The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Tag: No indictment

  • Breaking: No justice for Josiah

    Breaking: No justice for Josiah

    No indictment, but APD Chief vows to bring justice

    By: T.William Wallin and Freddy Brewster

    Humboldt County District Attorney Maggie Fleming announced that there will not be any charges filed in regard to the 2017 murder of Josiah Lawson. A Grand Jury met on Feb. 28 and reviewed “testimony from 25 witnesses, including experts in forensics and DNA,” according to a released statement.

    Arcata chief of police Brian Ahearn said that he takes full responsibility for the shortcomings in the investigation and has called for additional witnesses to come forward.

    “I have fallen short and have not delivered a final product to hold someone accountable for murder,” Ahearn said. “We need witnesses to come forward and we need the public’s help.”

    HSU student activist and member of Justice for Josiah Deema Hindawi was dismayed by the announcement.

    “I feel sick to my stomach, I am disgusted and feel betrayed,” Hindawi said. “A black man was murdered. What we are learning here at HSU is that there is system that only works for certain people.”

    Josiah Lawson was stabbed multiple times at an off-campus party in Arcata on April 15, 2017. Since the beginning of the investigation there has been controversy involving how the Arcata Police Department handled the homicide.

    Former APD chief of police, Thomas Chapman abruptly resigned in 2018 as well as former FBI special investigator Tom Parker. Parker resigned due to frustration with how the case was being handled, and said it was “clear [APD] was holding back things and not telling me the truth.”

    Chief Ahearn is new to the Arcata Police Department having started in late 2018. However, he has pledged to bring justice.

    “We are not going to rest until justice is brought to Josiah,” Ahearn said. “We are going to solve this case, we are not going to give up. We will get this. This investigation is far from over.”

    Humboldt State will be offering support in the Jolly Giant Commons this evening from 7 to 11 p.m.

  • J4J protests

    J4J protests

    Protestors gather to demand Justice for Josiah

    By: Freddy Brewster and T.William Wallin

    Nearly fifteen people gathered outside of the Humboldt County Courthouse Wednesday night to protest the grand jury’s decision to not bring charges in the murder of Josiah Lawson.

    Lawson was stabbed during a house party in Arcata on April 15, 2017. Among the protesters is Jill Larrabee, a Justice for Josiah (J4J) organizer and friend of Charmaine Lawson.

    “I am infuriated with the decision, I don’t have words for it,” Larrabee said. “We have been out here for almost two years and it feels like we are getting robbed of justice. It’s the same story that has been happening for forever.”

    Larrabee said she has been involved in the J4J movement in since the beginning but became more intimately involved in January of 2018.

    “It is my duty to get involved,” Larrabee said. “I wanted to pick up when the students had to focus on school.”

    Eric Martin of McKinleyville also showed up to protest the grand jury’s decision. Martin grew up in Burlingame, Calif. and move to Humboldt to attend school at HSU. Martin graduated in 2007 with an art degree and became involved in the J4J movement last summer.

    “I am upset and I feel really angry that they aren’t going to do anything,” Martin said. “I thought there had been enough of an investigation to bring the murderer in.”

    Meg Stofsky is a member of the local NAACP chapter and showed up to demand for something to be done in this case as well. Stofsky is relatively new to Humboldt county having moved here from Upstate New York in 2017.

    “I’m shocked about how far behind the times the racial issues are here,” Stofsky said. “I love Charmaine Lawson and she needs justice, but it wasn’t served yet again.”