Tyrone N. Butts
APE Reporter
3
City sees increase in homicides over 2004 in first half of year
Photos of niggers at link.
The domino games continue at Moham's Tires as owner Hoyle Moham fixes tires. But now the 72-year-old has a poem that recounts how the barrel of a handgun flashes back in his mind every day he opens the business in the 3700 block of Hollywood Avenue.
Charlie Lewis, 77, of Shreveport was shot four times in the back when he and others were robbed during a domino game at Moham's in early April. His is but one of 27 such deaths on the streets of Shreveport this year.
A homicide in Shreveport more often than not involves quick tempers and gunplay, with a preference for revolvers of late, authorities say.<
br>
Police patrol District 9, which includes the Cedar
Grove and Lynbrook neighborhoods, continues to be the deadliest. Six homicides occurred in that district in approximately the first half of 2005, only two less than the same time period last year.
And despite the fact that police say they often encounter uncooperative witnesses, authorities have managed to make arrests in half of this year's cases.
Slain for nothing
Among those who have been booked are a 21-year-old and two 17-year-old Shreveport men accused of killing Lewis.
As a Christian, Willie Ruth Shepherd says she feels sorry for the 17-year-olds who she says could have made something good of their lives.
Nonetheless, three months later and four homes away from Lewis, the 86-year-old sits in a wheelchair at her modest residence on Faye Street and weeps for her nephew. "I miss him. He used to talk to me, help me o
ut.
He used to go to the store for me."
Shepherd recalled how she and her sister, Lewis' mother, washed and ironed clothes
and scrubbed homes to make a living in the 1940s when he told them he would join the Army. "Charles joined the service when he was 16. In the Great War in 1944. We thanked God when he came back" from the war.
Shepherd couldn't have known then that someday someone would just walk up and take his life. And she hurts all the more knowing he was killed for nothing.
Shepherd also said she's clueless how to stop the killings other than to "pray to the Lord."
The 27 homicides are six more than recorded in the city during the same time period last year. But officials say this year's homicide statistics are keeping pace with the deaths in 2004.
"If I could stop a homicide or knew how to stop one, there wouldn't be any homicides," said Shreveport police Sgt. Brian Str
ange, n
ight supervisor of the department's violent crimes unit. "But there's no way. You're dealing with people's emotions."
The weapon of choice
Unbridled emotions have led to 23 fat
al shootings, three stabbings and one beating this year. The city recorded 18 deadly shootings, one stabbing, one beating and one vehicular homicide through July 14, 2004.
Shreveport police don't expect the homicide count at year's end to be significantly different from 2004.
"It's going to be about the same as last year," Detective Rod Johnson said. "But there are so many factors that affect our homicide rate -- bullet type and caliber, EMS response time, the time of notification of police, the condition of the victim, the number of times he's hit, his mental state, if he's intoxicated or not. EMS and LSU (Hospital in Shreveport) keep our numbers down."
While shootings continue to claim
the highes
t number of lives over other violent acts, detectives say they are seeing one type of handgun being used more often.
"Suddenly, we're seeing more revolvers than we used to," Johnson said. "For a while, we were seeing 9 mm and .40-caliber (handguns), then it was the AKs (semiautoma
tic rifles). ... Now they're using revolvers.
"Criminally, I think that's because it's the weapon they're able to come in contact with most at the moment."
Numbers detailing the times revolvers have been used in fatal shootings are unavailable. But statistics show that handguns were used about 10 times more often in such crimes than any other type of gun during the first half of both 2004 and 2005.
Angry at police
Jimmy McDonald is puzzled as to why his oldest brother, Danny McDonald, was shot to death April 8 in his home in the 900 block of Palestine Street. "I don't know what made them do it."
There were no signs of f
orced entry int
o Danny McDonald's residence, and it did not appear to have been burglarized, police said.
Danny McDonald was a Vietnam War veteran who became a switchman for Union Pacific Railroad. He developed paranoia in the 1980s and mostly kept to himself, even going so far as nailing boards on windows and doors of the house for safety, Jimmy McDonald said.
Jimmy McDonald said he also feels angry. And part of that anger is directed at authorities.
"It seems police are not doing much," he said, noting that the only communication he has with law enforcement is when he calls to ask about his brother's case.
Of the 27 homicide cases, detectives have closed 18. Of those 18, they've made 13 arrests and sent four cases to the Caddo district attorney's office for further action. One other case was closed because it was determined the death occurred while a woman was defending herself from an attack.
Detectives closed 15 of the 20 homicide cases duri
ng the same time la
st year. Of those, seven arrests were made, two cases were sent to the district attorney for review, six were closed without an arrest, usually because the homicide was deemed justifiable, and one case was closed when investigators identified the suspect and obtained a warrant for his arrest.
Awaiting a starting point
Among those awaiting closure are relatives of Shenkala Glover, a 2
6-year-old woman who was found stabbed to death in late March in her home in the 100 block of North Greenbrook Loop in Cedar Grove.
"It's so hard," Glover's guardian and aunt, Uralanda Glover, recently said before breaking down in tears. "I daily pray to God not to let me think about that day."
Uralanda Glover said that she and her niece -- who worked days at Wendy's and nights at McDonald's with dreams of becoming a hair stylist -- were born 10 years apart April 25 and always celebrated their birthdays together.
"She was a kid you c
ould be proud of. I kno
w it sounds clichÃԚ Ô�šÃ”š©, but that's how she was."
Urulanda Glover hopes some respite comes when someone sits in jail for killing her niece. "This will not give me complete peace. But it will help. It will be a starting point."
Many of the year's homicides are the result of the quick tempers of some Shreveport residents, police say.
"Those younger than 30 are increasingly more prone in a confrontation to pull a gun and begin firing
," Johnson said. "Used to, they would fight, but now that's not the case."
Beyond hot tempers, many of the city's homicide victims chose to live lifestyles that put them at a greater risk for violence, Johnson said.
"Many had prior criminal records. If you're a prostitute, involved in the buying and selling of narcotics or chose to hang out with people who are involved in criminal activities ... you are increasing your odds of something happening."
P
olice face hurdles
A
nd when something bad happens, detectives say many witnesses are becoming less likely to help.
"In the past five years ... I've seen a drop in cooperation with witnesses," Detective Jeff Brown said. "Now there can be 20-plus people standing around who saw it happen, but they say they didn't see anything.
"In most cases now, there is absolutely no cooperation from witnesses. And if they do cooperate, they either don't show up or change their story for the grand jury."
Brown suspects the la
ck of cooperation stems from fear or apathy. "They just really don't want to be involved, are part of the criminal element themselves or just plain don't care about what happens.
"Of course, there are exceptions where a case comes together with good witnesses. But this is not the norm."
************
Wake up America and smell the nigger.
T.N.B.
City sees increase in homicides over 2004 in first half of year
Photos of niggers at link.
The domino games continue at Moham's Tires as owner Hoyle Moham fixes tires. But now the 72-year-old has a poem that recounts how the barrel of a handgun flashes back in his mind every day he opens the business in the 3700 block of Hollywood Avenue.
Charlie Lewis, 77, of Shreveport was shot four times in the back when he and others were robbed during a domino game at Moham's in early April. His is but one of 27 such deaths on the streets of Shreveport this year.
A homicide in Shreveport more often than not involves quick tempers and gunplay, with a preference for revolvers of late, authorities say.<
br>
Police patrol District 9, which includes the Cedar
Grove and Lynbrook neighborhoods, continues to be the deadliest. Six homicides occurred in that district in approximately the first half of 2005, only two less than the same time period last year.
And despite the fact that police say they often encounter uncooperative witnesses, authorities have managed to make arrests in half of this year's cases.
Slain for nothing
Among those who have been booked are a 21-year-old and two 17-year-old Shreveport men accused of killing Lewis.
As a Christian, Willie Ruth Shepherd says she feels sorry for the 17-year-olds who she says could have made something good of their lives.
Nonetheless, three months later and four homes away from Lewis, the 86-year-old sits in a wheelchair at her modest residence on Faye Street and weeps for her nephew. "I miss him. He used to talk to me, help me o
ut.
He used to go to the store for me."
Shepherd recalled how she and her sister, Lewis' mother, washed and ironed clothes
and scrubbed homes to make a living in the 1940s when he told them he would join the Army. "Charles joined the service when he was 16. In the Great War in 1944. We thanked God when he came back" from the war.
Shepherd couldn't have known then that someday someone would just walk up and take his life. And she hurts all the more knowing he was killed for nothing.
Shepherd also said she's clueless how to stop the killings other than to "pray to the Lord."
The 27 homicides are six more than recorded in the city during the same time period last year. But officials say this year's homicide statistics are keeping pace with the deaths in 2004.
"If I could stop a homicide or knew how to stop one, there wouldn't be any homicides," said Shreveport police Sgt. Brian Str
ange, n
ight supervisor of the department's violent crimes unit. "But there's no way. You're dealing with people's emotions."
The weapon of choice
Unbridled emotions have led to 23 fat
al shootings, three stabbings and one beating this year. The city recorded 18 deadly shootings, one stabbing, one beating and one vehicular homicide through July 14, 2004.
Shreveport police don't expect the homicide count at year's end to be significantly different from 2004.
"It's going to be about the same as last year," Detective Rod Johnson said. "But there are so many factors that affect our homicide rate -- bullet type and caliber, EMS response time, the time of notification of police, the condition of the victim, the number of times he's hit, his mental state, if he's intoxicated or not. EMS and LSU (Hospital in Shreveport) keep our numbers down."
While shootings continue to claim
the highes
t number of lives over other violent acts, detectives say they are seeing one type of handgun being used more often.
"Suddenly, we're seeing more revolvers than we used to," Johnson said. "For a while, we were seeing 9 mm and .40-caliber (handguns), then it was the AKs (semiautoma
tic rifles). ... Now they're using revolvers.
"Criminally, I think that's because it's the weapon they're able to come in contact with most at the moment."
Numbers detailing the times revolvers have been used in fatal shootings are unavailable. But statistics show that handguns were used about 10 times more often in such crimes than any other type of gun during the first half of both 2004 and 2005.
Angry at police
Jimmy McDonald is puzzled as to why his oldest brother, Danny McDonald, was shot to death April 8 in his home in the 900 block of Palestine Street. "I don't know what made them do it."
There were no signs of f
orced entry int
o Danny McDonald's residence, and it did not appear to have been burglarized, police said.
Danny McDonald was a Vietnam War veteran who became a switchman for Union Pacific Railroad. He developed paranoia in the 1980s and mostly kept to himself, even going so far as nailing boards on windows and doors of the house for safety, Jimmy McDonald said.
Jimmy McDonald said he also feels angry. And part of that anger is directed at authorities.
"It seems police are not doing much," he said, noting that the only communication he has with law enforcement is when he calls to ask about his brother's case.
Of the 27 homicide cases, detectives have closed 18. Of those 18, they've made 13 arrests and sent four cases to the Caddo district attorney's office for further action. One other case was closed because it was determined the death occurred while a woman was defending herself from an attack.
Detectives closed 15 of the 20 homicide cases duri
ng the same time la
st year. Of those, seven arrests were made, two cases were sent to the district attorney for review, six were closed without an arrest, usually because the homicide was deemed justifiable, and one case was closed when investigators identified the suspect and obtained a warrant for his arrest.
Awaiting a starting point
Among those awaiting closure are relatives of Shenkala Glover, a 2
6-year-old woman who was found stabbed to death in late March in her home in the 100 block of North Greenbrook Loop in Cedar Grove.
"It's so hard," Glover's guardian and aunt, Uralanda Glover, recently said before breaking down in tears. "I daily pray to God not to let me think about that day."
Uralanda Glover said that she and her niece -- who worked days at Wendy's and nights at McDonald's with dreams of becoming a hair stylist -- were born 10 years apart April 25 and always celebrated their birthdays together.
"She was a kid you c
ould be proud of. I kno
w it sounds clichÃԚ Ô�šÃ”š©, but that's how she was."
Urulanda Glover hopes some respite comes when someone sits in jail for killing her niece. "This will not give me complete peace. But it will help. It will be a starting point."
Many of the year's homicides are the result of the quick tempers of some Shreveport residents, police say.
"Those younger than 30 are increasingly more prone in a confrontation to pull a gun and begin firing
," Johnson said. "Used to, they would fight, but now that's not the case."
Beyond hot tempers, many of the city's homicide victims chose to live lifestyles that put them at a greater risk for violence, Johnson said.
"Many had prior criminal records. If you're a prostitute, involved in the buying and selling of narcotics or chose to hang out with people who are involved in criminal activities ... you are increasing your odds of something happening."
P
olice face hurdles
A
nd when something bad happens, detectives say many witnesses are becoming less likely to help.
"In the past five years ... I've seen a drop in cooperation with witnesses," Detective Jeff Brown said. "Now there can be 20-plus people standing around who saw it happen, but they say they didn't see anything.
"In most cases now, there is absolutely no cooperation from witnesses. And if they do cooperate, they either don't show up or change their story for the grand jury."
Brown suspects the la
ck of cooperation stems from fear or apathy. "They just really don't want to be involved, are part of the criminal element themselves or just plain don't care about what happens.
"Of course, there are exceptions where a case comes together with good witnesses. But this is not the norm."
************
Wake up America and smell the nigger.
T.N.B.