Tough neighborhood
This article made me think about what being devalued does to people. How deeply it cuts into our humanity. Whether it's East St. Louis or the Gaza Strip or Tel Aviv. You would think that, given a few thousand years of living in communities, we would have figured this out. Evidently not.
Trivial events turn deadly in tough neighborhood
By Michael Shaw
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
07/30/2006
EAST ST. LOUIS - In East St. Louis' distressed Lansdowne neighborhood, a borrowed cigarette, a rebuffed handshake and even a smile have been motives for murder.
Four homicides struck a four-block area of the neighborhood over an 18-month period starting in 2001. The seemingly trivial reasons behind the killings led a prosecutor to label it "Ground Zero for Senseless Murder."
Authorities had hoped these types of killings had stopped. They had, until last month.
The family of a man fatally shot June 24 said he was killed because of the way he wore his hat in a sign of disrespect to a gang member. While Illinois State Police would not confirm that as a motive, investigators said the victim may have snubbed gang members in some way just before he was shot.
"They aren't like the murders we handle outside the East St. Louis area," said Master Sgt. Jim Morrisey of the Illinois State Police. "Usually there is some sort of relationship between the killer and victim, but that's not the case in some of these."
In last month's killing, Larry Sherrod, 25, a delivery driver from Fairview Heights, and his brother were visiting relatives in Lansdowne. The brothers had just finished buying snacks from a convenience store when Sherrod was confronted by a group of young men over his cap, which he always wore pulled to the left, his mother, Annette Bowers, said.
He waved them off and left the store, only to be surrounded by more men, she said. At Sherrod's urging, his brother fled and called police. They arrived to find Sherrod shot twice in the chest. Bowers believes a hat worn to the left is considered an insult to the Crips street gang.
"We're not getting a lot of cooperation," Morrissey said of the investigation. No charges have been filed.
Victims in earlier "senseless" murders include:
Roderick Gomiller, 26, of Washington Park, shot four times on Aug. 23, 2001, after refusing to shake Javar Stewart's hand, according to prosecutors. Stewart later claimed he acted in self-defense.
Ronnie Midgett, 21, of East St. Louis, shot in the head on Oct. 1, 2001, after a quarrel that started over Midgett's broken car windshield, then escalated. The suspects, Kevin Cox, Shaundrea Allen and Tony Allen, later claimed they thought Midgett had a gun.
Carlos Gibson, 30, of East St. Louis, shot in the back on Sept. 15, 2002, because of the way he was smiling at Lemuel Straughter, witnesses said. They said Straughter, who was in a heated quarrel with someone else, shot Gibson after telling him: "Ain't nothing funny."
Thad Hardin, 25, of Cahokia, shot five times by Willis Parram and Montez Artis on Jan. 24, 2003. At a party, Hardin smoked Artis' last cigarette after being told to "short" it, meaning he should leave a part unsmoked, prosecutors said.
After handling these cases, Assistant State's Attorney Jim Piper began referring to the area as "Ground Zero." He and other prosecutors obtained convictions in all four cases, and lengthy prison terms were handed out. Most of the killers lived in the Lansdowne neighborhood.
"These are not people who are thinking about consequences," said St. Clair County State's Attorney Bob Haida. He recalled that one of the first cases he prosecuted involved a killing by someone who thought he deserved the last piece of barbecued chicken.
A loss of image
James Alan Fox, a professor of criminal justice at Northeastern University in Boston, has explored senseless murder at length. He says a perceived slight has much more impact in economically depressed areas.
"The rest of us have other ways to value ourselves, through our jobs or other means," said Fox.
"But if you don't have that, if your entire image is formed through other people, a loss of that image can have much more impact."
Lansdowne sits on the northern edge of East St. Louis, cut off to the north and east by its dead-end streets. Most of its houses were knocked down years ago, and their lots were leveled, giving some blocks an almost rural feel.
A landmark, the once-grand Lansdowne Baptist Church, is crumbling. Authorities say the area is a haven for gang and drug activity.
While sitting on her front porch last week, Lily Foote, 61, says she would leave if she could.
"I've got no place else to go," said Foote, who lives with her grandchildren and two sons in one of the two homes left standing on her block. "When I moved here 36 years ago, this was a nice neighborhood. It's very tough around here. You hear a lot of shooting at night."
She recalled Carlos Gibson, the son of a friend, being shot less than a block from her house.
Police response
On a typical day, young and old men hang out near the King's Food and Liquor store at Waverly and 39th streets, a hub of activity. Omar Hamad, 21, of Shiloh, operates the family-owned business. He says he sees drug dealing regularly on the streets.
"You call the cops once, twice, three times, and it doesn't change," he said. "Five minutes later the kids are out on the streets again. You get tired of calling."
Larry Sherrod was shot outside the store.
Hamad and Foote say that they don't believe Sherrod was killed over how he wore his hat, that there must be deeper reasons behind his and other "senseless" shootings.
Bowers, Sherrod's mother, said she finds it hard to believe, too.
"I'm going through crying spells," she said. "These gangs have got to be stopped. I'm going to talk with the mayor and do something about it."
Illinois State Police officers are working with the overburdened East St. Louis Police Department to patrol the city and investigate homicides. They have set up a task force and stepped up patrols within the past month in the highest crime areas of the city, including Lansdowne.
"I think the violence is being addressed," said State Police Lt. Greg Fernandez. "We pulled five guns off the street in that neighborhood in the past month. When you take guns off the street, you have an impact."
Trivial events turn deadly in tough neighborhood
By Michael Shaw
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
07/30/2006
EAST ST. LOUIS - In East St. Louis' distressed Lansdowne neighborhood, a borrowed cigarette, a rebuffed handshake and even a smile have been motives for murder.
Four homicides struck a four-block area of the neighborhood over an 18-month period starting in 2001. The seemingly trivial reasons behind the killings led a prosecutor to label it "Ground Zero for Senseless Murder."
Authorities had hoped these types of killings had stopped. They had, until last month.
The family of a man fatally shot June 24 said he was killed because of the way he wore his hat in a sign of disrespect to a gang member. While Illinois State Police would not confirm that as a motive, investigators said the victim may have snubbed gang members in some way just before he was shot.
"They aren't like the murders we handle outside the East St. Louis area," said Master Sgt. Jim Morrisey of the Illinois State Police. "Usually there is some sort of relationship between the killer and victim, but that's not the case in some of these."
In last month's killing, Larry Sherrod, 25, a delivery driver from Fairview Heights, and his brother were visiting relatives in Lansdowne. The brothers had just finished buying snacks from a convenience store when Sherrod was confronted by a group of young men over his cap, which he always wore pulled to the left, his mother, Annette Bowers, said.
He waved them off and left the store, only to be surrounded by more men, she said. At Sherrod's urging, his brother fled and called police. They arrived to find Sherrod shot twice in the chest. Bowers believes a hat worn to the left is considered an insult to the Crips street gang.
"We're not getting a lot of cooperation," Morrissey said of the investigation. No charges have been filed.
Victims in earlier "senseless" murders include:
Roderick Gomiller, 26, of Washington Park, shot four times on Aug. 23, 2001, after refusing to shake Javar Stewart's hand, according to prosecutors. Stewart later claimed he acted in self-defense.
Ronnie Midgett, 21, of East St. Louis, shot in the head on Oct. 1, 2001, after a quarrel that started over Midgett's broken car windshield, then escalated. The suspects, Kevin Cox, Shaundrea Allen and Tony Allen, later claimed they thought Midgett had a gun.
Carlos Gibson, 30, of East St. Louis, shot in the back on Sept. 15, 2002, because of the way he was smiling at Lemuel Straughter, witnesses said. They said Straughter, who was in a heated quarrel with someone else, shot Gibson after telling him: "Ain't nothing funny."
Thad Hardin, 25, of Cahokia, shot five times by Willis Parram and Montez Artis on Jan. 24, 2003. At a party, Hardin smoked Artis' last cigarette after being told to "short" it, meaning he should leave a part unsmoked, prosecutors said.
After handling these cases, Assistant State's Attorney Jim Piper began referring to the area as "Ground Zero." He and other prosecutors obtained convictions in all four cases, and lengthy prison terms were handed out. Most of the killers lived in the Lansdowne neighborhood.
"These are not people who are thinking about consequences," said St. Clair County State's Attorney Bob Haida. He recalled that one of the first cases he prosecuted involved a killing by someone who thought he deserved the last piece of barbecued chicken.
A loss of image
James Alan Fox, a professor of criminal justice at Northeastern University in Boston, has explored senseless murder at length. He says a perceived slight has much more impact in economically depressed areas.
"The rest of us have other ways to value ourselves, through our jobs or other means," said Fox.
"But if you don't have that, if your entire image is formed through other people, a loss of that image can have much more impact."
Lansdowne sits on the northern edge of East St. Louis, cut off to the north and east by its dead-end streets. Most of its houses were knocked down years ago, and their lots were leveled, giving some blocks an almost rural feel.
A landmark, the once-grand Lansdowne Baptist Church, is crumbling. Authorities say the area is a haven for gang and drug activity.
While sitting on her front porch last week, Lily Foote, 61, says she would leave if she could.
"I've got no place else to go," said Foote, who lives with her grandchildren and two sons in one of the two homes left standing on her block. "When I moved here 36 years ago, this was a nice neighborhood. It's very tough around here. You hear a lot of shooting at night."
She recalled Carlos Gibson, the son of a friend, being shot less than a block from her house.
Police response
On a typical day, young and old men hang out near the King's Food and Liquor store at Waverly and 39th streets, a hub of activity. Omar Hamad, 21, of Shiloh, operates the family-owned business. He says he sees drug dealing regularly on the streets.
"You call the cops once, twice, three times, and it doesn't change," he said. "Five minutes later the kids are out on the streets again. You get tired of calling."
Larry Sherrod was shot outside the store.
Hamad and Foote say that they don't believe Sherrod was killed over how he wore his hat, that there must be deeper reasons behind his and other "senseless" shootings.
Bowers, Sherrod's mother, said she finds it hard to believe, too.
"I'm going through crying spells," she said. "These gangs have got to be stopped. I'm going to talk with the mayor and do something about it."
Illinois State Police officers are working with the overburdened East St. Louis Police Department to patrol the city and investigate homicides. They have set up a task force and stepped up patrols within the past month in the highest crime areas of the city, including Lansdowne.
"I think the violence is being addressed," said State Police Lt. Greg Fernandez. "We pulled five guns off the street in that neighborhood in the past month. When you take guns off the street, you have an impact."