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Families and residents urge El Mirage council to pursue accountability after teen’s killing, cite memorial vandalism
Summary
Multiple family members and residents told the El Mirage City Council on May 19 that the death of 17‑year‑old Ashton (Jade Riche) Evans has not been treated with enough urgency, alleging slow police response and premature public statements; commenters also asked the city to better protect roadside memorials that have been repeatedly vandalized.
Multiple family members of a 17‑year‑old killed in El Mirage and other residents used the city’s public‑comment period on May 19 to press the City Council for a fuller investigation, public acknowledgement and stronger protections for memorials.
Amanda Evans told the council her son, Ashton Jade Riche Evans, was “brutally murdered” in El Mirage on April 27 and that, when a memorial at 124th Drive was vandalized again, she waited about 35 minutes for a police response. “I was not treated with compassion and neither has this case been treated with compassion,” Evans said, and she asked the council to review the involvement of a public‑relations officer she named in the El Mirage Police Department.
Kylie White, who identified herself as Ashton Evans’s sister, said the family first learned of his death from news coverage rather than from police or hospital staff. “The news came out first before any of the family members got to know about my brother’s death,” she told the council, describing being asked to leave the hospital while she sought information.
Other speakers described the emotional toll on families. Harry Wilson, who said his family had created a memorial for his son that has been repeatedly vandalized, urged the council to consider practical protections such as improved lighting, cameras or targeted enforcement and to work directly with families to preserve dignity at those sites.
Yulitza Epps told council members the community feels “distant, quiet, and incomplete” in its response to the death and asked the council to acknowledge the loss publicly and pursue accountability.
Several commenters questioned how youths obtain high‑powered firearms and urged the city to pursue prevention and enforcement strategies. Philip Bynum and other residents also asked that their remarks be recorded more fully in the public record and pressed the council for transparency about what the city can and will do to support grieving families.
Mayor Hermosillo and other council members offered condolences in response to the speakers’ accounts. No formal action on public‑safety policy or investigations was taken during the meeting; several speakers asked council members to direct staff or the police department to follow up, which council members said they would consider in subsequent communications.
The council’s agenda moved on after the public‑comment period; family members and residents who spoke urged further public attention and formal follow‑up by the city and police.
