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Jenni Farrow/The Daily Reflector
Greenville Police Chief William Anderson meets with business owners and community members at the Tavern on Fourth Wednesday afternoon to discuss how to improve downtown saftey.
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Business owners get update
The Daily Reflector
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Officials told downtown Greenville business owners who packed a Fourth Street bar today that an arrest was forthcoming in a drive-by shooting that killed two on Tuesday.
Club and restaurant owners filled the Tavern on Fourth at 1 p.m. to meet with Greenville police and city officials in the wake of the incident at The Other Place that killed an ECU student and a downtown pizza parlor manager.
Chief William Anderson told the group officers were still looking for former professional basketball player James Earl Richardson, 32, who is charged with two counts of murder in the incident.
Anderson said he was confident Richardson would be in custody soon and that the investigation had developed a strong case thanks to information provided by witnesses and staff at The Other Place.
Officers suspect Richarchson fired on The Other Place hitting Edgar Landon Blackley, 21, an East Carolina University student, and Charles Andrew “Drew” Kirby, 27, manager of Michaelangelo's Pizza across the street from the bar.
The incident has raised questions about the safety downtown. Owners and workers from more than a dozen establishments discussed the issue with police, city administrators including manager Wayne Bowers, and elected officials including Mayor Pat Dunn and several City Council members.
Business owners said they would be mindful of promotions that contribute to troubling behavior downtown, such as drink specials that make it easy for patrons to overindulge.
Gene Sasser of the Pitt County Drug and Alchohol Enforcement unit said officers need to do a better job of enforcing existing laws, such as rules that require private clubs to ban nonmembers.
Anderson said the department's downtown deployment plan would be evaluated, as it is supposed to be after such incidents.
He said the department will be expanding patrol areas rearranging points where police presence is needed downtown.
A concensus of the group was that a mechanism for better communication among the business people, city officials and law enforcement, such as regular meetings, was necessary.
Tuesday's problem started inside The Other Place at 207 E. Fifth St., between Cotanche Street and Reade Circle, about 2 a.m., according to police.
Richardson reportedly was intimidating patrons in the bar, leading to an altercation between him and staff members, who escorted him out.
He then allegedly drove by, or was driven by the nightclub in a late-model, white BMW and opened fire on the club, Anderson said. The possibility of other suspects being involved in the shooting is being investigated, he said.
Blackley and Kirby apparently were shot in the upper body, police spokesman Cpl. Kip Gaskins said. One died en route to Pitt County Memorial Hospital, the other at the hospital, Gaskins said.
The two victims were not involved in the incident and were standing apart on the sidewalk outside when the shots were fired from the gunman, the police chief said.
Investigators located the BMW at 11 a.m. parked on McDowell Street, he said.
The chief also said surveillance cameras mounted on poles on the street might have recorded the vehicle driving from the scene, but investigators were reviewing the footage on Tuesday.
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Your comments
Police
07/03/2009 10:13:12 PM
The ECU Chief has had resources before now and has not used them. I agree with other posters on other threads. WVU, Snowball, Tazer, Dorm Attacks, walking out on interviews. Time for him to leave, PLEASE!
Suggest removaldee
07/03/2009 08:52:01 PM
I would make a comment but The local political groups would just remove it becuase it does not conform to thier agenda. The truth is hard to hear. instead of hounding the paper about saying things that hurt your feelings.
Suggest removalMaybe they should become a little more active in cleaning their niehborhoods. The 1st addmendment goes for us all!!! thats why we have the 2nd amendment.!!!
Time
07/02/2009 04:01:30 PM
To Vickie, You obviously don't work or you are in an office without color. You can group blacks and white together and they have fun and enjoy eahc other..To all the comment makers: not all white people are racist and not all black people are thugs! Thanks "GoPirate" for clearing up some stuff for Vickie.. she must be in early "memory loss"
Suggest removalecu student
07/02/2009 03:55:33 PM
the problem is not the drink specials and underage drinking. leave that to ALE officers anyways (GPD needs to chill with drinking tickets) the problem is that the GPD cops hang out at stop shop instead of patroling the streets where people get shot, held up, and sexually assulted on a regular basis. get your priorities in check GPD
Suggest removaldont care
07/02/2009 03:35:28 PM
Get real! The bar owners do not give a damn about anyone or anything..oh yes..except MONEY!!
Suggest removaljack
07/02/2009 03:16:35 PM
you darn fools
Suggest removalthis whole political thing is a charade
drink specials are the problem??
are you all crazy
the problem is 14 bars in a block area of downtown
too many people, too little space
Y
07/02/2009 02:43:05 PM
Raise the drink prices?! Are you kidding me? Wow, these bar owners will say anything to make a dollar.
Suggest removalPro-Development
07/02/2009 01:08:24 PM
Yes, thugs are a problem. But how many tax dollars are raised by these businesses selling Penny Draft and Liqour to pay for the extra law enforcement required? Put windows on these clubs and make them visible during the night and day. That way those bars that do 80% of their business off of underage drinkers would have to change their act and the appearance of their business.
Suggest removalGoPirates
07/02/2009 01:05:53 PM
To Vickie
Suggest removalAre you serious?? Just because some people make bad choices doesnt speak for the rest of us! I am white and grew up with plenty of black people and still have plenty of black friends I hang around and we get along great!! Just becaseu some ignorant people always play the race card, doesnt mean the rest do it!!
cj
07/02/2009 12:48:25 PM
college kids and drink specials are not the problem. thugs are. fix the problem. the city leaders are an absolute joke. anderson, worried about what it costs to do their jobs? no wonder they harass the drunken 20 yo. it's all about the money, huh? Mister Dunn is useless and bowers is well overpaid for his duties. fix our thugging problem or this city will go down the drain. shoot a few maybe, get rough. just get the job done.
Suggest removalMink
07/02/2009 10:55:11 AM
No matter what the bars charge there will always be crime when you mix college students and a poverty stricken community. Maybe if the police spent less time patrolling the streets in the hunt for drunken 19 year olds to give tickets and more time looking for the real criminals downtown Greenville will be a safer place.
Suggest removalseth
07/02/2009 09:18:38 AM
Mayor Pat Dunn is a joke...I believe this is the first time she has ever spoke out since being in office. Not being proactive and hiring and idiot for police chief will bit you in the butt.
Suggest removalseth
07/02/2009 09:18:37 AM
Mayor Pat Dunn is a joke...I believe this is the first time she has ever spoke out since being in office. Not being proactive and hiring and idiot for police chief will bit you in the butt.
Suggest removalhummm
07/02/2009 09:15:30 AM
Lets see lets get everyone wasted .then turn them loose.isnt that what they did to the Indians.Bar owners take some responabilty.Yea that guys a waste of life.But you had no problem taking his money
Suggest removalVickie
07/02/2009 08:55:21 AM
Since when did Gville start the clubbing scene with the colored folks?This isn't Florida.You can't group white's and blacks together and EVER expect a good outcome.Cultures and Values are too different.
Suggest removalLyla Washburn
07/01/2009 10:10:33 PM
So the Greenville streets are safe? NOT!I am extrememly disappointed by the mayors quote that all citizens need to pull together...how about the G'vl police do their job and arrest those who break the law rather than depending on innocent citizens doing their job for them and trying to convince citizens that we are a safe city!
Suggest removalto bd
07/01/2009 08:55:32 PM
Shut up.
Suggest removalPlease.
duke
07/01/2009 07:07:47 PM
My heart and prayers go out to the families of the victims that were killed in this drive by.I will pray for the person that did this I know him. This is not the time to be calling people black cloud, or crackers. We should be thinking about the families who lost there love ones. Those of you using these terms you are ignorant as hell.
Suggest removalkane
07/01/2009 05:27:15 PM
If somebody were to come up to me and ask me to go into business with them downtown or anywhere near the west side I'd tell them to go to hell. Until the authorities get some sort of control in these areas, business will not not flurish.
Suggest removalk
07/01/2009 05:12:10 PM
the greenville pd is an overall joke. the bottom of the barrell is placed downtown. the majority of their time is spent keeping sorority girls from "loitering" while the thugs who know how to use their guns are given a pass.
Suggest removalnot enough
07/01/2009 05:10:56 PM
Anybody from DR, the autorities, or business owners want to tell us what else was talked about? It'd be nice to find out if it was constructive or not. From reading this article it seems like the discussion focused more on what the business owners could change on their own and not how the police could help to make downtown safer.
Suggest removalA glimpse things won't change
07/01/2009 04:55:49 PM
Apparently Rumors did not take the drink special think to seriously...just got this message about tonight:
Suggest removalIts 32oz Wednesday (no cover till 11)
$1 32oz wells, $1 32oz Budlight, $2 Soco and Lime, $3 Crown Royal, $4 Trash Cans, Sex in a Cup (...if you gotta know the price you cant afford it)
unk
07/01/2009 04:48:03 PM
My question is if this person was intimidating patrons at the bar, why wasn't the police called in then? My condolences to the families and friends of these 2 young people. They didn't deserve this. I pray this person is brought to justice or justice brought to him.
Suggest removallook at this link
07/01/2009 04:24:59 PM
http://www.usbasket.com/player.asp?Cntry=USA&PlayerID=33796&AmNotSure=1
Suggest removal???
07/01/2009 04:23:12 PM
To Crackers:
Suggest removalI know that! That's why I used it! There is no reason for name calling or to call each other out of our names!! Like I said it's not about us, but it's about the innocent lives that were lost!!
Question to the DR
07/01/2009 04:22:48 PM
Exactly who was in attendance from the city at today's 1:00 meeting?
Suggest removalhonored
07/01/2009 04:22:44 PM
wow, those owners should feel honored. Bowers, Anderson, Council members and Mister Pat Dunn all in the same room? what an honor...
Suggest removalnot enough
07/01/2009 04:13:19 PM
Drink specials arent the problem, the owners of the bar bear no responsibility for these murders. One man committed the crime. Focus on finding him, not telling bar owners not to have specials. I agree that meeting with them was necessary and a good things, but please tell me there was a lot more discussed that wasn't reported on.
Suggest removalCritic
07/01/2009 04:01:14 PM
I am still a critic - these thugs have no fear. they do what they want, when they want and they are not arrested often enough. the DA's ofice needs to quit pleading things out and sentence these thugs to hard time. Fry this punk
Suggest removalalumni
07/01/2009 04:00:03 PM
Its to understand that 2 random people were shot. Usually incidents like this that occur involve those who know eachother or had some sort of altercation. However, these kids werent even involved. It was so random, and thats what makes people feel unsafe.
Suggest removalme
07/01/2009 03:52:49 PM
I think that was a good idea for the Chief to meet with the business owners. In the past I have bashed him as much as anyone but I do have to admit that after watching the video of the press conference yesterday, he does seem to be well-spoken and seems to know what he is doing. I still say that he needs to make cracking down on gangs and gang violence the number one priority....ASAP!!!
Suggest removaltoday
07/01/2009 03:49:24 PM
The employees and other witnesses actually (gasp!) cooperated with police, and police have identified the suspect, identified and found the car, and are closing in on the arrest. This is not a coincidence folks. Imagine if folks cooperated more often.
Suggest removalcrackers
07/01/2009 03:44:36 PM
here's a little vocabulary education for ya. the term 'cracker' originated back in the days of slavery. a 'cracker' was the slave foreman. the one 'cracking' the whip.
Suggest removaldoes not mean 'saltine.'
???
07/01/2009 03:11:42 PM
To Greenville Kid:
Suggest removalYou sound exactly like a "kid!" Colored?? I mean really would you want to be called a "cracker?" Go somewhere and get some education and do something productive with your live that will help you get a new vocabulary. This is not about race...it's about 2 people who lost their lives...
concerned citizen
07/01/2009 02:40:02 PM
We need to take back the city and quit allowing the "BAD" people to tarnish, ruin, and keep a black cloud over Greenville and Pitt County. My heart and prayers go out to the families of both the innocent victims. They did not deserve this!
Suggest removalPost a Comment
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