Crying Blue Tears: Story of a Fallen Hoodstar (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781637511220)

Crying Blue Tears is a true story about the life of Marlon Evans and how he was framed for a quadruple homicide by Newton Division LAPD in retaliation for not confessing to allegedly committing two attempted murders on their fellow officers. Marlon's nickname in the streets was Baby Bam. He was introduced to gang culture from the age of two-years-old when the Six Deuce Neighborhood Crips hung out next-door to his house on 61^st Street and San Pedro. Raised by his step-father, Michael Gardener and mother Bertha Gardener on the east side of Central Los Angeles, he was exposed to crime, violence, drug addiction, death, and police brutality which altered his views of the world.

In 1992, the City of Los Angeles became engulfed in race riots and looting over the exoneration of the LAPD officers for the brutal beating of Rodney King. At 19 years-old and absconding from juvenile parole due to conflicts with his parole officer who was more concerned with punishment than rehabilitation, Marlon went back to what he knew all his life...the Hood. What he couldn't foresee was that two of his good friends from 68^th Street East-Coast Crips, would get shot up at the Mobil Gas station on Gage and Grand Avenues, resulting in Junebug and three other innocent bystanders getting murdered, Lil Owl getting shot but surviving, a war breaking out between the Six Deuces and Six Nines, and him getting charged with shooting at the gas station on the testimony of Clarence Lavan, who was the only eyewitness to the shooting to identify Marlon as the suspect, only after he was promised financial benefits from detectives, Gil Herrera and Peter Shunk.