Police chief: A violent few are giving Roanoke a bad image
Police gather evidence from a greenhouse where a mass shooting happened. Don Petersen
The Roanoke Times | Jan. 5, 2015 | PDF and PDF
By Amy Friedenberger
Roanoke finished last year with just two confirmed homicides, an unusually low number for a city that has averaged 10 each year over the past decade. But just a few days into the new year, two shootings in northwest Roanoke have killed two men and injured five others, and Roanoke Police Chief Chris Perkins says he’s had enough of a small number of people giving the city a reputation of being dangerous.
“I’m really sick and tired of how people are saying the city is unsafe,” Perkins said Monday afternoon. He said most of the incidents are isolated between people who know one another and have past criminal histories.
Roanoke police on Monday identified six men who were shot — two fatally — early Sunday morning in the 3600 block of Shenandoah Avenue following a large party in a building where Obenchain’s Greenhouses used to be.
Lenard Antonio Hamlett, 29, of Roanoke was pronounced dead at the scene. His body was found across the street from the former Obenchain’s Greenhouses building in a gravel lot, police spokesman Scott Leamon said Sunday.
Ronald Lee Ramey, 55, of Roanoke was at the scene but was taken to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, where he later died. Ramey was also the victim of one of the city’s most violent shootouts in 2006. At a party at a house that authorities had said was being used as a “nip joint,” or illegal nightclub, one person was killed and seven injured, including Ramey.
Four other men from Roanoke were hospitalized with gunshot wounds from the Sunday shooting: Nelson Mikal Sanders, 22; Jamar Antonio James, 27; John Ethan English, 36; and Kente Gilkes, 33.
Another shooting the next day at 11:30 a.m. in the 3400 block of Shenandoah Avenue, not far from the location of the Sunday shooting, resulted in one injury. Perkins said the two shootings do not seem related at this time, but he said the few blocks on Shenandoah Avenue have historically experienced a lot of crime.
Police found Robert Deon Johnson, 20, of Roanoke in the parking lot of the Nu Deli Mart parking lot with a gunshot wound to his upper torso, a serious injury for which he is receiving treatment at Roanoke Memorial.
Perkins showed The Roanoke Times video footage of the incident, which showed Johnson arrive at the store in a vehicle with an acquaintance. When they enter the store, a Jeep arrives. When the two men leave the store, the acquaintance and the male driver of the Jeep start talking. A gun held by Johnson appears from the left corner of the video, and the driver of the Jeep pulls a firearm from his waistband and fires shots in the direction of Johnson, striking him once. Perkins said Johnson’s gun apparently malfunctioned or jammed.
The shooting suspect, which police have identified, drove away. The acquaintance ran away after the shooting; he returned when officers arrived but did not provide helpful information.
Perkins said he intends to release the footage to the public once police track down the other man with the gun who fled the scene.
Briana Ellison said she was inside the Nu Deli Mart buying a drink when she heard a commotion outside and someone said a man had been shot. Ellison is studying to be a nurse and went outside to help by covering Johnson’s wound until medical assistance came. She said she has lived in the area a long time and has never recalled a lot of violence in the neighborhood.
“You could used to just walk up and down the street every day,” she said of Shenandoah Avenue. “Now I won’t let my children walk around out here. Stray bullets don’t have a name for no one.”
Perkins expressed frustration over the lack of cooperation from witnesses and victims in both shootings, which have not resulted in arrests. He attributed it to a culture of honor and snitching.
“This is what the community has to decide, if you’re OK with people dying, then don’t snitch,” he said. “But if you’re upset over people dying, then this ‘stop snitching’ is a load of it. Step up.”
When officers and first responders arrived around 3:50 a.m. Sunday to a large, disorderly crowd that had been inside the building in the Obenchain lot, Leamon said people at the scene were uncooperative when authorities were administering aid to the victims and gathering details about what happened.
Police have collected alcohol, drugs and firearms from a building where the greenhouses used to be, according to a news release. Perkins said police have recovered multiple shell casings from two different guns; however, they have not yet been able to identify the shooter or shooters.
Police have identified and seized a vehicle of interest, and they are gathering evidence from it to help with the investigation.
Police are in the process of determining who was responsible for renting the building and hosting the party, which appeared to have started after all ABC-licensed businesses closed for the evening, according to the news release. People in the neighborhood said the building where the shooting took place was known for hosting large gatherings on the weekends that lasted into the early morning hours. Multiple TVs and tables were set up inside and several people who live and work nearby said people would go to the building to watch sports.
The owner of the building on Sunday said that it was being leased, but he said he was unaware of any of the activities that took place there.
Police did not have data for the number of calls for service for that location immediately available Monday.
“We want to solve these crimes,” said Perkins, raising his voice in frustration. “But we need witnesses.”
Perkins said zone 4, which includes northwest Roanoke, has been Roanoke’s most crime-afflicted quadrant over the years. He rattled off statistics about crime that occurs in that zone compared to the three other zones: 62 percent of all shots fired calls, 46 percent of violent crime, 58 percent of weapons offenses and nearly half of all drug offenses.
Last year, 27 out of 35 of incidents in which someone was shot in the city occurred in zone 4. And all of this year’s shooting incidents have taken place in the same zone, resulting in Perkins choosing to move more officers into the area. The area in zone 4 with increased police presence is predominantly minority, but Perkins said the focus is not about race, an issue at the roiling epicenter of a national debate over policing following events in Ferguson, Missouri, and New York City.
“It’s not about race, and I’m tired of people making it about race,” he said. “We go where the crime is, and 2015 will be driven by data, not by race.”
Perkins said violent crime is down in Roanoke, although he would not release data until the annual numbers were finalized sometime this month.
“Roanoke is safe, unless you deal drugs, go to nip joints at 4 in the morning with guns, drugs and alcohol, or you’re in a horrible domestic situation,” Perkins said. “The way people talk about this city is appalling to me, and I’m tired of it.”
Anyone with information can call the Roanoke Valley Crime Line at 540-344-8500. Tips are anonymous.
Staff writer Tiffany Holland contributed to this report.
By Amy Friedenberger
Roanoke finished last year with just two confirmed homicides, an unusually low number for a city that has averaged 10 each year over the past decade. But just a few days into the new year, two shootings in northwest Roanoke have killed two men and injured five others, and Roanoke Police Chief Chris Perkins says he’s had enough of a small number of people giving the city a reputation of being dangerous.
“I’m really sick and tired of how people are saying the city is unsafe,” Perkins said Monday afternoon. He said most of the incidents are isolated between people who know one another and have past criminal histories.
Roanoke police on Monday identified six men who were shot — two fatally — early Sunday morning in the 3600 block of Shenandoah Avenue following a large party in a building where Obenchain’s Greenhouses used to be.
Lenard Antonio Hamlett, 29, of Roanoke was pronounced dead at the scene. His body was found across the street from the former Obenchain’s Greenhouses building in a gravel lot, police spokesman Scott Leamon said Sunday.
Ronald Lee Ramey, 55, of Roanoke was at the scene but was taken to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, where he later died. Ramey was also the victim of one of the city’s most violent shootouts in 2006. At a party at a house that authorities had said was being used as a “nip joint,” or illegal nightclub, one person was killed and seven injured, including Ramey.
Four other men from Roanoke were hospitalized with gunshot wounds from the Sunday shooting: Nelson Mikal Sanders, 22; Jamar Antonio James, 27; John Ethan English, 36; and Kente Gilkes, 33.
Another shooting the next day at 11:30 a.m. in the 3400 block of Shenandoah Avenue, not far from the location of the Sunday shooting, resulted in one injury. Perkins said the two shootings do not seem related at this time, but he said the few blocks on Shenandoah Avenue have historically experienced a lot of crime.
Police found Robert Deon Johnson, 20, of Roanoke in the parking lot of the Nu Deli Mart parking lot with a gunshot wound to his upper torso, a serious injury for which he is receiving treatment at Roanoke Memorial.
Perkins showed The Roanoke Times video footage of the incident, which showed Johnson arrive at the store in a vehicle with an acquaintance. When they enter the store, a Jeep arrives. When the two men leave the store, the acquaintance and the male driver of the Jeep start talking. A gun held by Johnson appears from the left corner of the video, and the driver of the Jeep pulls a firearm from his waistband and fires shots in the direction of Johnson, striking him once. Perkins said Johnson’s gun apparently malfunctioned or jammed.
The shooting suspect, which police have identified, drove away. The acquaintance ran away after the shooting; he returned when officers arrived but did not provide helpful information.
Perkins said he intends to release the footage to the public once police track down the other man with the gun who fled the scene.
Briana Ellison said she was inside the Nu Deli Mart buying a drink when she heard a commotion outside and someone said a man had been shot. Ellison is studying to be a nurse and went outside to help by covering Johnson’s wound until medical assistance came. She said she has lived in the area a long time and has never recalled a lot of violence in the neighborhood.
“You could used to just walk up and down the street every day,” she said of Shenandoah Avenue. “Now I won’t let my children walk around out here. Stray bullets don’t have a name for no one.”
Perkins expressed frustration over the lack of cooperation from witnesses and victims in both shootings, which have not resulted in arrests. He attributed it to a culture of honor and snitching.
“This is what the community has to decide, if you’re OK with people dying, then don’t snitch,” he said. “But if you’re upset over people dying, then this ‘stop snitching’ is a load of it. Step up.”
When officers and first responders arrived around 3:50 a.m. Sunday to a large, disorderly crowd that had been inside the building in the Obenchain lot, Leamon said people at the scene were uncooperative when authorities were administering aid to the victims and gathering details about what happened.
Police have collected alcohol, drugs and firearms from a building where the greenhouses used to be, according to a news release. Perkins said police have recovered multiple shell casings from two different guns; however, they have not yet been able to identify the shooter or shooters.
Police have identified and seized a vehicle of interest, and they are gathering evidence from it to help with the investigation.
Police are in the process of determining who was responsible for renting the building and hosting the party, which appeared to have started after all ABC-licensed businesses closed for the evening, according to the news release. People in the neighborhood said the building where the shooting took place was known for hosting large gatherings on the weekends that lasted into the early morning hours. Multiple TVs and tables were set up inside and several people who live and work nearby said people would go to the building to watch sports.
The owner of the building on Sunday said that it was being leased, but he said he was unaware of any of the activities that took place there.
Police did not have data for the number of calls for service for that location immediately available Monday.
“We want to solve these crimes,” said Perkins, raising his voice in frustration. “But we need witnesses.”
Perkins said zone 4, which includes northwest Roanoke, has been Roanoke’s most crime-afflicted quadrant over the years. He rattled off statistics about crime that occurs in that zone compared to the three other zones: 62 percent of all shots fired calls, 46 percent of violent crime, 58 percent of weapons offenses and nearly half of all drug offenses.
Last year, 27 out of 35 of incidents in which someone was shot in the city occurred in zone 4. And all of this year’s shooting incidents have taken place in the same zone, resulting in Perkins choosing to move more officers into the area. The area in zone 4 with increased police presence is predominantly minority, but Perkins said the focus is not about race, an issue at the roiling epicenter of a national debate over policing following events in Ferguson, Missouri, and New York City.
“It’s not about race, and I’m tired of people making it about race,” he said. “We go where the crime is, and 2015 will be driven by data, not by race.”
Perkins said violent crime is down in Roanoke, although he would not release data until the annual numbers were finalized sometime this month.
“Roanoke is safe, unless you deal drugs, go to nip joints at 4 in the morning with guns, drugs and alcohol, or you’re in a horrible domestic situation,” Perkins said. “The way people talk about this city is appalling to me, and I’m tired of it.”
Anyone with information can call the Roanoke Valley Crime Line at 540-344-8500. Tips are anonymous.
Staff writer Tiffany Holland contributed to this report.
