking eighth grader was markedly

12:13

different from his peers in another

12:16

significant way. This because at the

12:18

age, at the young age of

12:20

13, Jimmy Townsend

12:22

welcomed a daughter into his life.

12:24

And that's right. That's not an

12:26

error there. He was 13 and

12:29

he was now a father. The

12:31

way that I understand this

12:34

part the story here, Captain,

12:36

is that he had a

12:38

relationship with a 16 -year -old

12:40

girl. And the result of

12:42

that was a pregnancy that

12:45

followed by Jimmy becoming a

12:47

father. And sadly,

12:49

he would only be a

12:51

father for about one month's time.

12:54

Because now we need to

12:56

talk about this arculomus

12:58

fair in the evening of

13:00

Friday, September 27th, 1985. This

13:03

fair is a big deal. It's

13:05

still, I believe it's still ongoing

13:07

today, at least it has been in the

13:09

past couple of years. And

13:11

the festivities are well attended

13:13

by those in the immediate

13:16

Monroe community. But the dazzling

13:18

lights and the flashing rides,

13:20

concession foods, and livestock exhibits

13:22

also drew fairgoers from as

13:24

far away as southern Arkansas. Now

13:27

on this day, the temperature

13:29

ranging from 58 degrees all

13:31

the way up to 74

13:33

degrees throughout the day, the

13:35

temperatures remained in the high

13:38

50s that evening. And it

13:40

was Very high humidity,

13:42

which would keep the night

13:44

even feeling warmer. So

13:46

it was shaping up to be

13:48

a beautiful night for this annual

13:50

event until unspeakable tragedy struck. Jimmy

13:53

attends the fair that night.

13:57

The Arklemis Fairgrounds

13:59

was located at

14:01

Monroe Civic Center. So

14:04

along with friends, their names

14:06

Shane and Anthony, Jimmy

14:08

heads off for the annual

14:10

event, intent upon having a good

14:12

time with his friends. The

14:14

new father, no doubt, needs a

14:16

break from the weighty concerns

14:18

for and to most 13 year

14:20

olds, and probably just wants

14:23

to cut loose and have some

14:25

fun being a teenager for

14:27

the evening. By all accounts,

14:30

up until the latter part of

14:32

the night, he seems

14:34

to be achieving that goal. enjoying

14:36

the rides and such, indulging

14:38

in delicious junk food, which is

14:40

typically my favorite part of

14:42

any fair, and participating in carnival

14:45

games. He's determined

14:47

to stay for what is

14:49

called midnight madness, as the

14:51

fair remained open past midnight.

14:53

So a lot of the

14:55

teenagers want to hang out

14:57

there and get permission from

14:59

mom and dad to stay

15:01

for the midnight madness portion

15:03

of the fair. And

15:05

Jimmy had done so. He had

15:07

made arrangements with his mother to pick

15:09

him up from the fair at

15:11

12 30 a .m. Now boys

15:13

will be boys as they say

15:15

and to squeeze out every drop

15:18

of fun Jimmy and his friends

15:20

Decide to sneak off to smoke

15:22

a joint. This is

15:24

at the secluded East end

15:26

of the fairgrounds. So

15:28

this will be tucked away

15:31

from the crowds so

15:33

they'll be behind the

15:35

farmers market and shielded by

15:37

darkness over there. Now,

15:39

around 11 .30 p .m., the three

15:42

boys, the trio, who are

15:44

minding their own business and keeping

15:46

a low profile, of course, because

15:48

of the marijuana, they

15:50

are approached by a

15:52

group of older teen

15:54

boys. Reportedly, This

15:57

group of older boys,

15:59

their ages range from

16:01

15 to 19. And

16:04

the way that it

16:06

sounds to me, Captain, we're

16:08

talking about five or

16:10

six older teenage boys. And

16:13

as the story goes, these

16:16

older boys first approached them

16:18

offering to sell them a

16:20

dime bag of weed. Jimmy

16:23

and friends declined the offer, telling them

16:25

that they They already had enough. But

16:28

the older boys persist. And

16:31

somehow this conversation

16:33

then turns into threatening.

16:35

The older boys are threatening the younger

16:37

boys. It is later

16:40

suspected that several, if

16:42

not all of these

16:44

older boys belong to

16:46

the disreputable group known

16:49

as the Berg Jones

16:51

Lane gang. So

16:53

one of these older

16:55

boys throws a punch at

16:57

Jimmy after an argument

17:00

Jimmy swiftly retaliates landing a

17:02

solid blow upon his

17:04

opponent now realizing that they

17:06

are outnumbered and Overmatched

17:08

Jimmy's punch gives them the

17:10

opportunity to run and

17:12

try to get out of

17:14

there So Jimmy and

17:17

his friends they run off

17:19

in opposite directions trying

17:21

to escape The attackers

17:23

yeah, and it's not much

17:25

of a fair fight six

17:27

against three the gang decides

17:29

to run after The boys

17:32

but they hone in on

17:34

Jimmy rather quickly so they

17:36

they're chasing him until he

17:38

gets cornered he finds himself

17:40

in a fenced -in area and

17:42

He's trapped so upon catching

17:44

up with their target these

17:47

boys they surround him and

17:49

they launch into a

17:51

ruthless and cold -blooded

17:53

attack on 13 -year -old

17:55

Jimmy Townsend. They begin

17:57

beating and kicking him

18:00

mercilessly, pummeling him so

18:02

severely that his spinal

18:04

cord eventually becomes dislocated

18:06

from his neck. Now,

18:08

as Jimmy lay there motionless

18:10

upon the ground, gravely

18:12

injured, these

18:14

older boys, the attackers, of course,

18:16

they flee the scene. leaving

18:19

the 13 year old there, helpless

18:22

and clinging to life.

18:25

So Jimmy, now on the brink

18:27

of death is, is eventually found

18:29

by his friends who alert police

18:31

at the fair. And there's

18:33

some varying reports here on

18:35

some of the details. And

18:37

I would imagine that a

18:39

lot of that has to

18:41

do with one, just the

18:44

chaotic nature of the situation,

18:46

but to getting varying accounts

18:48

and some of those accounts

18:51

coming from, from teenagers. But

18:53

some of the information says that

18:55

they find Jimmy near the spot where

18:57

the boys had first separated when

18:59

they decided to run. So he may

19:01

not have made it very far. Right.

19:04

After medical personnel administered

19:06

CPR, Jimmy is

19:08

then rushed off to St.

19:10

Francis Medical Center. which

19:12

isn't terribly far away. This

19:15

will be a desperate

19:17

attempt to try to save

19:19

the young teenager's life.

19:22

Although it seems futile, he's

19:24

placed on a ventilator. And

19:27

I don't know if

19:29

this was an attempt to

19:32

perform some kind of

19:34

surgery or to take some

19:36

measures to perhaps save

19:38

his life. Right. I

19:40

think that it may have

19:42

been perhaps an attempt to

19:44

keep him alive long enough

19:46

so that his father, who

19:49

was reportedly often out of

19:51

town for work, so

19:53

maybe that he could, he would be

19:55

able to say goodbye to his only

19:57

son. He'd be able to come back

19:59

into town and have one last chance.

20:02

Now, despite monumental efforts

20:05

to try to save The

20:08

boy Jimmy's injuries prove

20:10

to be fatal a

20:12

September 30th 1985 article

20:14

in the news Times

20:16

confirms the youth's time

20:18

of death as 1053

20:20

p .m. On Saturday

20:22

September 28th, so they

20:24

kept him alive for

20:26

about one day's time

20:29

and I want to

20:31

read some portions of

20:33

this news article that

20:35

came out the new

20:37

star article that we

20:39

had just referenced and the

20:41

headline here This was

20:43

on page one of the

20:45

new star The headline

20:47

is youth question in beating

20:49

death. No arrest made

20:51

and it reads a 17

20:53

year old charged in

20:55

a Saturday morning fight at

20:58

the Archle Miss fair was

21:00

one of several persons questioned

21:02

in the weekend beating death of

21:05

a West Monroe youth. No

21:07

arrests have been made in the

21:09

death of Jimmy Townsend who

21:11

was involved in a fight. Police

21:13

Chief Willie Buffington refused to

21:15

say how many suspects were

21:17

questioned but said some are

21:19

young adults 17 or 18

21:21

years old. He says,

21:24

quote, at this particular point, we

21:26

are talking to several witnesses and several

21:28

people who were involved in the

21:30

fight and who are in fact suspects.

21:33

It was a fight, he says. He

21:35

goes on to say that blacks and

21:37

whites were fighting. We don't know who

21:39

all was involved with the fight. We

21:41

don't know what the fight was about. He

21:44

added, I think the detectives

21:46

may have an idea, but he's

21:48

not going to elaborate in this

21:50

article. The 17 -year -old was booked,

21:52

the person that was questioned, was

21:54

booked in connection with another weekend

21:57

beating on the fairgrounds. And that

21:59

arrest stemmed from a complaint by

22:01

a 19 year old who identified

22:03

the 17 year old as the

22:05

person who had attacked him. The

22:08

17 year old was

22:10

charged with drunk and disorderly

22:12

conduct, simple battery interfering

22:14

with police officer and resisting

22:16

arrest by flight. He

22:19

was released on bond. The chief goes

22:21

on to say we are not at

22:23

a point in time where we can

22:25

go before a judge and get a

22:27

warrant for an arrest. He also says

22:30

that no weapons were found at the

22:32

scene of the fight that resulted in

22:34

the death of Jimmy Townsend. He also

22:36

added that we don't have any evidence

22:38

that it was a gang, but

22:40

we will know and learn

22:42

shortly that that is one of

22:44

the Possibilities yes,

22:46

and it seems to be

22:49

the ongoing theory the theory that

22:51

has lasted Over the decades

22:53

the chief goes on to say

22:55

quote this thing is like

22:57

a gigantic puzzle and we are

22:59

trying to put it together

23:02

One of the big things we

23:04

are waiting on is the

23:06

autopsy report so the this article

23:08

does extend to the second

23:10

page of the newspaper as well

23:12

And what they are talking

23:14

about without naming any names is

23:17

it doesn't seem like this

23:19

fight and the assault on the

23:21

other on that 19 year

23:23

old. Right. It doesn't seem like

23:25

that was the only fights

23:27

or assaults that were going on

23:30

at the fair over the

23:32

course of of the fair itself.

23:34

It really sounds to me like either there's

23:36

a bunch of kids that are just not

23:39

getting along and they are fighting. Or

23:41

what I'm more suspicious of

23:43

and tend to lean is

23:45

that it sounds like a

23:47

group of kids were going

23:49

around and bullying other kids

23:51

I mean think about the

23:53

scenario if you wanted to

23:56

Shake down Essentially Rob some

23:58

other kids of their money.

24:00

This would be an ideal

24:02

scenario and location for that

24:04

you get a bunch of

24:06

your buddies together muscle if

24:08

you will You see a

24:10

kid or two by themselves.

24:13

Oftentimes at these fairs, especially

24:15

back in 1985, we know

24:17

a Jimmy situation, this to be true.

24:20

And according to the news articles that I read,

24:22

it had to be true for so many

24:24

other kids. This is

24:26

parents dropping their children off to

24:28

attend the fair with their friends

24:30

and hang out with their friends

24:32

and meeting at a designated, designated

24:34

location afterwards to pick them up

24:36

and return them home afterwards. So

24:38

you're They're unsupervised kids who are

24:40

Vulnerable to these bullies and to

24:42

this gang if you will yeah,

24:44

and probably given money by their

24:46

parents hey I'll give you some

24:48

money so you can get something

24:50

to drink something to eat and

24:52

some money to play some games

24:54

Yeah, you don't want to attempt

24:56

to rob a bunch of kids

24:58

that don't have any money It's

25:00

likely that the kids here are

25:02

going to have money because of

25:04

the games because of the food

25:06

and the rides and and whatnot

25:08

and Some of these stories, some

25:10

of these reports that are coming

25:13

out of the fair are very

25:15

similar to the situation with Jimmy,

25:17

but thankfully don't have the same

25:19

result. But it ends up with

25:21

kids getting beat up, getting

25:23

surrounded, getting picked on. And

25:26

in more than one

25:29

situation ends up with several

25:31

kids in the hospital

25:33

due to their injuries. All

25:49

right, we are back. Cheers mates,

25:51

talk hands in the air. Cheers to

25:53

you, Colonel. Raise them high. A

25:55

little housekeeping here for

25:58

our wonderful, beautiful listeners.

26:00

Oh, by the way, if you want

26:03

to become even more beautiful and even

26:05

more wonderful, make sure you check out

26:07

our other show, Off the Record, which

26:09

is available on Apple subscription and Patreon. So

26:11

we have our campaign or

26:13

keep our girls safe campaign and

26:15

a few weeks ago I

26:17

sent out some of the prizes

26:19

we gave out some random

26:21

random prizes to people that donated

26:23

to that fundraising effort. And

26:25

if you didn't hear the episode

26:27

when we made the announcement,

26:29

thanks to all of you out

26:32

there who helped us out,

26:34

we were able to raise $8

26:36

,000 for the keep our girls

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safe organization. A wonderful

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organization that is aimed at

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doing just that keeping our girls

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safe So we have some

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winners out there that still have

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are yet to claim their

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prizes So check your spam box

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or junk folders because if

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you were a winner you got

26:57

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27:02

could send you that prize

27:04

furthermore if you've donated to the

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you got an email from us

27:15

asking us. Do you want

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27:21

and you've donated to the beer

27:23

fund check and look for

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that email so we can give

27:28

it a cheers to you

27:30

this story is not bizarre but

27:32

unique for several different reasons

27:34

one we have the The

27:37

scenario of this youngster being

27:39

a father at the age

27:41

of 13 and yeah, like

27:43

I said, I believe his

27:45

daughter Was just a month

27:47

or so old at the

27:49

time that Jimmy was attacked

27:51

the other thing that I

27:53

want to remind people about

27:55

too is Yes, this case

27:58

feels like a very old

28:00

case right 1985 We're coming

28:02

up on 40 years old

28:04

on this case. However, keep in

28:07

mind, one thing that is

28:09

unique about this is that the

28:11

the attackers are all believed

28:13

to have been teenagers themselves or

28:15

right around that age. Correct.

28:18

So we very likely have the

28:20

weird scenario where we have a

28:22

old case, a 40 year old

28:24

case. But I would

28:27

suspect that most of these

28:29

suspects are probably still alive.

28:31

I would guess that that

28:33

probably one or more moved

28:35

out of the area when

28:37

they became of age conveniently moved

28:39

out of the area. But

28:41

these are very likely people that

28:43

are that are still alive

28:45

to this day. So it makes

28:47

this case feel not so

28:50

far in the rear view. And

28:52

simply we have this event

28:54

that a lot of people are

28:56

going to attend. People

28:58

are going to come from all

29:00

different areas. So that

29:02

makes it a little more complicated

29:04

for police. Are these individuals that

29:06

are attacking people or bullying people?

29:09

One, are they the same group

29:11

of people? Are they local?

29:13

Are they part of this

29:16

local gang quote unquote gang?

29:18

Because I think this is

29:20

a gang that's made up

29:22

of younger kids or young

29:24

adults. You have a group

29:27

of friends like Jimmy. They're

29:29

just going to this. Fair to

29:31

have a good time and maybe

29:33

get into a little bit of

29:35

trouble but nothing violent and then

29:37

we have this other subsection of

29:40

kids that are going to bully

29:42

to possibly steal other kids money

29:44

and I think this is a

29:46

situation that obviously just got out

29:48

of hand and anytime that you

29:50

have you know six kids trying

29:53

to fight three you kind of

29:55

get this mob mentality where they

29:57

might have took

30:00

the violence a little bit further

30:02

because of a mob mentality. But

30:05

out of that, if there

30:07

are six, and we

30:09

should know this because we

30:11

have Jimmy's two friends, those

30:13

would be pretty solid eyewitnesses.

30:15

But out of those six

30:17

individuals that attacked Jimmy, you'd

30:19

think there would be one

30:21

of them that would go,

30:23

I can't live with what

30:26

I did. And

30:28

oh, yeah, I I

30:30

guarantee you whether it be

30:32

a drunken confession at

30:34

the you know at a

30:36

late night That one

30:38

or more of these guys

30:40

have spoken up. They've

30:42

just not told the The

30:44

right person, you know,

30:46

they've just not told somebody

30:48

that is in authority

30:50

and in the situation and

30:52

any With Jimmy's

30:54

case, I should be clear here.

30:56

So some reports say that it

30:59

was five guys some reports say

31:01

that it was six Regardless of

31:03

the the boys that approached them

31:05

We do have a good idea

31:07

like you said because of his

31:10

two friends being there with him

31:12

that night and being threatened as

31:14

well who had right who were

31:16

forced to run off the actual

31:18

attack itself wasn't witnessed by the

31:20

two friends but it sounds like

31:23

it was witnessed by, potentially witnessed

31:25

by other people. And

31:27

that makes this situation even

31:29

that more difficult that we

31:31

don't have any arrests that

31:34

were made immediately after this.

31:36

Now, we do have arrests

31:38

that were made, but those

31:40

were involving other situations. How

31:42

many of those other fights,

31:45

those other assaults and attacks

31:48

We're committed by the people that

31:50

are responsible for the death

31:52

of Jimmy Townsend is a big

31:54

question mark again because it's

31:56

a big large event people come

31:58

in from all areas There's

32:01

a good chance that the eyewitnesses

32:03

that saw anything Weren't local

32:05

so they don't know any of

32:07

these kids. So all they

32:09

could tell Law enforcement is yes,

32:12

I saw these kids fighting.

32:14

Well, who were they? I don't

32:16

know We're not even from

32:18

the area. So I don't think

32:20

there's, and there's a good

32:22

possibility that Jimmy's friends didn't know

32:25

these kids that were attacking

32:27

them directly. So they can't name

32:29

names. So that

32:31

becomes difficult. But also when

32:33

you're 13, right?

32:35

To, uh, let's say 19 years

32:37

old, if you're in some

32:40

kind of, uh, scuttle

32:42

or whatever, you're in

32:44

a little, um, fight.

32:46

And this is a quote unquote

32:48

gang. There's a

32:50

possibility that you're just not

32:52

mature enough to understand. I

32:54

need to get this information

32:56

to law enforcement because by

32:58

doing so, law enforcement can

33:00

do their jobs, arrest these

33:02

individuals, which then will protect

33:04

you. I can't tell you

33:06

the amount of times that I was

33:08

a kid and somebody was being

33:10

bullied or something was happening and you're

33:12

like, why aren't you just telling

33:15

the teacher? because they were

33:17

so afraid of, well, once

33:19

I tell the teacher, the kid gets

33:21

in trouble, but that doesn't protect me.

33:24

This kid then can come back

33:26

after me. And

33:28

I think that's somewhat what was

33:30

happening with Jimmy's friends. Let's get

33:32

into what we do know and

33:34

what was known to the persons

33:37

and not known to the persons

33:39

that were close to the case

33:41

and even some that were in

33:43

attendance. at the fair

33:45

on this evening. So

33:47

in the aftermath of Jimmy's

33:49

tragic death, an investigation

33:51

is launched, obviously. Now,

33:54

it would be September

33:56

29th, so one day after

33:58

his passing, that

34:00

Jimmy's autopsy was conducted. The

34:03

examination and report revealed

34:05

that he died from shock

34:08

due to multiple brain

34:10

injuries. The coroner,

34:12

of course, rules it

34:14

a homicide. noting,

34:16

quote, severe cerebral injuries

34:18

without skull fractures

34:20

akin to shaken child

34:23

syndrome. Now, the

34:25

report itself was not

34:27

released publicly or not

34:29

spoken of publicly until

34:31

a month later on

34:33

October 29th. But that

34:35

news report suggests his

34:37

injuries could have been

34:39

caused by blows. or

34:42

being jerked around. Jimmy

34:44

also had facial and neck

34:46

wounds, including scrapes and bruised

34:48

cheek and neck hemorrhaging. The

34:51

official cause of

34:53

death is listed as

34:55

multiple intracranial injuries. So

34:58

here is the

35:00

newspaper release of that

35:02

autopsy or the

35:04

them talking about the

35:06

autopsy. It says

35:08

an autopsy report filed

35:11

in the parish clerk of courts

35:13

office shows that 13 year old

35:15

Jimmy Townsend died of shock that

35:18

resulted from multiple brain injuries. The

35:20

West Monroe youth died September

35:23

28th at St. Francis Medical Center

35:25

after he was severely beaten

35:27

the previous evening, the previous night

35:29

at the fair. He

35:31

had severe cerebral injuries without

35:33

skull fractures. What they go

35:35

on to say here in

35:38

this article is they're not

35:40

certain if a weapon was

35:42

used, but a weapon could

35:44

have been used in this

35:46

attack, but it would have

35:48

to be a type of

35:50

weapon that could cause these

35:52

severe injuries without causing fractures

35:54

to the skull. It

35:57

goes on to say that the youth's

35:59

spinal cord was dislocated from the base of

36:01

his brain. The autopsy

36:03

report says the dislocation

36:05

is quite similar to

36:07

the findings of the

36:09

shaken child syndrome normally

36:11

seen in infants and

36:13

toddlers. The investigator said

36:15

the syndrome is found when the

36:17

spinal cord dislocates from the

36:20

brain of young children who are

36:22

violently shaken. You have

36:24

to wonder too, we know that

36:26

the attack occurred when he

36:28

became trapped, right? He's basically fenced

36:30

in and then surrounded by

36:33

these boys, five or six of

36:35

them. Could he have gotten

36:37

pinned up against that fence in

36:39

a way that when they're,

36:41

I mean, there's no nice way

36:43

of saying this, but the

36:46

way it plays out in my

36:48

head, they're stomping him, right?

36:50

They're probably, once they get him

36:52

to the ground, they're probably

36:54

kicking him and stomping him and

36:56

the soles of a shoe

36:58

would very likely help to cause

37:01

these severe injuries without fracturing

37:03

the skull. And I

37:05

just wonder, if

37:07

he was pinned up against the fence

37:09

in some kind of manner that may

37:11

have caused this dislocation. Yeah, I agree

37:13

with you. Right when you hear maybe

37:15

there was some kind of weapon used,

37:17

you go, well, six kids

37:19

around you kicking you

37:21

would cause a lot

37:23

of damage. And

37:26

then obviously, like you said,

37:28

it probably wouldn't be enough to

37:30

fracture the skull. It

37:32

goes on to say that

37:34

Jimmy's Injuries may

37:36

have been caused by blows

37:38

with an object that could

37:41

cause minor trauma without skull

37:43

fractures or By being jerked

37:45

around by a group of

37:47

people Jimmy Townsend also suffered

37:50

hemorrhaging quote all sorry quote

37:52

over all surfaces of the

37:54

brain and quote Injuries to

37:56

the face and neck included

37:58

scrapes near his right eye

38:01

bruises on his right cheek

38:03

scrapes on his chin and

38:05

hemorrhages with his neck? Well,

38:08

I think another thing in

38:10

play here is if Jimmy was

38:12

knocked out, his neck muscles

38:14

wouldn't be stabilizing his head. And

38:17

I think that's what happened was he

38:19

was knocked out and these guys, again,

38:22

because of a mob mentality,

38:24

they just didn't stop.

38:26

And if he's being jerked

38:28

around by all directions,

38:30

there would be no protection

38:33

to his head, neck

38:35

or spine. Well, and in

38:37

all these other attacks

38:39

or shakedowns, whatever you want

38:41

to call them, where

38:43

we have victims, people who

38:45

were victimized or robbed,

38:47

and they are still, thankfully,

38:49

alive and able to

38:51

provide witness statements. To

38:53

police so you have to wonder

38:55

and you know that it's happening

38:57

and every every time that they

38:59

have someone that they're questioning whether

39:01

it be a witness a victim

39:04

or potential suspect in any of

39:06

these crimes It's going to include

39:08

questions about Jimmy Townsend's death and

39:10

the attack on Jimmy Townsend at

39:12

some point don't we have an

39:14

individual that confesses Yeah, so this

39:16

is where it gets It

39:19

gets real shaky, this investigation

39:21

very quickly. So they launched this

39:23

investigation and as said, there's

39:25

no immediate arrests that were made.

39:28

But there are statements

39:30

that say at

39:32

least three presumed witnesses

39:34

existed. So

39:36

potentially three witnesses. However,

39:39

we do have statements from

39:41

police saying that no one

39:43

has come forward, no one

39:45

has called crime stoppers. There

39:47

was a homeless man

39:50

who attempted to provide a

39:52

statement to police I'm

39:54

guessing he was more of

39:56

a witness rather than

39:58

a suspect but his statement

40:00

I've never seen it

40:02

made public and from my

40:04

understanding it was rejected

40:06

by police due to him

40:08

being extremely intoxicated right

40:10

these witnesses to the crime

40:12

Developed what at least

40:14

one report says is a

40:16

convenient case of selective

40:18

amnesia about the incident when

40:20

questioned by police so

40:22

So some witness statements potentially

40:24

even even other victim

40:26

statements seem to have provided

40:28

names to police and

40:30

When they go to talk

40:32

to these people a

40:36

convenient case of selective amnesia. I don't I don't

40:38

know what you're talking about. Yeah, I was at

40:40

the fair. I didn't attack anybody I don't know

40:42

those other people. I never saw that person before

40:44

in my life. I What did you do at

40:46

the fair? I did this and then I was,

40:48

I left it, uh, 12 o 'clock

40:50

one, one in the morning. Yeah.

40:52

Or lied completely and said they were

40:54

never at, at the fair. And

40:56

now you have to prove that they

40:58

were, I mean, one

41:01

of the local rumors is

41:03

that this gang, uh, law

41:05

enforcement was afraid of or

41:07

eyewitnesses were afraid of. And,

41:09

and maybe that's a possibility,

41:11

but. Everything I've seen by

41:13

looking into this case, to

41:15

me, it doesn't seem like

41:18

this well organized gang. It

41:20

seems like more of a

41:22

group of kids. And

41:24

so to think that law

41:26

enforcement is going to be afraid

41:28

of them, I'd actually go

41:30

with another local rumor is that

41:32

maybe some of these individuals

41:35

that were involved in this bullying

41:37

and possibly the attack on

41:39

Jimmy are somehow connected to law

41:41

enforcement through family. And so

41:43

that would make more sense in

41:45

the sense of maybe law

41:47

enforcement is trying to protect them

41:49

because, you know, if you're

41:51

a 15 year old nephew was

41:53

in this attack and maybe

41:55

didn't have much to do with

41:57

that at all, you're trying

41:59

to protect him because he's obviously

42:02

still a kid. Yeah, it's

42:04

difficult to say. I think that

42:06

probably at play here, we

42:08

have a few different things. There

42:10

were some people that didn't

42:12

feel comfortable providing information to

42:14

police right and then when

42:17

police were Talking to the

42:19

right individuals. They're probably getting

42:21

stories that are all over

42:23

the place because they're coming

42:25

from different people who are

42:27

very likely lying about Their

42:29

involvement or lack thereof in

42:31

this in the situation. Yeah,

42:34

and I think it's easy

42:36

when for family members

42:38

and friends of the victim

42:40

to think because a case

42:42

has not been solved, maybe

42:44

there's some kind of conspiracy

42:47

thing going on. But one

42:49

of the other local rumors

42:51

that I've heard was that

42:53

cops, that law enforcement

42:55

had a pretty good idea of

42:57

who did it, but that doesn't

42:59

mean you can prove that in

43:01

accord to law. And it's also

43:04

going to be harder to prove

43:06

and harder to get justice on

43:08

your side when the attackers are,

43:10

um, still minors.

43:13

You know I mean? I just think it makes

43:15

a little more difficult. Oh, absolutely.

43:18

And, and exactly. I think

43:20

that you're probably pretty spot on

43:22

here with, with the thought

43:24

that they have a good idea

43:26

of who did this or

43:28

at least who was involved in

43:30

the attack. Um, maybe

43:32

not all five or six of them,

43:34

but probably two or three

43:36

or if not more so this

43:39

is let's go back to the

43:41

time period here this is from

43:43

a statement from a detective zambi

43:45

it does provide a little more

43:47

information about what was going on

43:49

at the fair it says detective

43:51

zambi declined a comment on whether

43:53

police have any suspects at this

43:55

time saying quote if anybody saw

43:57

anything they haven't reported it to

43:59

crime stoppers the general manager of

44:02

the fair his name is greg

44:04

gregory Not very

44:06

creative with the name the

44:08

naming of your kid, but

44:10

anyway great Greg Gregory the

44:12

general manager of the fair

44:14

said the beating occurred in

44:16

a field behind the Northeast

44:19

Louisiana Farmers Market No details

44:21

about the circumstances surrounding the

44:23

beating have been confirmed by

44:25

police or fair officials another

44:27

West Monroe youth age 14

44:29

his name Jim Murphy was

44:31

admitted to Glenwood

44:34

Regional Medical Center at 2

44:36

30 a .m. Saturday after

44:38

he suffered blows to the

44:40

face at the fair He

44:42

was reported in very stable

44:44

condition Sunday, but he has

44:46

facial injuries and is wearing

44:49

an eye patch a nursing

44:51

supervisor told the newspaper so

44:53

that that names a Another

44:55

victim there and if you

44:57

read some of these articles

44:59

there there were other

45:02

victims that were referenced

45:04

but not named it's

45:06

again It's I have

45:08

I I I Refused

45:10

to jump over the

45:12

hurdle that these these

45:14

guys didn't attack somebody

45:16

else that they didn't

45:18

shake down somebody else

45:20

and so if in

45:22

fact police know a

45:24

couple of the names

45:26

or have good suspects

45:28

in this case, they

45:30

very likely found those

45:32

good suspects because of

45:34

them committing other crimes,

45:36

less severe crimes at

45:38

the fair that very

45:40

night. Now, it's

45:42

widely believed even to

45:45

this day that members of

45:47

the notorious Berg -Jones Lane

45:49

gang are responsible for

45:51

Jimmy Townsend's death. What

45:55

do we know about

45:57

this gang here? They were

45:59

operating from the Berg

46:01

Lane neighborhood, which is located

46:03

in Monroe This gang

46:05

was linked to drug trafficking

46:07

and violent crimes instilling

46:09

fear in the local community

46:11

Consequently information about the

46:14

deadly incident at the fair

46:16

has remained scarce even

46:18

to this day with many

46:20

residents suspecting that Like

46:22

the captain said that the

46:25

Monroe police are already aware of

46:27

the culprits but lack sufficient

46:29

evidence to proceed further with justice

46:31

for Jimmy because It you

46:33

could have the right guy you

46:35

could have the right guys

46:37

You can put them in handcuffs.

46:40

You can take them into

46:42

court. You can only try them

46:44

once if you get this

46:46

thing horribly wrong Yeah, it just

46:48

seems like there is Not

46:51

a lot of

46:53

evidence and frankly unfortunately,

46:56

it doesn't sound like we really have

46:58

much in the way of physical evidence

47:00

to help further the investigation either. Now

47:03

in 1986, without

47:06

Jimmy to help

47:08

raise the infant daughter,

47:12

the teenage mother makes

47:15

very difficult decision to seek a

47:17

loving and stable home for

47:19

her daughter. So the baby is

47:21

placed with an older couple. She's

47:24

just 11 months old at the

47:26

time. Does become

47:28

a part of an

47:30

adoring, wonderful new

47:32

family. She

47:35

grows up not really

47:37

knowing the truth about

47:39

her father or her

47:41

parents for many years.

47:45

And at some point she

47:47

does learn what happened to

47:49

her father. This will lead

47:51

her to... So it's not

47:54

until she grows into adulthood

47:56

that the truth about the

47:58

tragic death of Jimmy Townsend,

48:00

her father, emerges. And she

48:02

takes up the fight for

48:04

the father, her father, for

48:06

her father that she never

48:08

knew. This is

48:10

from an online source called...

48:13

Road Mysteries. It says,

48:15

quote, things were a lot

48:17

different back then. The

48:20

daughter's name is Christie Joyner. That's a

48:22

quote from her. She goes on to

48:24

say, there were named suspects, but I

48:26

think eyewitnesses were scared to come forward.

48:29

Now, as we know, Christie Joyner was

48:31

put up for adoption. She didn't know

48:33

about a real father until she was older, until

48:35

she was an adult, according to this report. She

48:38

does say that every time police

48:40

in and around Monroe saw the

48:42

homicide, she is left wondering why

48:44

her dad's death was basically became

48:46

one of the coldest cases in

48:48

the state. Well, and some of

48:50

these gang members, they think, you

48:52

know, obviously either died from drugs

48:55

or they're in prison or they

48:57

moved away. But some of these

48:59

individuals, maybe they're not in a

49:01

gang anymore, but they're still in

49:03

that area. And so.

49:05

when you have these local rumors of

49:07

who possibly could have been involved

49:09

or just, hey, we think this, this

49:11

gang was involved, but then you

49:14

start hearing rumors of, well, this guy

49:16

was in that gang. So

49:18

the fact that she

49:20

is still in this community

49:22

and sees these individuals

49:24

walking free, it has to

49:26

be very one concerning. You

49:29

know, are they going to do

49:31

something to me because I'm pushing to

49:34

get justice for my father? Then

49:36

I. I never got to know because

49:38

of these violent acts. But

49:41

also, I think it would

49:43

be as much as it would

49:45

be maybe concerning. It would

49:47

also just be frustrating to see

49:49

these people out living a

49:51

life that their, that her father

49:53

never got to live. Well,

49:55

and she very likely has sadly

49:57

seen that. So about 10

49:59

years ago, she began reaching out

50:02

to authorities in hopes of

50:04

getting. Jimmy's murder investigation,

50:06

let's say reopened. You know,

50:08

they never really close these

50:10

things, but they're oftentimes not

50:12

actively being worked. So getting

50:14

it reopened, examined with fresh

50:16

eyes. Because of that,

50:18

she learns a lot of

50:20

the details that have

50:22

not been made public about

50:24

what occurred at the

50:26

Arclimus Fair that night. And

50:28

even a list of

50:30

suspects that detectives have developed.

50:34

At least one source here captain

50:36

says many of whom are

50:39

still living and operating in the

50:41

very same hometown in which

50:43

She revised. Now

50:45

there was an original

50:47

the original reward for

50:49

information leading to an

50:51

arrest and conviction was

50:53

$5 ,000 This was

50:56

initially offered by a

50:58

Monroe based civic organization,

51:00

but has since expired

51:02

Christie is personally offering

51:04

a $1 ,000 reward. She

51:07

has created a private

51:09

Facebook group Justice for Jimmy

51:11

Townsend and a change .org

51:13

petition to raise awareness

51:16

of her father's unsolved murder.

51:18

And she continues to

51:21

collaborate with. With

51:23

authorities until those responsible for

51:25

her father's death are finally

51:27

held accountable and brought to

51:29

justice. Well, and also I

51:31

think one of the issues

51:34

with this crime one Being

51:36

at such a public event,

51:38

but also it was 85

51:40

correct So some of the

51:42

technologies that we use now

51:44

DNA testing just want to

51:46

have been as popular or

51:48

as known So it

51:51

makes you wonder, is there anything that

51:53

they have left because they also

51:55

had to take Jimmy to the hospital?

51:57

What happened to his clothes? How

51:59

many people touched those clothes? Is it

52:01

even something that you could test? So

52:03

then if you have a

52:06

list of two or three

52:08

that you definitely think were involved,

52:10

that you could test some

52:12

evidence against them to, to

52:14

give you more evidence to bring

52:16

them to trial. Sadly, Jimmy's

52:18

parents, James Allen and Rita

52:20

Gale Townsend passed away in 2008

52:23

and 2012 respectively, leaving

52:25

Christie to keep looking

52:27

for answers. Quote,

52:29

they never got the answers they were

52:31

looking for. It was

52:34

particularly hard on his mother.

52:36

She never really got past it,

52:38

says Christie. We

52:40

have the names of a

52:42

number of suspects and

52:44

we are pretty sure we

52:46

know the individuals responsible

52:48

for his death said Christie

52:50

We just hope and

52:52

pray that someone will eventually

52:54

speak up and we

52:57

can finally get some closure

52:59

Jimmy lies for eternity

53:01

in the Twin City Memorial

53:03

Gardens about 10 miles

53:05

from where he died if

53:07

you have any information

53:09

about this crime Please call

53:11

Monroe Police Department at

53:14

318 -329 -2600. Want

53:25

to thank everybody for joining us here

53:27

in the garage. If you need more

53:29

true crime garage for your ear balls,

53:31

make sure you check out off the

53:33

record on Apple Podcasts and Patreon. Last

53:36

week we talked about

53:38

The Richard Allen confessions this

53:40

week, we're talking about

53:42

the paroling of cop killers

53:44

in New York City. So

53:47

tons of interesting content and

53:49

cases over on off the

53:51

record. And until next week,

53:53

be good, be kind and

53:55

don't litter. You

54:31

You