Post by Scumhunter on May 14, 2014 8:56:29 GMT -5
Fugitive Profile as of November 8th, 2014 (Based on 2012 AMW archive):
Sex: Male
Race: Black
Current Age:33-35
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 170 lbs.
Hair (Color, Description, Facial Hair): Black, May wear a beard
Eyes: Brown
Scars and Tattoos:
-Tattoo that reads "laugh now, cry later" with the comedy and tragedy masks on his left forearm
-Tattoo that reads "Why me" on his neck
-Tattoo of an angel on his right shoulder
Possible Locations: North Carolina
TIPS: Anyone with information on the case may contact the Flint Police Department at 810-237-6800. You can also submit an anonymous web tip to Crime Stoppers of Michigan by clicking on this link: www.tipsubmit.com/WebTips.aspx?AgencyID=430
FLINT, MI -- A national television show is aiding Flint authorities in their search for a suspect in connection with the Sept. 27, 2009 murder of 34-year-old Markus Arnold.
The America's Most Wanted website states Flint police are searching for 32-year-old James Edelen III in connection to Arnold's shooting.
Cory Blake, owner of Arlene's Lounge on North Saginaw Street, said he and Arnold had a bite to eat at the Redwood Lodge and finished a drink about 20 minutes earlier at the Palm Tree Lounge on Clio Road when Blake received a phone call about the shooting.
"I guess him and the guy had a confrontation," said the 38-year-old Blake, noting Edelen had previously been barred from entering Arlene's Lounge following a fight between Edelen and a woman in the parking lot of the business in April 2009.
The men apparently traded words in the bathroom about the ejection, Blake said, and when Arnold emerged from the building Edelen supposedly confronted him again about the previous incident.
Blake said video surveillance shows when Arnold looked back over his shoulder during the second confrontation, Edelen allegedly fired several shots that struck Arnold in the head and chest.
He said two witnesses can also be seen on the video, and police recovered a weapon at the scene following a short struggle between the shooter and a friend with Arnold at the time.
"We were like brothers. We knew each other for 20 years," said Blake of Arnold, both of whom attended Flint Central and co-owned Arlene's for more than a year before Arnold's death.
"He was my best friend, my business partner," said Blake, who taped an interview with the long-running program in mid-July that aired Friday on the Lifetime Network.
"(Markus) was just good with everybody," said Blake, adding Arnold had worked his way up at the lounge from security guard to owner over a 10-year period. "He's missed. He's really missed."
Described as 5-feet-7 inches tall and weighing 170 pounds, the 32-year-old Edelen has brown eyes, black hair and may have a beard, as well as tattoos reading "laugh now, cry later" with the comedy and tragedy masks on his left forearm, "Why me" tattoo on his neck and angel tattoo on his right shoulder.
Looking at a large photo of Arnold and himself celebrating their first anniversary at the lounge which hangs up high on a wall in his office, Blake holds out hope the show will bring some information.
"Really that's all I've got to hold on to," he said. "I'm hoping with the exposure from America's Most Wanted somebody will see him and the leads will come. That's what I'm hoping for."
The America's Most Wanted report states Edelen's last possible location as North Carolina, where Edelen has ties. Edelen is listed as absconding his parole on Sept. 27, 2009, according to the Michigan Department of Corrections database.
He reached plea agreements on several previous offenses, including possession by felon of a firearm, carrying a concealed weapon and felony firearms.
Thoughts? Even though Edelen's archived profile is on the AMW site, it's from the latter part of the Lifetime season when they cut the profiles in half, so I chose that article as the most detailed about the case I could find. From my terrible short-term memory of the re-enactment, Arnold was allegedly angry that Edelen had hit his girlfriend and kicked him out and that was the cause for the subsequent argument and alleged murder. I previously felt Edelen was still in the states- he is said to have ties to North Carolina- but part of me now wonders if perhaps he has any ties to the Caribbean since it baffles me it's taken this long. Also, since Michigan is close enough to Canada, it wouldn't surprise me if he fled up North. I still am leaning towards the U.S., but it really is defying the odds here that he hasn't been caught yet if that's the case.
www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2012/09/report_flint_police_searching_1.html
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