Y ER Ie RO
Carrying pi card bearing m
of the 12 unresolved murder victims
illed over 10 year pan, marcbe
brav d downpour Wedne d y,
Au ust 12 to demonst te th ir out­
rag t th indi erence h wn Bl c
crim victims by the white judicial
ystem of thi outh e tern
Michigan community.
Organized by the Twin Cities
Branch of the ational ociation
for th Adv ncement of Colored
People, clo e to 100 demonstra ers
joined the p aceful noon tim march
in front of the Berrien County Court­
house inSt Joseph, Michigan, where
the County Pro ecutor' office is lo­
cated.
Wi th the rain pouring down. close
to 100 people, including local mini­
sters, community leaders and loved
"I Tm IT' time th t we
po r non-violent demonstration
to focus public attention to the in­
ability 0 the Prosecutor' Office to
solve numerous of deaths that have
occurred in thi rea, " aid Wit
Branscumb, Vice-President of the
Local Branch of the AACP and
Chairman of the Legal Redre
ones of some of the murdered vic­
tims, marched to demonstrate their
Continued from Plge A-1
relates McGinnis aid a door on a
van belonging to the YWCA was
open and proceeded to shoot off a
fire cracker inside the van.
THERE ARE various '\tersions
with minor details differing at this
point, but the youth say McGinnis
became separated from them. The
next time they say they saw McGin­
nis, he was by a car in the lot.
On of the white youtbs says he
saw Eric standing by the rear bumper
of a car when another car pulled up,
a white man jumped out and began
beating McGinnis.
Some say they aw a man ina
pink shirt, hit McGinnis and knock
him to the ground.
Another youth says he saw
McGinnis leaning into the
Warmbein car.
But they all agree on what hap­
pened next: McGinnis running from
the lot, aero s Broad St., past Landis
Clothing, and around thecorner, go­
ing south on State Street.
Ted Warmbein told this paper he
did not hit McGinnis, or whoever it
was that he caught in his car.
Warmbein aid he made a lunge
for the Black male who somehow
got away from him and tookoff run­
ning -:
Warmbein gave chase. He said as
he tarted down State Street he saw
someone who he told to call the cops.
It turns out that this person was
Berrien County Sheriff Stephen
Marschke,
Marschke's presence at the scene
was kept from the public until a citi­
zen que tion brought it out during a
candidate' forum prior to the Au­
gust 4 primary last week.
There i in the police file, a typed
statement ubmitted by the Sheriff
on May 0, 1991.
ACCORDING to the sheriff's
statement he was called at home
around 8:15 p.m. by Jerry Frank to
meet him at the Silver DoUar Cafe,
414 State.
Marschke aid as he parked his
Committee, peaking to the crowd
from the Courthouse steps.
ACCORDING TO Easton, the
original report described a man in a
pink shirt chasing a man in a brown
jacket.
Easton proceeded down State
Street, and ina 17 minute time period
before he reported he "cleared" the
case at 9:49, he:
- talked to unidentified wit­
nesses that saw a Black male run into
614 State;
- got out to check and found
tennis shoe marks leading into and
on the porch of 614 State;
BENTON HARBOR
In ddition th d th of c-
Ginni , Branscumb id, there re
vera! other unsolved de ths here
o have been made.
Among th olved de ths are:
Gwendolyn Hie , Clin ra Denise
Orr, Bill Jon ,Taminy Hall, Steven
Willi m , el Yate, enneth
Henderson, Willie Mulherion nd
U.S. Jo 11 can American,
11 resid n of Benton Harbor.
Added to the 1 t ere Michael
Steve and Maxine Ellison-P r ,
ho died in "u picio fire"
recently in Benton Harbor. That
i Iso till under investigation.
Branscumb 1 0 too note of
tho victims of police hootings
ruledjustifi ble homicide by Berrien
P cuto over the decade: Hardy
Jam Jr., Johnnie Lee Kyles, Norri
Mabens, and McEldon TIsdale.
CALLING THE deaths of these
African American males at the hands
of police, "justifiable... . an easy
way to duck the ystem," Branscumb
id.
"We certainly want to focus
public attention to the inability of the
Pro ecutor's Office to do omething
about the cases," Branscumb added.
Branscumb aid the pattern of
cases being justifiable homicide is
what the organization' concerned
about. "We want to work with the
police department and make sure the
cases are olved."
Benton Harbor City Commis­
sioner James Turner, who is also the
Chairman of the Community Citizen
Coalition organized to top the kill­
ing, drugs, violence and crime in the
area slid, w 1 predict within the
next 30-days, that we will bear some
results on some 0 these particular
cases."
He went on to say that the infor­
mation released by Berrien County
Prosecutor Dennis Wiley a year later
about McGinnis being involved in a
car, break-in during the time of his
death was "really Irresponsible. It's
creating a lot of real doubt in
citizens' minds about the law enfor-
MEANWIDLE, reports say two
of the youth ran back to the club to
report that a "big white guy" was
beating up Eric.
Another report has them saying
"Eric was in trouble."
Who came running up to tell the
club owner is in dispute. The young
white teens give two names different
than the two names provided the po­
lice by the club owner.
The club owner, Chris Adams,
told police he could not \eave the
club unattended to respond. And, he
said, since it was not a club matter, .
he did not call the police.
Five youths thengotinacarto see
if they could find Eric in case he was
in trouble. According to the reports,
one of the five youths was African
American.
Although police interviewed
each of the white youtbs twice.igiv­
ing polygraph tests to three of the .
youths, there-is-no interview wi th the
Black youth who allegedly went
driving to find Eric.
Also curious, i the fact Lt.
Reeves ays none of the youth were
employed by the dance club.
Yet, the parents of one of the
bOYS, who refuse to let their on be
interveiwed, ay the son was em­
ployed by the club, was working that
night and had "nothing to do with
and was not with Eric McGinni ."
T ONLY report in the police
olved. "The people in 'Benton Har­
bor would like to be treated like th�
people in St. Joseph, Stevensville
and other surrounding area."
Buchana said the politicians
come to the Black churches and get
Black votes, but once they are
elected, you can't even get a phone
call through to them when you need
something.
Tracey Love, first cousin of Mc­
Ginnis, said the family is still suffer­
ing the loss of McGinnis, who was
the only child of Ruthie McGinnis.
She said the march will hopefully
help to bring some justice.
Bennie Bowers, uncle of Mc­
Ginnis, said his concern is�'na to
� •. I\��'tHip�. • wV.
�: OU wl'.agaJJl,n � w some-
ndbn,a..,\weck,�Jf , telr41e is
found in the river.
BOWERS, himself a state
trooper but who is not involved in the
investigation of McGinnis, was
'$600
asked about Prosecutors Wiley's
findings in thG cause of McGinn! '
death as drowning and no igns of
foul play. Bower said,. "that'
probably what the Prosecutor's Of­
fice feels comfortable with right now
that it's a found body, and the cause
of death i drowning."
"But you got other circumstances
surrounding the finding of this body
in the river that we need to clear up, "
Bowers aid.
Bowers went on to say that the
pathologist report probably indicate
that the cause of death is drowning.
"Since that is his findings, that's
something we have to live with right
Q �'.� ,. 'G .�I'J4 ;
-�r . HiIA�.�.��'��
more So 0 a hom!crJde than A1i1I1thllna1
else," Bowers said.
o AID he
march ill motivate peop
have information bout the
con ct the Prosecutor' Office.
Th Benton Harbor. City Com­
mi ion p a resolution t their
August 3, meeting, . upporting the
NAACP call for grand jury Inves­
tig lion into the de th of McGinnis.
Petitio are al being circul ted
in the community, demanding that
Berrien County P ecutor Denni
Wiley solve the death of Eric Mc­
Ginnis before the end of the 1992
calendar year.
In interviewing some of the (ami­
ly members of Cintera Orr, Eric Mc­
Ginm nd Casel Yates, they all
agree that there are a lot of un­
a wercd question that need answer­
ing by the autboriti .
In the McGinnis and Orr cases,
family members aid authorities
have not co tacted the immediate
family, keep g them up to date on
the case. They either have to call
themselves or DO contact would be
made at all.
According to Dianne Dale, sister
of Clintera Orr, who was brutality
, stabbed to death in April of 1990,
two years ago authoritie told their
family that they bad a suspect, but as
of today, noone have been arrested
or convicted.
NAACP REWARD
FOR INFORMATION LEADING
TO THE ARREST OR
CONVICTION IN THE
DROWNING DEATH OF
ERIC McGINNIS
Call the NAACP at (6'16) 925-4824
with information or to donat to r ward fund.
PRO B LE MS --Res-i-de-nts-o-f bo-th.-towns-e-xp-ress-
fear in visiting their 'other si4e'. A
woman complained about having to
go to south Tyler, the predominantly
white part of town, to pay a gas bill
just as Benton Harbor residents
complain about police stops coming
home from work at Mercy Memorial
Hospital. The fear is there.
Recently, Tyler protested in its
own way the Dixon trial, w�n three
Blackjurors refused to go along with
nine whites in convicting a Black
man accused of kidnapping� robbing
and sexually assaulting a white
woman.
AIL THE JURORS in that case
insisted they weighed the charges on
the merits, but several admitted later
that the Dixon case had come up in
their deliberations and that the
debate became heated along racial
lines. '
One of the Black jurors James
Hawkins aid this of the trial: "lthlnk
that brother might have been guilty.
Wejust,said '�easonabledoubt,'just
like they did on Annie Rae."
The Dixon case in Tyler has
become a symbol of longstanding
grievances to the people ofTylerjust
as the Eric McGinnis case is to the
people of Benton Harbor.
"ALL WE CAN do is sit and
hope and pray," id Ointera Orr,
mother of Ointera Denise Orr. �
"The prosecutors don't p t
enough e . on the unsolv
homicide cases, 1 e Case I Yates
death," Lou Buchana aid.
Bucbana aid if a white got killed
in St Joseph, within days the case is
McGinriis-_..;__------
car he "noticed running south down -W� flagged down by an un­
the middle of state Stnd, a Black identified family driving in a blue
male who was running quite ftUt.1 Ford who $ked him if he were look­
onlystlwthebackofthisBlackmale ing for the white man chaslng a
as he ran past my vehicle. I did not Black;
pay too much attention to him but -went to the parking lot behim
did notice that it appeared he was the YWCA where he couldn't at filst
wearing a jacbt with some kind of fmd Warmbein who had been left off
writing on the back. I then began to there by the family in the blue Ford
walk: south on the sidewalk toward after they had given Warmbeina ride
theSilverDollDrCa/e.A white male as he searched for the thief;
sporting a beaid was running south -then questioned Warmbein.
on the sidewalk, and it appeared he ' At this time, Warmbein could not
was almo. out of bnath. I ashd provide Easton with a description of
this person (white mtlle) what is go- the man's clothing, only that he was
ing on? 1 was told to 'caU the cops a Black male approximately 22 to 24
-I (the white l1Ulle) just caught thllt y'eaJS of age.
guy (the Black male) breaking into
my car.' I immediately went into
the Silver Dollar Cafe and teu­
poned the police. I told the desk
officer that a Black male was run­
ning south down S/QIe Street and
was being chased by a white male,
who said his car had been broken
into. I then went outsUk the Silver
Dollar to see either the white male
or Black male could be found. I
could not see· either person, how­
ever, I noticed a St. Joseph patrol
car turning onto South S/QIe Street
a few blocks from downtown. "
At the bottom of Marschke's
statement, added almost as an after­
tbought, is the comment, "I had seen
the white male before."
ACCOrding to the St. Joseph Po­
lice file on the McGinnis case, Offi­
cer Dale Easton, who like Marschke
was on the Benton Harbor Police
force during the 1980s, responded to
Marschke' 9:30 call at 9:32 p.m.
file of a chase that identifies the one
making the report is from a family
who was leaving the Elks OUb. Ac­
cording to police reports, as the fam­
ily of Shennan Ford left the Elks
Club around 9:30, they saw a Black
male being cbased by a while male.
When reached by phone, Sher­
man Fo� and his wife corroborate
the police reports in some res peets t
and disagree in others.
Ford' wife said it was more like
9:00, not 9:30 that they saw the
chase. She also said, that the two
went by so fast, they were unaware
of any details, including the fact that
the person being chased was Black.
Ford then walked the block to the
police station to report a chase was
in progress.
THE BODY of young McGinnis
was seen floating south of the rail­
road bridge that pans the river.
When pulled from the water, he
was fully clothed, boes included,
except for the green T k Force
jacket he was wearing the night he
disappeared.
His belt was unbuckled, his pants
unbuttoned and unzippered. The
FBI, whose investigation amounted
to a review of the St. Joseph police
file, explained the undone pants by
saying McGinnis was trying to get
out of his clothes to wim to Benton
Harbor.
continued from Page 1
This summer people are breaking
the calm in Tyler and Benton Harbor.
People are speaking out, whether for
Eric McGinnis or Annie Rae Di on.
Both Annie Rae Dixon and Eric
McGinnis are victims of the racism
in America.
Annie Rae Dixon, an 84-year old
grandmother was bedridden with
illness when police officers with
guns drawn burst into her rural home
on Jan. 29. Annie Rae Dixon was
fatally shot by a white police officer
in a botched drug raid.
THE OFFICERS TESTIFIED
that the shooting was accidental, and
the inquest ended a hung jury. On
July 10 a grand jury of 8 whites .and
2 Blacks voted not to return charges
against the officers; two people on
the grand jury had been dismissed.
Annie Rae Dixon was not Tyler's
only victim just as Eric McGinnis is
not Benton Harbor'S only victim.
The list of victims goes on and on
in both towns from the unfair trial
and conviction of Maurice Carter of
Benton Harbor to the deaths of two
Tyler Blac men while in police
custody.