Clarence Akins
On the night of Feb. 29, 2008, Clarence Akins, 42, was found by police officers shot outside a home in the 2900 block of East 30th Street, near South Country Club Road, miles from where he lived.
That's all his family knows.
"All we know is he was found shot to death in someone's front yard, so nobody has any closure. No one knows what's going on," said his niece, Evonne Bruner, who remembers Akins as "the fun uncle."
"Clarence was the one who would come and take us bowling every Saturday or skating, to water parks. Everything fun I remember was with my Uncle Clarence. He treated us like we were his kids. He was the person to make everyone laugh. He would embarrass you, but you would end up laughing. He liked to play cards. He was a mama's boy; he and his mom were best friends. He was a helper. If you needed money, if you needed a ride, he would help anyone. Everyone liked to be around Clarence because he was so much fun.
"Clarence was always the male role model in my life," Bruner said.
Gabe Molina, a longtime friend of Akins', remembers him as a family man.
"He loved his kids. He participated and was involved in everything that they did. There are a lot of fathers who are, unfortunately, not involved in their children's lives, and he was very involved.
"He played baseball for Amphi High School. He was really good. His kids are really athletic also," Molina said, noting that Akins' eldest daughter plays college softball now.
Molina believes someone in their circle of acquaintances has information about the Akins homicide.
"It's kind of upsetting that somebody knows something and ... nobody wants to get involved. Nobody wants to say anything. It's really frustrating."

