Gary homicides drop to 35 in 2011; most victims black males

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Gary police officers (front from left) Reserve Officer A. McClain, Sgt. Chris Taylor and Patrolman Demonte Yanders go over paperwork before a payloader arrives. Lake County Sheriffs Department and Gary Police officers investigate where 2 unidentified bodies were discovered on a horse farm near 22nd Avenue and Mississippi in Gary, Ind. Sunday April 24, 2011. | Stephanie Dowell~Sun-Times Media

2011 Gary Homicides*

1. Ellison Frye, 21, Gary, shot, Jan. 1.

2. Albert Barber Jr., 37, Gary, shot, Jan. 21.

3. Gregory Bradshaw, 30, Gary, shot, Jan. 21.

4. James Adams, 25, Gary, shot, Jan. 21.

5. Jonathan Johnson, 29, Gary, shot, Feb. 18.

6. Deandre Wilson, 17, Chicago, shot, Feb. 18.

7. Keenan Poe, 32, Gary, stabbed, March 6.

8. Julian Nava, Gary, 19, shot, March 18.

9. Jennifer Kocsis, 37, Griffith, beaten, April 2.

10. Jamari Leflore, 15, shot, April 4.

11. Brian McCoy, 39,Gary, shot, April 7.

12. James Hurt, 32, Gary, beaten, April 16.

13. Victor Flores, 35, East Chicago, shot, April 24.

14. Juan Antonio Perez, 33, Chicago, shot, April 24.

15. Theresa Coleman, 53, Gary, shot, April 27.

16. Marcus Tucker, 27, Gary, shot, April 30.

17. Christian Choate, 13, Gary, beaten, May 4.

18. Wyatt Cobb, 32, Gary, shot, May 10.

19. Jermaine Johnson, 23, Gary, shot, May 21.

20. Roger L. Mills III, 22, Gary, shot, May 29.

21. Towond Hampton, 37, Gary, shot, May 31.

22. Alvin Isaac, 52, Gary, shot, June 21.

23. Christine Arnold, 23, LaPorte, stabbed, July 18.

24. Alonzo Boyd, 25, Gary, beaten, July 20.

25. Christopher Hankins, 42, Kouts, shot, July 24.

26. Nicholas Gillis, 25, Gary, shot, August 7.

27. Juan Nieves, 21, Gary, shot, Aug. 14.

28. Dominic Smith, 33, Gary, shot, Aug. 29.

29. Mark Baker, 24, Merrillville, shot, Sept. 2.

30. Edwin Parker (Deloney), 17, Gary, shot, Sept. 21.

31. Clinton Warlick, 34, Gary, shot, Oct. 6.

32. Dontay Cox, 27, Gary, shot, Oct. 16.

33. Domonique Greenlaw, 25, Griffith, shot, Nov. 7.

34. Aaron Bishop, 38, Gary, shot, Dec. 3.

35. Unknown Doe, unknown, Dec. 24. (pending)

Other Lake County homicides**

Crown Point

1. Brandon Huseman, 26, stabbed, Nov. 24.

Dyer

1. Mayumi Hashimoto, 44, shot, Sept. 9.

East Chicago

1. Timothy Bedoy, 43, beaten, March 8.

2. McKenzie Smalley, 2 months, beaten, June 25.

3. Drake Morris Jr., 29, shot, Aug. 26

4. Jonathan Valdez, 22, shot, Aug. 26.

Griffith

1. Parrish L. Myles, 38, shot July 22.

Hammond

1. Victor Adams, 34, stabbed, Jan. 13.

2. Rosemary Comanse, 47, shot, May 15.

3. Denise Collier, 55, strangled, June 7.

4. Travis Nunn, 22, shot, July 18.

5. Lisa J. Puente, 21, shot, July 23.

6. Roberto M. Perez, 21, stabbed, Oct. 29.

7. Jason DeGroot Jr., 10, shot, Nov. 15.

Hobart

1. Dawn Fital, 45, strangled, June 16.

Lake County (unincorporated Calumet Twp.)

1. Theodore Roe, 20, shot, July 29.

Lowell

1. Anne Stolarz, 84, shot, Aug. 8.

Merrillville

1. Frederick L. McKinley, 45, shot, May 19.

2. Anna Schulz, 80, stabbed, July 6.

Munster

1. Jose Garnello, 21, shot, Oct. 4.

Whiting

1. David Ruzich, 58, stabbed, Oct. 13.

*Source: Gary police and Post-Tribune records. **Source: Lake County coroner records. Note: Some victims who were injured in Lake County may have been pronounced dead in other counties and are not included in the coroner’s records; similarly, the Lake County coroner was responsible for autopsies when victims died at a Lake County facility after being transported from outside the county.

Article Extras

Updated: January 2, 2012 7:53AM

GARY — The final tally for homicides in 2011 is a mix of good news and bad.

Thirty-five people died violently at the hands of their fellow man in Gary, a number so low no one can remember the last time it was less than 40 victims.

The population also is greatly reduced. At 80,294, the city’s homicide rate can’t be compared to major metropolitan areas.

But as the second largest city in Lake County, Gary still has more homicides than the rest of the county combined. Records provided by Lake County Coroner Thomas Philpot show his office handled 25 homicides outside Gary, including four that occurred in Illinois outside his jurisdiction.

While Gary’s violent death rate is low, other factors remain predictably the same. Most victims are young, black men dead from gunshot wounds. And most of the violence can be linked to drugs, gangs, or both.

Gary police Sgt. John Jelks, a veteran investigator and coordinator of the department’s Narcotics-Vice Unit, said drug trade spawns crime on every level, from petty theft to murder.

“Gary has received flack for being the murder capital and supplier of drugs to other communities, but people come in to our city daily and contribute to the drug problem, which contributes to crime. It hurts the city and its citizens. The drug money goes to different gangs to re-supply drugs, buy weapons and continues to victimize the good people of the city,” Jelks said.

Outsiders who believe that innocent people are likely to be the victims of a violent death are wrong, Jelks said. “If you are involved in drugs, then you’re involved in criminal activity and it makes you more likely to be the victim,” he said.

The more notable homicides in Gary include the first violent death of the year, a police-involved shooting of Ellison Frye, a Miller man who tried to use his car to strike a Gary police officer early Jan. 1. Prosecutors determined police were justified.

The final death, technically not classified as a homicide yet, was the discovery of a burned, decomposed body found Christmas Eve in a Midtown alley.

The youngest homicide victim actually didn’t die in 2011. It was May 4 when Lake County police found the body of 13-year-old Christian Choate buried under concrete in a mobile home park where he had lived with his family until his disappearance in April 2009. Details of the abuse he suffered emerged after police began questioning relatives. His father and stepmother have been charged with his death.

Alvin Isaac, 52, was the oldest victim in 2011. He was a witness to the November 2009 homicide of his friend, Joseph King. Isaac was killed before he could testify in court against a suspect in that case.

No help on cold cases

The Violent Crimes Unit began the year using free time to focus on cold cases, as it had in 2010. As part of the effort, the Post-Tribune weekly published details of an unsolved homicide. Although investigators received calls from victims’ families asking to have their loved one featured, they didn’t get a single tip to help further any investigation.

New Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson said that by improving communication between residents and police officers, the community will be safer.

“I want to bring community-oriented policing to the city in its truest and purest form. People don’t typically do homicides in a vacuum. There is always someone who knows something and the only way you get people to talk is to have them see police officers as individuals who can help solve a problem,” she said.

Freeman-Wilson has been working with Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter’s staff to launch a program aimed at drug dealers that would give first-time offenders a chance to avoid prison by obtaining employment and education. “The first step is we have to make the (drug) buys,” she said.

Jelks noted his unit has been cut from 12 to four members, which is not enough to conduct undercover buys with adequate coverage and surveillance. The cuts came after Sgt. Anthony Q. Stanley was named chief in August. Freeman-Wilson said she was unaware of the drug unit’s status and would investigate the rash of transfers Stanley made since learning he would not be Freeman-Wilson’s chief.

The new mayor said she wants to educate the public about what to expect from the police department. “We need to tell people that if they need to make a report about a burglary and there’s a robbery happening at the same time, the police will respond to the robbery first, not just say a car is on its way,” Freeman-Wilson said.

Lack of jobs, poverty contribute to crime

Experts agree that poverty and unemployment contribute to the prevalence of crime here.

Gary City Court Judge Deidre Monroe recognizes the link between crime and joblessness. When defendants appear before her, she asks questions to determine bond for their release from jail. “Where do you work?” she asks. Many times those who stand before her are unemployed.

“If you had a job, you’d be in bed asleep at 4 in the morning, instead of out on the streets getting in trouble,” she told one young man. If she releases someone from jail, she will often require them to bring in proof they’re out looking for jobs.

“Unemployment plays greatly into it. The more down time there is, the more opportunity to be involved in crimes,” she said.

Using her annual drug court statistics as an example, Monroe said about 75 percent of those appearing are unemployed. To successfully complete the drug court program and have charges dismissed, the participant must get a high school diploma or GED.

“With that diploma, they have a better chance of getting a job. It won’t be a Fortune 500 executive spot, but an opportunity for entry level. I ask myself if they would have gotten that diploma without drug court,” Monroe said. The drug court program sees few repeat offenders, and Monroe credits its strenuous requirements as a major factor.

Indiana University Northwest sociology Professor Charles Gallmeier studied inner city lifestyles for four years on the south side of Chicago. He immersed himself in the lives of “strong, loving, decent families” who struggled against a culture created in an environment of poverty, unemployment and frustration.

“The street culture often wins because it controls public spaces,” Gallmeier said. In a world where joblessness, drug use and crime prevail “the social structure remains the same. Even though people fight it daily, you will have the same outcome. It creates a sense of hopelessness.”

Reach Lori Caldwell at 648-3258