Could A Prison Gang Be Behind Corrections Chief’s Murder?

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Photo: Tom Clements
Tom Clements was murdered on March 19, 2013.

This story first aired on March 31, 2016.

Three years after the March 2013 murder of the head of Colorado's Department of Corrections, speculation remains that a prison gang ordered the murder. A Denver Post article points to two former officials from the El Paso County Sheriff's Office who say they're frustrated that none of the gang members suspected of being behind the killing have been charged.

Tom Clements was murdered at his home in Monument, Colo. by parolee Evan Ebel, a member of the prison gang known as the 211 Crew. Ebel, who also murdered pizza delivery driver Nathan Leon, was eventually killed in a shootout with Texas police. Shortly before Clements' murder, Ebel is known to have had contact with other parolees with ties to the 211 Crew, who became "persons of interest" in the case.

Jorja Leap, an adjunct professor at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, studies gangs and serves as a policy adviser on Gangs and Youth Violence for Los Angeles County. She spoke with Ryan Warner.