Gun violence concerns Dover residents, police

Timothy Tearo had heard stories about the shootings and other violent crime that occurs on South New Street near downtown Dover.

Even though he has lived in Dover for more than five years and occasionally read about those crimes, he thought the stories were exaggerated. Tearo moved into the area in February despite the crime tales and knowing the area was fraught with drugs.

But the last three months have made Tearo second guess his decision to move to an apartment in the 100 block of S. New St. Since his arrival, there have been multiple shootings nearby and daily drug activity right up the street.

In April and May, there have been five shooting incidents on South New Street, including two shootings where victims sustained gunshot wounds. 

"I've always heard about this going on to this extent, but I never really believed it was this bad," Tearo said. "But they really do drug deals in front of old women and children around here. And there are so many shootings.

"It's gotten to the point where I don't go outside at night, and I walk my dog very close to home. And I never walk toward Division Street."

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Tearo lives in an area of the city where crime is commonplace. The area around South New Street, South Governors Avenue, South Bradford Street and South Kirkwood Street has seen more than its share of crime and is considered one of the worst areas in the city.

But violent crime seems to be spreading throughout the city, and an uptick in shootings and drug-related activity has residents and Dover police officials concerned.

On Friday, a press conference was held to address these concerns. Dover Police Chief Marvin C. Mailey Jr. and Mayor Robin Christiansen spoke to the media and said the police will take a no-tolerance stance in stopping the gun violence moving forward.

To date in 2017, Dover Police Department records show that there have been 23 shootings, including two homicides, an attempted homicide and 13 assaults.

"Despite our best efforts over the past several years to expand our community outreach, increase youth programs and increase enforcement efforts, we continue to see gun violence plague sections of our city," Mailey said during the press conference. "Our presence will be heavy. It will be unprecedented, and it will be vigorous in the downtown area and various other parts of the city we have identified as high-crime, high-violence areas. Enough is enough."

On Wednesday afternoon, two 28-year-old men became the city's 15th and 16th shooting victims. The two men were wounded in the shooting that occurred in the Capitol Green neighborhood.

According to a release, officers responded to the area for multiple reports of shots fired. Upon arrival, officers were told that one victim had run into the Thomas Collins building with a gunshot wound to his hand.

The victim said that he was outside filming a rap video when an unknown person shot at him. The victim refused medical treatment for his injury.  

Officials at Kent General Hospital then notified police that a second victim had been transported to the emergency room for a gunshot wound to his lower left leg. The second victim told police he ran to the parking lot of Dunkin' Donuts at East Water Street and South Du Pont Highway when an unknown person took him to the hospital.  

Both victims have been minimally cooperative with police to this point in the investigation, according to police officials.

Mailey addressed victim/witness cooperation during the press conference as an ongoing problem. Records indicate that in 2016, in nearly 33 percent of shootings, the victim didn't cooperate in the investigation. In 2015, that was the case in nearly half of the investigations.

"When our officers respond to a shooting scene, sometimes within seconds of it occurring, and every person claims to have seen nothing, it severely hurts our ability to solve those crimes," he said. "The majority of the time, the victims themselves refuse to cooperate with our investigations." 

Just a day before the Capital Green shootings – last Tuesday morning around 12:30 a.m. – a 27-year-old man was shot in the leg in the area of Walker Road and Saulsbury Road, police said.

Police say the victim arrived at Kent General Hospital with a gunshot wound but did not provide details other than being shot near the 7-Eleven at the Hamlet Shopping Center. 

The witness who transported the victim to the hospital said that he just happened to be in the area when he saw the victim with a gunshot wound.

While these shootings did not take place on New Street, Dover police officials recognize it as one of the highest crime areas of the city. Chief Mailey said increased patrols have helped, but crime there is still a problem.

"There is obviously great concern for the rash of gun violence that continues to plague the downtown area, specifically on New Street," Mailey said early last week. "We have maintained a consistent presence in the area, including conducting numerous drug investigations. This includes the arrest of four persons from Kirkwood Street on Tuesday for weapon and drug offenses, wrapping up a lengthy operation."

Mailey is referring to the Dover Police Department concluding a two-month investigation that resulted in the arrest of four suspects, with charges pending for two outstanding suspects on drug and weapons offenses. Many of the suspects are affiliated with a local gang, police officials said. One of the suspects is wanted for possessing a sawed-off shotgun. 

According to a Dover police release, officers executed search warrants on two separate properties at 10:55 a.m. in the first block of S. Kirkwood St. The raids yielded five firearms, 16 grams of crack cocaine, 35 grams of marijuana, 34 ecstasy pills, as well as codeine and oxycodone pills.

When Mailey was sworn in as the city's 14th police chief more than two weeks ago, he talked about the need to rid the city of drugs and guns and vowed to continue efforts to make this happen. He said every year, the Dover Police Department is taking more and more guns off the street.

The new chief said that when he started in 1993, guns were rarely retrieved on traffic stops. Now it’s commonplace, he said.

“You see that virtually every traffic stop, we’re taking a gun out of somebody’s hands,” he said. “That’s good, but it’s alarming.”

Mailey said there have also been more complaints of shots fired throughout the city each year. He said the problem with guns is people are shooting at each other and oftentimes bystanders are hit.

“A bullet knows no friend, and that’s the problem," Mailey said. “Anytime we talk about a loss of life, it’s a priority. Thank God we don’t see as many people shot in our community as in other communities. We don’t want it to get to those numbers, so we want to cut it off right now. We are going to actively and aggressively take these guns off the street.”

Rising numbers and concern

With 16 people already victims of shootings, the city is on pace to easily eclipse 2016 –when 19 people were shot, including three homicides – and could even reach 2015 numbers, which was one of the most violent and deadly years in the city's history.

In 2015, there were 30 people shot, including a record seven homicides. Through the first five months of 2017, there have been two homicides, one attempted homicide and 13 assaults using guns.

The total number of shooting incidents in the city is currently 23. In 2016, there were 40 shooting incidents, and in 2015, the number reached 39. These incidents include shots fired at property.

For longtime Dover resident Delores Reed, those numbers are "crazy." Since Reed moved to the 200 block of N. New St. five years ago, she has witnessed crime making its way into her neighborhood.

"People are dying and being shot left and right in this city," she said. "There is nothing you can do in my neighborhood. The drugs and the crime are just terrible here now. I don't even come out at night anymore."

Reed said there has been an increase in gunshots in her neighborhood and said just recently on the next street up, a car was shot.

"It’s pretty scary and it’s very concerning," she said. "I’m ready to leave, even though I do see a lot of police in the area. They are starting to patrol more now and walking on foot because it is so bad."

Reed believes Dover's plunge into higher crime can be blamed on kids in the city having nothing to do, which invariably leads them to drugs. 

"There is nothing for the young people to do here anymore," she said. "They shut down all of the clubs because of shootings and fights, so there is nothing for them to do but sell drugs. The drugs are the main problem. You see drug deals going down right in the open. It’s a real shame this is happening here."

Howard and Sue Saffield, owners of the new Habitat for Humanity house on North New Street, agree. They say in the more than two months they've lived there since moving from Hartly, they haven't had any problems.

But that hasn't stopped the Saffields from being keenly aware of their surroundings, especially at night.

"Nobody goes out at night around here," Howard said. "We're fortunate because most everything happens below Division Street. But if there is trouble, neighbors around here have each other's backs."

Crime talk

The increasing number of shootings in Dover has residents on the Nextdoor community site posting more often, warning people not to walk downtown during the evening hours and wondering what can be done to curb the growing number of crimes.

Nextdoor is a private social network for different neighborhoods within a community. It provides a way for neighbors to talk online about crime and other topics that affect the community. 

John Walson is a frequent poster to the Nextdoor site and often keeps others updated on the incidents that occur around the city. He calls the increase in shootings and crime "alarming."

Walson lives in The Greens of Dover and regularly posts on the Bicentennial Village Nextdoor site. He said the shooting last week in the 1400 block of S. Farmview Drive was too close to home for comfort.

"I'm on the west side of the city, and crime is starting to creep over," he said. "It's a real concern. You live in a place where you don't know if you are going to get shot. It's getting closer to home, so there is a concern."

While Walson shares that concern with many in his neighborhood and throughout the city, he believes finding a solution is paramount for a city whose residents are sometimes afraid to go out at night. He said the core of this terrible trend is the respect – or disrespect – for human life.

"We need to open dialogue and work this out as a community," said Walson, who is for holding frequent town hall meetings to discuss crime issues and finding common ground. "Once you know your neighbor, it's harder to shoot somebody."

Mailey and Christiansen agree and vowed Friday to reach a solution to the frequent shootings that have plagued the city.

Mailey said the DPD has been running patrol saturation in trouble areas since December 2016, as well as watching the crime trends and addressing them in real time. He said the department also has a crime prevention program that was reinitiated over the last week or so that has been successful in the past.

"We need our community to stand up, come together and help us help you," Mailey said. "We cannot be an effective Police Department without the assistance of the people we serve to speak up when they see something. You should not have to tolerate gun violence, or any crime, in your neighborhood."

Reach Jerry Smith at jsmith17@delawareonline.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JerrySmithTNJ.