Arthur Lee Washington Jr.

Arthur Lee Washington Jr. (November 30, 1949 – disappeared April 12, 1989)^[1] is an American fugitive^[2] and former member of the Black Liberation Army wanted for the attempted murder of a New Jersey state trooper on April 12, 1989.^[3] Washington was added to the Federal Bureau of Investigation'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^[4] for no longer meeting the list criteria.^[5] He is still wanted by New Jersey State Police, although he is presumed deceased.^[6]

Arthur Lee Washington Jr.
FBI profile images of Arthur Lee Washington, Jr.
FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive
Charges	Attempted murder Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution
Alias	Arthur L. Washington. Jr. Azikikwe E. Onipedo
Description
Born	(1949-11-30)November 30, 1949 Monmouth County, New Jersey
Nationality	American
Gender	Male
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Occupation	Laborer
Status
Added	October 18, 1989
Removed	December 27, 2000
Number	427
Removed from Top Ten Fugitive List

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 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.^[7]

Fugitive

Police searched Washington's apartment in Asbury Park 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 and attempted murder.

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.^[8] He was replaced by Eric Franklin Rosser.^[9][10]

Washington still remains a fugitive and is wanted by New Jersey State Police, although by now he is believed to be dead.^[11]

See also

• List of fugitives from justice who disappeared

References

1. "Wanted by FBI Arthur Lee Washington, Jr". FBIMostWanted.us. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
2. "427. Arthur Lee Washington, Jr". Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
3. Silvestrini, Elaine (April 14, 1989). "Suspect in shoot-out being sought". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
4. "Ten Most Wanted Fugitives 401 to 500". Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
5. Agents Robert Haley, Thomas Larned, Michael Heimbach and Bradley Mendenhall (January 11, 2002). . USA Today. Archived from the original on February 8, 2009. Retrieved December 2, 2008.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
6. . New Jersey State Police. Archived from the original on April 12, 2018.
7. "FBI places city man on most-wanted list". Asbury Park Press. October 19, 1989. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
8. Demasters, Karen (7 January 2001). . The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 1, 2019. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
9. "Reno puts child-porn suspect on FBI list". Deseret News. December 28, 2000. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
10. "FBI targets paedophile suspect". BBC News. December 27, 2000. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
11. "New Jersey fugitives who have graced the FBI's '10 Most Wanted' list". NJ.com. March 16, 2015. Retrieved August 1, 2019.