Jesse Clarke remembered 1 year on, teen arrested at memorial

Friends and family members of 14-year-old Jesse Clarke gathered Tuesday night to mark the one-year anniversary of his tragic death while a 17-year-old was arrested for causing a disturbance outside the memorial.

Dozens of people gathered, at both the Clarke family home and at a makeshift memorial at Barton and Lincoln streets near where the teen was stabbed to death, to pay their respects.

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"It was amazing," said Clarke's stepmother Katherine Lutz. "The support from family and friends and the community is so comforting for us."

"Jesse touched a lot of lives."

Clarke was in a group of about 10 young people who confronted 19-year-old Brodie Nicholls outside his east Hamilton home last August.

According to an agreed statement of facts in the case, many of those gathered described themselves as loosely affiliated with the city's BNA/LOM youth gangs. Clarke's family maintains that he was not part of a gang himself.

Lutz told CBC News that one person who was "trying to cause problems" outside the memorial was quickly arrested Tuesday night. Const. Steve Welton said that around 10 p.m., a 17-year-old was riding his bike near the memorial when he "engaged the crowd with some comments that upset them."

He was arrested for breaching the peace, and when officers searched him, he was found carrying cocaine. He was charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking and breach of probation, Welton said.

There was a "lot of police presence to ensure everyone's safety," Lutz said, adding that the family had coordinated with police to have them on hand weeks before.

Welton confirmed that police were on scene at the time at the request of the family to keep the peace.

Nicholls was originally charged with second-degree murder in connection with Clarke's stabbing death. He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter in June.

The first portion of Nicholls' sentencing hearing was held in a Hamilton court last week. It is set to continue in October.

The Crown is seeking an eight to 10 year sentence in a penitentiary, while the defence has requested three years in a provincial institution with credit for time served.

adam.carter@cbc.ca