Tuesday, August 10, 1999
Pleasant Ridge man held in death of library volunteer
Police: He confessed to strangling, theft
BY ERIN GIBSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A 20-year-old Pleasant Ridge man was being held without bond Monday after police say he confessed he had strangled a library volunteer to death July 17.
Donovan D. Clark, 20, of the 6400 block of Orchard Lane was arrested without incident Sunday at a bus stop at 2300 Gilbert Ave., Walnut Hills, and charged with murdering J. Richard Abell, stealing his vehicle and possessing marijuana.
Mr. Clark said he had killed Mr. Abell after an argument and stole the gray Saturn, according to Lt. Michael Jones, Cincinnati homicide unit commander. Mr. Clark abandoned the car and fled on foot the night of the killing after leading police on a milelong chase that started in Pleasant Ridge.
Lt. Jones said police had been searching for Mr. Clark since shortly after the slaying.
Mr. Clark occasionally worked for Mr. Abell, 67, whose body was found July 17 in his home in the 400 block of West Court Street in the West End.
He was the only suspect in the death of Mr. Abell. He is not a suspect in other slayings the Cincinnati homicide unit is investigating, Lt. Jones said.
Mr. Clark had “Gangsta” tattooed on his neck, but Lt. Jones said he didn't know of any gang affiliation.
Mr. Clark was arraigned Monday morning and jailed in the Hamilton County Detention Center.
As a juvenile, Mr. Clark was jailed twice with the Department of Youth Services for receiving stolen property and attempted automobile theft. He also was convicted, but not jailed, of misdemeanor assault and criminal damaging or endangering.
His first felony conviction came at age 13, when he received a suspended sentence for aggravated burglary.
He lived at home with his parents in Pleasant Ridge, according to arrest and court records. Several neighbors described his family as upstanding and deeply religious. Charlie Johnson, a neighbor, said Mr. Clark broke into a home in his peaceful neighborhood several years ago. He described Mr. Clark as quiet.
“He could walk right past me and he wouldn't say a word,” Mr. Johnson said.
Mr. Abell, who lived alone, was described as happy and outgoing by his friends.
He led efforts to make the Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County one of the nation's premier facilities for genealogy research, particularly African-American genealogy, friends said.
He worked there for 32 years before retiring in 1993, and served as vice president and membership chairman for Friends of the Public Library, a nonprofit organization. Mary Lu Aft, organization president, said Mr. Abell was well-liked. “He was a very positive person,” she said.
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