CMPD's August 2011 ~ Officers of the Month

Officer Jared Porter

The N. Tryon St Corridor, including the Uptown Men’s Shelter and Urban Ministries, had been plagued with drug distribution and usage for years.

The area had been littered with trash from drug usage and alcohol consumption and many surrounding businesses have had false hope for improvement due to the declining properties surrounding the area. This had resulted in properties becoming overgrown with vegetation furthering the drug haven in the area.

In an effort to target drug usage Metro Division Officers Jared Porter and his partner Kelly Murphy decided to initiate a buy/bust campaign targeting street level drugs in the open air market surrounding the Men’s Shelter and the Soup Kitchen.

Porter helped launch an operation that enabled the department to get indictments on 19 suspects in the corridor who were operating this open air drug market. The cases included 146 felony charges and 44 misdemeanor charges. After the DA’s Office reviewed the cases, 89 felony charges and 4 misdemeanor charges were accepted, indicting 19 total suspects. Are residents and business owners say they already see a difference in the quality of life in the corridor as a result of the operation.

Officer Yanacsek

Providence Division Officer Yanacsek was instrumental in the arrests of several suspects this summer. In June Officer Yanacsek responded to a report of a B&E of a storage building at 4929 Monroe Rd. Officer Yanacsek located a suspect in the area who was positively identified and arrested.

On a separate occasion Officer Yanacsek responded to a residential B&E in progress on Nancy Dr. Officers observed a suspect come out of a rear bedroom window and run from the scene. Several officers chased the suspect on foot and Officer Yanacsek used his vehicle to cut off the suspect’s escape route. The suspect was taken into custody without incident.

On July 6, Officer Yanacsek located a suspect who had just committed a common law robbery at a Mental Health facility on Billingsley Rd. The suspect had been a patient of the facility and he was being held on an involuntary commitment order.  The suspect assaulted a nurse and stole her ID and access card in order to escape from the secured facility. Officer Yanacsek spotted the suspect in the area and took him into custody without incident. The suspect was returned to Mental Health and he was subsequently charged with common law robbery.

Officer Yanacsek's work ethic and can do attitude has helped to maintain a high level of morale in the Providence division. He shows great leadership qualities.