Possible human remains discovered in Clinton County landfill

Oct. 10—CLINTON — Possible human remains have been discovered at the Clinton County landfill, Clinton County Sheriff Bill Greenwalt announced Monday afternoon.

In a press release issued shortly after 3:30 p.m. Monday, Greenwalt said Clinton County sheriff's deputies and Clinton police responded to the landfill around 10:45 a.m. Saturday after landfill employees reported finding possible human remains. Upon further investigation, the remains were believed to be human and were turned over to the Clinton County Medical Examiner's Office for further examination.

As part of the investigation, law enforcement is conducting a coordinated search of the Clinton County Landfill. A team of an estimated 30 members has begun a search of the area in which the suspected remains were located.

The discovery comes 20 months after authorities searched the landfill in connection with what at that time they described as a violent crime scene discovered Feb. 24, 2021, at 847 Gateway Ave., Apt. 12. From that time forward, police had indicated they were looking for two men of interest in connection with the crime scene. One, Ja'Kwane Polidore, 27, was extradited from Texas to Clinton in August after he was arrested on a drug warrant issued in the days after the crime scene discovery. The whereabouts of the other man, Khalil Pugh, had not been announced.

That changed on Sept. 1, when court documents filed on that date stated that police, relying on DNA blood sample matches, believed Pugh died after being shot twice in the apartment, his body then put into the back of a truck, driven to another location, and placed in a Dumpster that later was emptied at the Clinton County Landfill.

That information was released in court documents detailing a first-degree murder charge filed against the apartment building's maintenance man, Lewis Vaughn, 44, who they say shot Pugh, of Chicago, during an altercation at the apartment. Lewis Vaughn was arrested Aug. 31 and is jailed in Clinton County on a $1 million bond. His trial is set for March 27, 2023.

Vaughn's wife, Jessica Vaughn, 35, is charged with abuse of a corpse, hiding or burying to hide a crime. Investigators said she assisted her husband in getting rid of the body.

According to court documents, the investigation revealed Pugh was with Lewis Vaughn on Feb. 23, 2021, prior to traveling to the apartment, which belonged to Polidore.

Clinton police were dispatched to the apartment Feb. 24, 2021, after the property manager received a note that said a shooting had occurred in Apartment 12 and not to notify the police.

Officers went to the apartment but no one responded to them at the door. Officers then obtained a search warrant for the residence. When they got inside apartment 12, officers discovered a violent crime scene, the documents state. Officers also located a 9mm shell casing.

During a neighborhood canvas of 847 Gateway Ave., court documents state, neighbors reported three subjects had been at 847 Gateway Ave., Apt 12, and there had been sounds of an altercation and gun shots. Following the disturbance and gun shots, neighbors reported seeing the truck belonging to the maintenance man, identified as Lewis Vaughn, back into the parking lot outside 847 Gateway Ave., the court documents state.

Phone records indicate Lewis Vaughn departed the area of 847 Gateway Ave. and traveled to the area of 700 S. 32nd St., Clinton, where Lewis Vaughn knew the residents. During an interview with the residents, it was discovered that Lewis Vaughn had reached out about having a dead animal that he needed to dispose of in the Dumpster. He arrived at the residence in his truck. Residents then reported seeing him leave the residence and stop at the commercial Dumpster located at the entrance of the property. The residents denied knowing what item, or items, Lewis had placed in the Dumpster, the documents state.

Investigators also executed a search warrant on Lewis Vaughn's truck. During a search of the vehicle, investigators located what appeared to be blood evidence in the truck bed of the vehicle. The blood evidence was confirmed to be human blood, and a DNA profile of the blood recovered from the truck matched a DNA profile recovered from 847 Gateway Ave., Apt. 12, according to the court documents.

Investigators were granted consent to search the Dumpster at 700 S. 32nd St., on Feb. 27, 2021, Investigators learned the Dumpster had been emptied on Feb. 26, 2021 by the company hired for garbage disposal services. Investigators conducted a consensual search of the Dumpster and located blood evidence within the Dumpster.

The blood evidence was confirmed to be human blood, and a DNA profile of the blood recovered from the Dumpster matched the DNA profile recovered from 847 Gateway Ave., Apt. 12, and the DNA profile recovered from the back of Lewis Vaughn's truck, court documents state.

Investigators spoke with Lewis Vaughn's coworkers, who reported he had spent some time cleaning blood out of the back of his truck. They also spoke with Vaughn's wife, Jessica, who said she owned several firearms but said she did not know where one of those firearms was currently located, and thought she had left it at a previous residence she had lived at. Jessica Vaughn told investigators she was missing a 9mm handgun, according to court reports.

As part of the investigation, police located Pugh's vehicle outside of Polidore's apartment on Feb. 24, 2021. Pugh's cellphone was also located in the vehicle, his friends and family had not heard from Pugh since Feb. 23, 2021, he had not reported to work and there had been no financial activity related to Pugh since that date.

Investigators were able to establish a DNA profile of Pugh. His DNA profile matched the DNA profile of the blood recovered from 847 Gateway Ave., Apt. 12; Vaughn's truck; and the Dumpster recovered from 700 S. 32nd Street, court records state.

Anyone with information relating to this investigation is asked to contact the Clinton County Sheriff's Office at 563-242-9211, Clinton County Crime Stoppers at 1-888-883-8015 or utilize the Clinton County Crime Stoppers P3 Tips Mobile App. The case remains under investigation by the Clinton County Sheriff's Office, Clinton Police Department, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations and the Clinton County Medical Examiner's Office.

The Clinton County Sheriffs Office is being assisted at the scene by the Clinton Police Department, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations, Iowa State Patrol, Clinton County Medical Examiner's Office, Clinton County Emergency Management, Clinton County Maintenance Department and Rittmer Incorporated.