{"id":48618,"date":"2017-10-25T05:52:08","date_gmt":"2017-10-25T05:52:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=48618"},"modified":"2017-10-25T05:52:08","modified_gmt":"2017-10-25T05:52:08","slug":"jon-lester-leader-of-deadly-howard-beach-attack-on-three-black-men-in-1986-takes-own-life-at-48","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/news\/jon-lester-leader-of-deadly-howard-beach-attack-on-three-black-men-in-1986-takes-own-life-at-48.html","title":{"rendered":"Jon Lester, leader of deadly Howard Beach attack on three black men in 1986, takes own life at 48"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jon Lester, leader of deadly Howard Beach attack on three black men in 1986, takes own life at 48<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Jon Lester landed behind bars as a swaggering teenager with zero remorse for his role in one of the city\u2019s most notorious crimes \u2014 the 1986 killing of a black man in Howard Beach.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fifteen years later, he emerged a sorrowful man. The British-born Lester also had a brimming intensity that had driven him to get his GED and an associate\u2019s degree in business administration while in prison. He built a solid career as an electrical engineer in his home country, where he was deported after his release.<\/span><\/p>\n

But he never could shake his demons.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lester killed himself in his hometown of Manchester, England, on Aug. 14 \u2014 a sad coda to a searing chapter of New York history.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe suffered from depression,\u201d his sister Jayne Lester said Tuesday in confirming his suicide but declining to give details.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole thing was a huge tragedy, and it was for everybody that was involved. If he could have changed it, he would have.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Lester\u2019s death drew only sadness from the mother of his victim, Michael Griffith.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s nothing to feel joy about,\u201d Jean Griffith-Sandiford told the Daily News. \u201cPlease give the family my sympathy. I\u2019m sorry that he passed away.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Lester was a fresh-faced 17-year-old when he led an attack on three black men whose car had broken down in the predominately white Queens neighborhood on Dec. 20, 1986.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cKill the n—–s,\u201d Lester allegedly yelled as he and the teens he rounded up ambushed the victims.<\/span><\/p>\n

Griffith, 23, sprinted away from the youths and onto the Belt Parkway, where he was fatally struck by a car.<\/span><\/p>\n

The white teens brutally assaulted Griffith\u2019s stepfather, 36-year-old Cedric Sandiford, pounding him with a baseball bat, a tire iron and tree branches.<\/span><\/p>\n

The third man, Timothy Grimes, outran his attackers and escaped without injury.<\/span><\/p>\n

The crime ignited the city\u2019s already simmering racial tensions. The Rev. Al Sharpton led marches through Howard Beach and was cursed by local whites.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mayor Ed Koch likened the killing to a lynching.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis incident can only be described as rivaling the kind of lynching party that existed in the Deep South,\u201d Koch said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lester was convicted of manslaughter and assault for his role in Griffith\u2019s death. He was sentenced in 1988 to 10 to 30 years in prison.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lester showed \u201cno remorse, no sense of guilt, no shame, no fear,\u201d Justice Thomas Demakos said at his sentencing.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat kind of individual do I have before me, who, after witnessing a young black man get crushed by a car, continues his reckless conduct by savagely beating another black male with a bat?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Behind bars, Lester devoted himself to his studies, played guitar and wrote music that included a song for Griffith\u2019s mother.<\/span><\/p>\n

In letters to The News, he insisted that he had no idea Griffith had been fatally struck until the news came out the next day.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI am constantly trying to think of things I can do after I get deported to somehow ease the Griffiths\u2019 suffering and the animosity they have towards me,\u201d Lester wrote in June 1998. \u201cI wish there was a way I could convince them that I really really am sorry for all of the pain my actions have caused them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In May 2001, Lester was sprung from prison sporting a scar down his right cheek from a razor attack. He was sent back to England, where he earned a degree in engineering and launched his own electrical services business, his family said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe worked pretty much all over Europe,\u201d his sister said. \u201cHe was a perfectionist. He was very well respected in the business.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Lester moved in with a girlfriend and had three children. But despite the quiet, productive life he carved out for himself, Lester\u2019s mental health woes deepened.<\/span><\/p>\n

His family declined to explain the circumstances of his suicide and said he was cremated.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEvery night I cry,\u201d his father, John Lester, wrote on Facebook shortly after the death. \u201cJon loved his pals and family of NY he was so sad when he had to leave the US.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Charles Hynes, who prosecuted the case before going on to become Brooklyn\u2019s district attorney, called the news of Lester\u2019s suicide \u201canother unnecessary tragedy\u201d arising from the confrontation that led to Griffith\u2019s senseless death.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Lester was convicted and punished for that crime,\u201d Hynes added. \u201cToday my prayers are for Jon and his family.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Two of Lester\u2019s pals, Jason Ladone and Scott Kern, were also convicted of manslaughter and got similar sentences.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kern, now 48, lives in a modest two-story home in Howard Beach and works in construction. He said Tuesday that he was stunned to learn that Lester was dead.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMentally, you gotta be tough to do 15 years,\u201d Kern said. \u201cMy thing is, why come home and . . . kill yourself out here? It\u2019s baffling to me, but I\u2019m gonna let that rest.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe all been through a lot,\u201d he added. \u201cWe just tried to move on and learn from our mistakes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Griffith\u2019s mother was forced to grapple with the death of her son and the assault of Sandiford, her longtime partner at the time. The two later married, and Sandiford died of an illness in 1991.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen someone takes a part of your life away from you, that never goes away,\u201d she said of her son\u2019s death.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jayne Lester announced on Facebook that the family brought her brother\u2019s ashes to the U.S.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cToday we are bringing Jonathan L. Lester home,\u201d she wrote on Sept. 12. \u201cAt last he will be at rest in the USA. Where his heart was and always wanted to be.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Among the people who posted comments was Victoria Gotti, a former neighbor and the daughter of the notorious mob boss John Gotti.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo, so sad,\u201d she wrote. My love to you all may you find peace.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In an interview with a British paper in 2001, Lester expressed remorse for the crime but pushed back against the claims that it was motivated by racial animus.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI bitterly regret what I did,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I don\u2019t suppose I will ever escape my past.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI know this race thing is following me wherever I go, but I have never been a racist,\u201d Lester added. \u201cI was very young when it all happened. I didn\u2019t know what I was doing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-http:\/\/www.nydailynews.com\/new-york\/nyc-crime\/leader-deadly-1986-howard-beach-attack-black-men-kills-article-1.3585495<\/span><\/p>\n

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