Thursday, February 28, 2013

The rest of the story...


On February 23, two persons made separate reports, about an hour apart, to the Police Department where they each claimed to have been shot and injured  in the City of Greenville: 

            1.  Case # 13-13140:  Anthony Lamont Lester told Greenville Police he had been shot near the Moyewood housing area.  He did not provide details to police at the time he made his report.  His account was vague and contradictory.

            2.  Case # 13-14141:  Samuel Michael Finch told Greenville Police he had been shot while on Chestnut Street.  He did not provide details to police at the time he made his report, either.  No crime scene was ever located.

Further investigation by detectives from the Major Crimes Unit found both men were lying and made false reports.  Detectives have additional evidence, and now believe that both men were in the same car together, and they were involved in a gun fight with occupants from another car.  This gun fight took place somewhere in Edgecombe County, NC.  At least one other person was injured.  Law Enforcement officers in Rocky Mount PD and in Edgecombe County are investigating that incident.

Lester is a convicted felon with prior arrests for Armed Robbery, Kidnapping, Assault, Larceny, PWISD Cocaine, Possession of Firearm by Felon, Resisting Arrest, and Assault on a Female.

Finch is also a convicted felon with prior arrests for Assault, Possession of Stolen Firearms, Drug offenses, Armed Robbery, Attempted Murder, and Assault With A Deadly Weapon With Intent to Kill.

On Wednesday February 27 Detective M.W. Blunt obtained arrest warrants against both men charging each of them with Making a False Report to Police.

Incidents of this nature steal limited and valuable police resources from the community. They also give a false sense of alarm to citizens, and provide a false impression of crime in the City.

The Greenville Police Department is working closely with law enforcement officers from Edgecombe County and Rocky Mounty PD to aid in their investigation of the incident.  Additional arrests are possible

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Total team effort...

This is one of the biggest drug busts in the history of Pitt County here:

On February 11, 2013, the Greenville Regional Drug Task Force, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the DEA arrested Jeffrey Levon Wright of Greenville, North Carolina.  The arrest of Wright concluded a ten year, multi-agency investigation into Wright’s cocaine trafficking and money laundering conspiracy.

Detectives believe that over the span of his criminal enterprise, Wright is responsible for the distribution of more than 200 kilograms of cocaine and other illegal drugs in eastern North Carolina.

At the time of his arrest, law enforcement seized one (1) kilogram of powder cocaine with an estimated street value of $100,000, approximately $20,000 in U.S. Currency, ten(10) firearms and twenty (20) automobiles. 

Wright was charged with three counts of Trafficking in Cocaine and placed under a $5,000,000 secured bond in the Pitt County Detention Center.  

The following law enforcement agencies participated in the investigation, and assisted with the arrest of Wright:

NC State Bureau of Investigation
DEA Raleigh
IRS-Criminal Investigation Division (Raleigh)
North Carolina Department of Revenue
Pitt County Sheriff’s Office
Farmville Police Department
Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office
Rocky Mount Police Department
Raleigh Police Department
Wayne County Sheriff’s Office
Person County Sheriff’s Office
Wilson Police Department
Goldsboro Police Department
NC DMV-License and Theft
NC Alcohol Law Enforcement
Edgecombe County Sheriff’s Office
Greenville Police Department

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Kids deserve better...


Example #1:
On February 21, Detective Robert J. Wright of the GPD Major Crimes Unit charged a 14 year old boy with one count each of AWDWIKISI, Armed Robbery and Aid & Abet Larceny of a Motor Vehicle in this case.  The juvenile was already in custody for unrelated charges.  This investigation continues and additional arrest(s) are expected.

Example #2:
Detectives from the Special Victims Unit and the GPD Gang Unit obtained and served a secured custody order (juvenile arrest warrant)  against the boy and he was confined at the Pitt County Juvenile Detention Center.   He is charged with Discharging a Firearm into Occupied Property, Possession of a Handgun by a minor, and Possession of a Firearm with the Serial Number Removed/Altered.

This past Sunday, the Daily Reflector weighed in on these 2 cases with an editorial:


The editorial was much appreciated and hit the topic square on: The Police Department and all its resources,  the schools, the churches, volunteers, and mentors are no match for a lack of parenting.    Where are the parents?  Not just in these cases, but in more and more cases?

The sad fact is, many people take better care of their cars and pets than their loved ones.  There are countless books and videos and workshops geared to training a puppy.  A person could read one of these books, watch one of these videos, or attend one of these workshops, and learn the same basic skills that are needed to raise a child.  The principles are the same:  consistency, repetition, positive reinforcement, discipline, and love.   Training a puppy begins at the age of 7 weeks.  Training a child begins within the first 6 months.  There's not much difference in the development.

There never was a dog that didn't deserve better than what it received from its owner.  Don't kids deserve the same kind of attention?

Thursday, February 21, 2013

What would the duke say...

People do the wrong things for any number of reasons.  Sometimes they use bad judgment.  Sometimes they try to rationalize bad thinking into a twisted self-justification.

When it comes to right and wrong for police officers, there isn't any gray area.  A police officer holds the public trust like a delicate glass statute -- to be cradled and protected against the temptation of breakage.  Knowing what is right, acting with the side of justice, and making tough, unpopular decisions in the face of criticism can be a difficult and lonely path for a police officer.  The satisfactions are internal for the most part, but they are there. 

This profession is grounded in ethics, integrity, courage, and leadership; and without those attributes for a foundation, the structure of the whole being, the public trust and the community support collapses, and there is nothing.

Its important to point out, too, there is a difference between doing the wrong thing, and doing the thing wrong.   The first instance is a conscious, willful, and deliberate choice.  the second thing is a mistake that may be attributed to ignorance or misinformation or a host of other possibilities.   Doing the wrong thing is bad.  Doing the thing wrong is a mistake that can be corrected.  

In a favorite classic movie,  John Wayne, playing the role of Davy Crockett, says:

"There’s right and there’s wrong. You got to do one or the other. You do the one and you’re living. You do the other and you may be walking around, but your dead as a beaver hat."

Monday, February 18, 2013

Police blotter...

Patrol IMPACT Officers conducted a drug investigation on Saturday which lead them to apartment 126 in the Province Apartment Complex.  A search of the apartment yielded  1.75 lbs of marijuana.  The police arrested Jacob Walton,  21 years old.

Also on Saturday, officers worked with Probation & Parole to conduct house checks on active probationers.  While checking on 24 year old Demetrius Wiggins, officers found a stolen TV in his home, along with 20 grams of marijuana.  Wiggins was arrested and charged accordingly.

A frequent flyer, Lee Boyd 32 years old, was arrested for Possession With Intent to Sell and Deliver (PWISD) marijuana,  Communicating Threats, and Resisting Arrest.  Officers had to chase him on foot for about 1 block on Myrtle Avenue before he was arrested.  He was jailed on a $60,000 secured bond.

The Warrant Squad was very busy this past week.  They worked with Whiteville, Florida Police to locate Antonia Derose in that city,  Derose was arrested there and is now waiting extradition back to the Tarheel State.   The Warrant officers also worked closely with the Onslow County Sheriff's Office to locate and arrest Michael Deaver, who was wanted in that county, as well as in Greenville.

Stay tuned for more from the Police Blotter.



  

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Only in the South...

In Greenville, as in many cities and towns across the South,  traffic on the busiest street in town will come to a standstill as the funeral procession winds its way through the streets.  Leading the way of this procession is almost always a police officer in the marked patrol car, with blue lights flashing.

The funeral escort is a time-honored tradition in this area of the country.  As the long line of cars slowly moves toward the gravesite,  other drivers still pull to the side of the road, either to pay their respects or because its a such an ingrained custom.  Occasionally a driver will continue along the road passing stopped cars off to the side and ignoring the stares of disapproval, but that is still rare for now. 

Some cities are discontinuing this service, citing safety, staffing, and the liability concerns of a slow-moving parade that takes the right-of-way.  Funeral processions seem to be driving up against the reality of a more modern, more urban world.   In Charlotte, Miami, and Atlanta,  Police Departments no longer provide this service to the general public.   The Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office does provide funeral escorts, but charges $150 per funeral to cover the cost for manpower. 

Here in Greenville, funeral escorts are still a part of the cultural fabric.  The Greenville Police Department provides them at no cost to the funeral homes and grieving families.

Only in the South...


Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Eye in the sky...


On Friday February 1 Detective J.A. Baxter of the Greenville Police Major Crimes Unit developed information that  identified Alton Antonio Evely and Dontavius Cox as the two suspects who robbed a man as he was walking on E. Fifth Street on the morning of January 29.

Patrol Officers from B-Platoon located and arrested Evely without incident on Friday afternoon.   Officers from the Warrant Squad located Cox on Saturday February 2 near Myrtle Street in Greenville.  He was arrested without incident.
 
Both suspects are charged with 1 count each of robbery with a dangerous weapon.  They are being held under a $100,000 secured bond each.

Alton Evely has prior arrests for felony larceny, possession of stolen goods, misdemeanor larceny, and probation violations.

Dontavius Cox has one prior arrest for disorderly conduct. 

These guys were identified and captured in many ways due to the installation of our Downtown Safety Cameras.   Patrol Officer Ritchie Pearce viewed the surveillance pictures and was able to provide the detectives with suspect names, which in turn led to the identification and arrest of these 2 predators.