The following information was sent on Wednesday via govdelivery from the Captain of CMPD's South Division: As Captain of CMPD’s South Division, I have received several inquiries about two separate issues that I know have raised concerns in our community.
The first is a series of e-mails circulating throughout Southern Mecklenburg County and the Weddington area of Union County suggesting that the gang MS-13 is targeting affluent communities for robberies and/or kidnappings. The second concerns a series of burglaries in South Charlotte. Here is what we know about these two issues:
Attempted Kidnapping/Robbery:
On December 23, 2007, at approximately 8:00 P.M., a Providence Country Club neighborhood resident was in the street when a dark colored minivan drove up. A male, described by the victim as Hispanic, got out of the van, pointed a gun at him and ordered him into the van. The victim resisted, a struggle ensued and the victim was shot in the leg. Fortunately, the victim did not sustain life-threatening injuries.
After being released from the hospital, the victim sent an e-mail out describing the incident. In the email, the victim makes the following statement. “Gang initiation is a possibility here... or just money, but we'll never know.” This incident coupled with a rumor of MS-13 graffiti behind the Arboretum has caused some to believe that MS-13 has targeted Providence Country Club for attacks on citizens.
We have no information currently that would lead us to believe that this crime was anything other than an isolated incident that is unusual for the Providence Country Club Community and the entire South Division. In fact, citywide, there are only a few reports of this type.
Key Points:
· While gang issues throughout the Charlotte region have grown in recent years, according to CMPD’s Gang Unit, MS-13 primarily targets rival gangs and it is not its practice to require a certain type of crime to be committed in order to gain membership.
· There was some graffiti reported at the Arboretum last week that the management company quickly painted over, which is what we want.
· I have spoken to the officers who have worked that area for many years and they have informed me that there are not any indications that MS-13 tagged the Arboretum. The department’s gang unit tracks reported graffiti throughout our jurisdiction and they are informing me that there is no significant MS-13 tagging in the South Division.
· I have also spoken to Union County Sheriff Eddie Cathey and he informs me there is no MS-13 activity in that area of Union County.
Burglaries:
The South Division, like several other divisions, is currently experiencing an increase in residential break-ins. We are working diligently to identify and arrest suspects and working with neighborhoods to minimize risks of victimization.
In most of these cases the suspects are knocking on doors to make sure no one is at home before entering. There have been a few cases in which residents, for whatever reason, did not respond to the knock on the door so the suspects broke in, apparently thinking no one was home. When the suspects saw someone was home, they fled, often without taking anything from the residence. Crime analysis indicates there is no relationship among these incidents.
In many cases, the media and some citizens are inaccurately characterizing these burglaries as “home invasions”- a term that certainly heightens fear even further, but fortunately doesn’t apply to most burglaries, even if someone happens to be home when the suspect breaks in. Home invasion-style robberies are lifestyle robberies; they are seldom random. The home and residents are targeted for drugs, cash or other goods known to the suspects or it is domestic-related.
Anatomy of Recent Burglaries & CMPD's Response:
· Random areas targeted
· No pattern to time of day or day of the week
· Suspects have tendency to use stolen or rented cars, which makes it especially challenging to address from both prevention and apprehension standpoints. However, we are also looking into working with rental car companies to prevent these individuals from being able to rent cars.
· We are aggressively pursuing leads and presenting cases to the DA’s office as aggressively as possible
· Most of the suspects identified are repeat offenders. We are attempting to get some of these individuals monitored under the new electronic monitoring program
· One of our means of addressing the issue was to increase awareness in the affected communities by emailing information about the trend to community representatives.
The good news is that the information reached a lot of people. The bad news is that some of the information was taken out of context and misconstrued to the extent that it created unsubstantiated fear.
Finally, some e-mails have inaccurately suggested the police are trying to keep this issue quiet, ostensibly so as not to create a panic. We haven’t kept quiet at all -- you may recall a South Division Community Coordinator initiated e-mail notification about the burglaries. However, when alarming misinformation exists, we have serious concerns about creating unnecessary panic. An informed public is the best tool for the prevention and solving of crime. However, a misinformed public is counterproductive to addressing real issues.
I appreciate the working relationship we have with our neighborhood leadership and neighborhood members and encourage you to continue to work with us to make our neighborhoods safer.
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