SUSPECT IN CHILD MURDER AND SEX OFFENSE CHARGE MAKES U.S. MARSHALS’ “15 MOST WANTED” LIST  

When a local athlete in East Orange, New Jersey, threw himself between a drive-by shooter and two young children, his death and that of one of the children launched a massive regional manhunt.  One year later the killer remains at large, but U.S. Marshals expanded the search today by adding the name of suspect Luxon Coriolan, 23, to their 15 MOST WANTED fugitives list.

Arrest warrants for Coriolan -- a Haitian native and criminal gang member – include murder, wounding a third  bystander during the shooting, and two prior warrants involving criminal sexual contact against a minor, and kidnapping.  He has a substantial criminal record that includes a felony conviction, probation violations, and earlier charges relating to weapons, drugs, and aggravated assault. 

According to witnesses, on August 20, 2003, a gold Acura drove near a group of people in front of a building in East Orange, and an individual identified as Coriolan aimed and fired a shotgun at the group.  As a bystander,  Flynn Myers, 21, huddled over the two youngsters trying to shield them, he and four-year-old Naviaon Hyppolite were struck and killed.  A friend of Myers also was wounded.  East Orange Police say that an argument had taken place between the gunman and an unidentified individual earlier in the day near the spot of the shooting.  The suspect had vowed to return later, they said.  Press accounts described Meyers as a popular local resident who gave his life in a heroic action. 

Luxon Coriolan is a black male from East Orange and a Haitian national.  He is 5’9” tall, weighs 135 lbs, has brown eyes, black hair worn in dreds or braids, and often wears facial hair.  He is a member of the Haitian OutLaws street gang and has a “H.O.L.” tattoo on his left arm, and a keloid scar (raised scar) on the right side of his face. 

The United States Marshals adopted this case based on a formal request from the FBI, and it is being directed by special warrants-squad Deputies in the District of New Jersey. Although Coriolan has lived in New Jersey, he also has ties to Haitian communities in: the Packinghouse area of  Pennsylvania; Miami, Florida; Montreal, Canada; as well as in Haiti.  Local prosecutors added Coriolan to the Essex County “most wanted” fugitive list, and rewards are being offered for information leading to his capture.  Coriolan is considered armed and extremely dangerous. 

The Marshals 15 MOST WANTED listing focuses national and international law enforcement attention on violent and major criminal fugitives.  Last month, three fugitives on the list were apprehended in the U.S., and one was captured in Jamaica.