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Terror in the projects: East St. Louis residents live a life under siege

 

By CAROLYN P. SMITH - News-Democrat

EAST ST. LOUIS -- Being a Mom is challenging enough, but imagine having to warn your kids to get away from the windows during gunfire.

Welcome to East St. Louis.

Some mothers say people are being robbed at gunpoint with regularity for $5, $10, or $20 -- basically all the money they have -- as they leave their residences to walk to a nearby grocery store.

Clusters of gun-wielding young men wearing baggy pants and oversized T-shirts and hoodies crowd the entrances to the complexes and strike fear in many of the residents.

Residents like Kimberly Rosebud say they're pleased that help has come their way.

They said the violence in the East St. Louis area had gotten out of hand and, by itself, the East St. Louis Police Department could not handle the crime.

New police team targets violent crime

 

BY CAROLYN P. SMITH - News-Democrat

No boundaries in Illinois or Missouri will stop the police from finding metro-east violent crime suspects.

That was the message from Illinois State Police headquarters in Collinsville Thursday when officials touted the results of Operation WAVE, which started Nov. 16. WAVE stands for Working Against Violent Elements and local, state and federal agents are on the team.

Illinois State Police Capt. Todd Kilby said all law enforcement officials, including prosecutors in Illinois as well as Missouri, are working together to remove individuals from the streets who are committing violent crimes, selling illegal drugs and toting illegal guns. He said law enforcement officials on both sides of the river are sharing information in an attempt to make it impossible for law offenders to hide.

Suspect in custody while police continue Cahokia shooting investigation

News-Democrat

St. Clair County Sheriff's investigators continue to questions witnesses about a Thursday afternoon shooting that led to a police perimeter set up around a Caseyville home.

The suspect in the shooting, whose name has not been released pending charges, remains in custody in the St. Clair County Jail.

The shooting began around 3 p.m. Thursday at the intersection of Amelia and Judith drives in the Parkfield Terrace subdivision in unincorporated Cahokia when the suspect walked up to the car the victim was in at a stop sign and shot him in the face, according to St. Clair County Sheriff's Chief Investigator Capt. Steve Johnson.

According to witnesses, the victim and the suspect were involved in a disagreement shortly before the shooting.

East St. Louis man charged for gun, shoving deputy, trying to flee

News-Democrat

An East St. Louis man with a prior conviction was charged Monday with felony aggravated unlawful use of a weapon after he tried to run away from deputies during a traffic stop, and police later found a revolver in his car.

St. Clair County Sheriff's Department Deputy Dan Hill stopped Jarod W. Van, 28, of East St. Louis at about 7:13 a.m. Sunday for disobeying a stop sign at the intersection of 25th Street and Louisiana Boulevard in East St. Louis, Sgt. William Kenny stated in a news release.

Police said Van, of 2013 N. 44th St., exited his Mercury Sable, shoved the deputy and ran away.

Hill chased Van through an alley to the 400 block of 25th Street, and was able to take Van into custody. Hill was not injured.

Deputies searched Van's vehicle and found a .38 caliber Smith & Wesson revolver between the driver and passenger seats.

Van has a previous felony conviction for unlawful possession of a controlled substance. He is being held in the county jail in lieu of $40,000 bail.

Three jailed after police stop yields weapons, drugs

BY CAROLYN P. SMITH - News-Democrat

EAST ST. LOUIS -- Three people went to jail Thursday after they were stopped by police on a traffic violation at 58th and State streets and police found loaded weapons, drugs and some stolen savings bonds.

Ashley Jones, 21, of the 500 block of Williams in Shiloh, was charged with residential burglary; Dustin Middendorf, 22, of Baldwin, was charged with residential burglary; and Daniel Poole, 23, of the 600 block of State Street in Belleville, was charged with residential burglary and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon.

Jones was being held in the East St. Louis jail in lieu of $75,000 bail. She is scheduled to be taken to the St. Clair County Jail by Monday.

Ashley Jones - Provided/BND

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Multiple search warrants in the City of E. St. Louis

On 04-24-09 at approximately 0800 hours the Special Response Team consisting of members from the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department and Belleville Police Department and members of the Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System (ILEAS) executed three St. Clair County Drug Tactical Unit search warrants simultaneously at the following addresses in East Saint Louis Illinois:

2914 Renshaw Ave, E. St. Louis, IL

716 North 72^nd Street, E. St. Louis IL

723 North 72^nd Street, E. St. Louis IL

The occupants of each residence have been under investigation for several months for selling controlled substances. The investigations originated in Belleville and other areas of the county but it was determined the drugs were coming from E. St. Louis area. The three primary targets of the investigation all have previous State and/or Federal felony convictions for drugs and/or weapons and have been known to travel to various communities in St. Clair County to sell drugs.

“During the execution of the search warrants six people were taken into custody and controlled substances, weapons, assault rifles and bulletproof vest were located and seized at evidence. All six subjects are in custody at the St. Clair County Jail pending further investigation and warrant application at the St. Clair County State’s Attorney’s Office” said, Sgt. William Kenny.

“The St. Clair County Drug Tactical Unit has received numerous complaints from E. St. Louis residents about drug activity throughout the city. We are taking their complaints seriously and are working hard to reduce the amount of drug activity and associated violence” said, Sgt. William Kenny.

All subjects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Sgt. William Kenny

Drug Tactical Unit Supervisor

St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department

Police use checkpoints to catch drunken motorists entering East St. Louis

BY JACQUELINE LEE AND CAROLYN P. SMITH - News-Democrat

EAST ST. LOUIS -- Law enforcement officials made it clear to motorists early Saturday that they were not tolerating any illegal activity as they towed more than 30 cars and made about the same number of arrests at safety check points.

The St. Clair County Sheriff's Department had 25 deputies and Illinois State Police had 25 troopers participate in the operation designed to curb the crime that results from intoxicated motorists driving to the nightclubs in East St. Louis after liquor establishments in St. Louis close.

Woman in jail for carrying weapon to court

News-Democrat

A St. Louis woman is in custody after bailiffs at the St. Clair County Building found a gun in her purse, police said.

Genesis D. Mitchell, 34, of 9853 Rivermont Drive, St. Louis, was headed to a child-support courtroom on the third floor of the courthouse when she was asked to empty her pockets and hand her purse over to a bailiff before walking through a metal detector.

Genesis D. Mitchell

Mitchell set off the detector when she walked through it and as St. Clair County Bailiff Dwayne Sargent opened Mitchell's purse to search it, Mitchell told him she had a license to carry a concealed weapon in Missouri and had a loaded gun in her purse, according to the police report.

Sargent found a cocked and loaded Beretta .25 caliber automatic handgun in Mitchell's purse. Mitchell was told that although she could carry a concealed weapon in Missouri, she was not permitted to carry the same concealed weapon in Illinois and was placed under arrest.

"Although this person had a concealed carry permit in Missouri it gives no authority to carry a firearm in Illinois. But even in Missouri they are not allowed to carry loaded semi-automatic pistols into a courthouse," said St. Clair County Sheriff's Capt. Steve Johnson, chief investigator with the Sheriff's Department. "We do not have any information that anything violent was planned but in a courthouse setting we cannot take a chance. Thanks to the hard work the bailiffs do every day, this semi-automatic pistol was prevented from going into a child-support court room."

Mitchell was charged with the unlawful use of a weapon and remains in custody at the St. Clair County Jail in lieu of $25,000 bail.

FOUR SUBJECTS ARRESTED DURING SHOOTING CALL

On 01-14-09 at about 1:00 PM an emergency call came into Cencom in reference to a disturbance in front of 15 Violet Drive in unincorporated Cahokia (Parkfield Terrace). While Deputies and Investigators were responding the caller called back and said they now heard gunshots being fired. Deputies arrived within 6 minutes and Deputy Andrew Leach saw a black male subject run from behind the residence. Dep. Leach pursued the subject as he ran into the back door of the residence. The subject tried to hide under a bed in a back bedroom. Dep. Leach arrested him for obstructing a peace officer. The subject:

Had two felony warrants for his arrest for probation violation and unlawful use of weapon. He was also charged with obstructing a peace officer. He is being held in the St. Clair County Jail on a $21,000.00 bond.

While Dep. Leach was in the residence, another black male subject ran from near the residence and through an alleyway. Deputies who were responding to the call saw him and gave chase. The subject was ordered to stop but refused. Dep. Brian Cregger chased the subject and caught him several blocks away on Amelia Drive. He was identified as:

He was arrested and charged with obstructing a peace officer and transported to the county jail. He posted bond later that night.

During the arrest of Garner a subject was at a nearby residence and began inciting other people in the area to obstruct the Deputies’ official performance in arresting the subject who ran. Inv. Scott Toth recognized the person and knew he was a gang member who had an active warrant. He continued to agitate a crowd of people and Inv. Toth attempted to arrest him but he ran into a residence on Amelia. Inv. Toth and Deputies pursued him into the residence and arrested him in the front room. The subject:

Was arrested for obstructing a peace officer and a misdemeanor traffic warrant. He is currently in the St. Clair County Jail on $2,500.00 bond.

During the original investigation near 15 Violet, several spent shell casings were found on the ground and Touchette Regional Hospital called and said a subject had been admitted into the ER with a gunshot wound. Investigators responded to the ER and determined the 19 year old subject had been shot through the top of his foot and the bullet exited out the bottom of his foot. The subject was deceptive in his answers as to what had occurred. He refused to cooperate and did not want Investigators to pursue the investigation. He was treated and released from the hospital but was taken to jail because he had an active bench warrant (misdemeanor) for his arrest. He remains in the jail infirmary today on a $4,000.00 bond.

“We may never know what truly happened during the incident but it shows the dangers Deputies face everyday even while just responding to a disturbance call,” said Capt Steve Johnson.

All subjects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

- -

Captain Steve Johnson
Chief Investigator
Criminal Investigation Section

Two 18-year-olds charged in armed robbery, home invasion

BY JACQUELINE LEE - News-Democrat

Two 18-year-old men were charged Friday with one count each of armed robbery and residential burglary in connection with an armed robbery at the Chenot Place subdivision in unincorporated Belleville and a home invasion in Belleville.

Octavion D. Brooks of 6016 W. A St. in Belleville and Eric L. Frazier Jr. of 111 Edding Lane in Fairview Heights are being held at the St. Clair County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail for the armed robbery and $75,000 bail for the residential burglary, Capt. Steve Johnson said in a news release.

Brooks is accused of putting a gun to a man's head and taking his wallet. The victim was walking through the subdivision at the time of the robbery.

Eric L. Frazier Jr. - Provided to BND

Brooks and Frazier then fled in a vehicle from the scene when deputies responded to the subdivision at about 7:45 p.m. Wednesday, Johnson said.

Deputies took Frazier, the driver, into custody and interviewed him, which led to Brooks' arrest, who was found hiding in a closet in the 6000 block of West A Street in Belleville. Brooks then led police to an area between houses and near an elementary school to recover the Browning pistol he had thrown during his escape.

Police found the victim's wallet in the vehicle.

They also found a loaded shotgun and a box of crackers that were taken from a home invasion Sunday in the 2600 block of Eastview Drive in Belleville.

Johnson said that suspects had used a pistol to shoot out a sliding glass door at the home on Eastview Drive. The home invasion victim hid in the bathroom during the break-in.

Contact reporter Jacqueline Lee atjlee@bnd.com or 239-2655.