Arthur Lee Washington Jr. (November 30, 1949 – disappeared April 12, 1989) is an American

fugitive A fugitive (or runaway) is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also known ...

and former member of the

Black Liberation Army The Black Liberation Army (BLA) was a far-left, black nationalist, underground Black Power revolutionary paramilitary organization that operated in the United States from 1970 to 1981. Composed of former Black Panthers (BPP) and Republic of Ne ...

wanted for the attempted murder of a

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

state trooper on April 12, 1989. Washington was added to the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

's Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list on October 18, 1989. He remained on the list for over a decade. He was eventually dropped from the list on December 27, 2000 for no longer meeting the list criteria. He is still wanted by

New Jersey State Police The New Jersey State Police (NJSP) is the official state police force of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a general-powers police agency with statewide jurisdiction, designated by troop sectors. History As with other state police organization ...

, although he is presumed deceased.

Attempted murder

On April 12, 1989, New Jersey state trooper Michael J. Clayton stopped a 1979 Ford Thunderbird for an expired inspection sticker. Washington, who was a passenger in the vehicle, got out of the car and walked away. Clayton ordered him to stop but Washington ignored his commands. As Clayton began to give chase, Washington pulled out a .45 caliber

semi-automatic handgun A semi-automatic pistol is a type of repeating single-chamber handgun ( pistol) that automatically cycles its action to insert the subsequent cartridge into the chamber (self-loading), but requires manual actuation of the trigger to actuall ...

from his jacket and began firing at Clayton. Clayton returned fire, but as he paused to reload, Washington escaped on foot. No one was injured during the shootout.

Fugitive

Police searched Washington's apartment in

Asbury Park Asbury Park () is a beachfront city located on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 15,188

and found three other weapons; a machine gun and two handguns. A federal arrest warrant was issued for Washington on April 14, charging him with

Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution {{no footnotes, date=January 2013 Also referred to as the Fugitive Felon Act (18 U.S.C. § 1073), Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution is a United States federal law The law of the United States comprises many levels of codified and uncodif ...

and

attempted murder Attempted murder is a crime of attempt in various jurisdictions. Canada Section 239 of the ''Criminal Code'' makes attempted murder punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. If a gun is used, the minimum sentence is four, five or seven ye ...

. Washington was added to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list on October 18, 1989. He was the 427th fugitive to be placed on the list. He remained on the list for over eleven years, until he was removed on December 27, 2000 for no longer meeting the list criteria. He was replaced by

Eric Franklin Rosser Eric Franklin Rosser (born January 17, 1952) also known as Doc Rosser, is a former keyboardist for John Mellencamp. He joined Mellencamp's band in 1979 and toured with Mellencamp for over two years. He recorded with the band on Mellencamp's 1980 ...

. Washington still remains a fugitive and is wanted by New Jersey State Police, although by now he is believed to be dead.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Washington, Arthur Lee Jr. 1949 births 1980s missing person cases American male criminals FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives Fugitives wanted by the United States Members of the Black Liberation Army People from Asbury Park, New Jersey Possibly living people

Attempted murder

Fugitive

See also

References