Eyes on Crime

Source: Killeen Police Department

By Victor O’BrienKilleen Daily Herald

As residents and community leaders question the city’s crime rate, all eyes are on the Killeen Police Department for answers and solutions.

The city ranked highest in Texas for burglar-ies per capita based on 2006 numbers, accord-ing to statistics from the Department of Public Safety released in 2007. Killeen was also ranked as the fifth most violent city in Texas by Con-gressional Quarterly in November.

However, four months into 2008, crime totals have dropped enough that Police Chief Dennis Baldwin believes 2006’s rankings are older than yesterday’s news.

“We’re safer today than one year ago,” Bald-win said in March.

He’s been showing that to the Killeen City Council each month. After learning Killeen’s burglary rate led the state, the council called for action. Baldwin began briefing the council monthly on current crime statistics in the city compared to a year ago.

Baldwin described the decline in burglaries, rapes and vehicle thefts as a “sharp reduction” that he expects will take Killeen off the list of most violent cities and end its status as the state leader in burglaries per capita.

Baldwin created a burglary unit near the end of 2007 to combat the burglary problem. The unit allowed detectives and officers to hone in on burglaries and suspects.

“It’s allowed me to take a certain number of these detectives and let them focus on noth-ing but burglary investigations,” said Sgt. Pat Turck, who directs the property crime division

that includes the burglary unit.“They don’t work anything else, so they’re not

constantly getting bombarded by a variety of different property cases and a heavy caseload. Their sole job is to investigate burglaries.”

Detectives have been able to follow up on leads with greater efficiency and tenacity because it’s their specific beat and they know the major play-ers who are committing the burglaries.

“They know people involved. They know their associates, the vehicles they drive and the areas of town they operate in,” Turck said.

Also, KPD has exercised aggressive tactics to curb overall crime in problem neighborhoods with higher calls for service. Operation Blue Canopy led to 64 arrests, 187 citations and 687

Night on the townHerald reporters shadow police officers Pages 6-7

Vol. 56, No. 160

Success storyKansas town shares crime-reduction tale Page 3

www.kdhnews.com/crime

We Support our SoldierS

Status reportInformation on current criminal investigations Page 5

Editor's note �� 2Comparing communities �� 2-3Harker Heights crime drops �� 3Criminals tell why �� 4

KPD wish list �� 5Updates on recent cases �� 5Nighttime ridealongs ��6-7Safety tips �� 8

Inside Eyes on Crime

SuNday, JuNe 8, 2008 1 dollar

Do you feel safe

in Killeen?

“Definitely. The people around me seem to be just friendly and there’s somebody

watching out for each other. I don’t get a

sense of fear anytime I’m out, even at night.”

Christine Wojcik

“Only in the daytime, not at nighttime. There’s too many

single, young teenagers out, looking to do

nothing but either steal or try to follow you to

your car.”Lynn Martin

“I’m from a bigger city so being here in a smaller, military community, I feel

a lot safer.”Nicole Pasley

Residents share their views on crime in the city.

A look At crime

in killeen

Killeen police work to lower crime rate

“It (Killeen) is not safe. By my neighborhood it’s not bad. ... I never

go to downtown Killeen.”Maria Gomez

“No, because I live down in an area

where police hardly come down. ... I’ve got

my guard dog.”Michelle Smith

“There are a lot of things that go on ... they pretty much add up to

something.”Frank Morgan

Please see Crime, Page �

Herald/TyreLL JOhNSON

Stat ist ics provided by the Ki l leen Pol ice Depar tment give a monthly look at burglar ies in Ki l leen from January 2007 through Apri l of this year. Burglar ies have been on the minds of residents s ince Ki l leen ranked highest in the state for the cr ime.

www.kdhnews.com/crime

“Some people are breaking into stuff all

the time, and people are doing things like hit- and-runs all the time.”

Anisha Smiley

Surveillance videos from pending casesShare your thoughts on Killeen crime

www�kdhnews�com/crime • Killeen Daily Herald

By Kevin M. SmithKilleen Daily Herald

If there was one issue every can-didate in the May 10 Killeen City Council and mayoral election had on their list and could agree on, it was crime.

“Nothing else matters if you don’t have a handle on your crime rate,” said Maureen Jouett, who fin-ished second in the mayoral race.

Jouett, who served as mayor from 2000-2006 and on the council before that, said every study done in the past that gauged public perception or gathered input from residents showed a concern for safety.

“We really need to get the word out that we’re not the soft under-belly,” Jouett said.

Lahr Parsons, who finished fourth in the mayoral race, said the police are too busy.

“The only time you see them, they’ve got the lights on and they’re scooting,” Parsons said.

He said the Killeen Police De-partment officers are good at what they do, but there are not enough of them.

With 240 officers serving 120,000 residents — “something’s not fair here,” Parsons said.

He said despite the decline in the statistics, the city has a way to go to improve the crime situation.

“Take a look at the crime — just take a look at it, I don’t care about how sta-tistically crime is going down,” Par-sons said, noting he still frequently reads about burglaries. “So now we’re having 12 instead of 13.”

Parsons applauded the recent Blue Canopy programs that institute a no-toler-ance policy for problem areas in town.

“We need more of what the police depart-

ment has started,” Parsons said, referring to the Blue Canopy program. “That tells you they’re out there, they’re doing something,

they’re finding things.”In his monthly briefing to the Killeen

City Council on May 27, Police Chief Dennis Baldwin said the recent Blue Canopy program — in both its phases — had resulted in 64 arrests, 187 cita-tions and 687 citizen contacts.

Scott Cosper, who raked in the most votes in the Killeen council race, said public safety is always a high priority for him.

“We still have a lot of work to do,” Co-sper said. “We still need to make that a priority.”

Cosper, who served three previous terms on the council, said he put fight-ing crime as a top issue for his cam-paign because he sees it as a quality-of-life issue.

Billy Workman, who also won a seat in the election with the second-highest number of votes, said a city like Killeen can never have enough police.

“Our city cannot operate and take care of its people if you don’t have boots on the ground,” Workman said.

He noted that being the home to Fort Hood and so close to other cities means many people from outside Killeen fre-quently visit the city.

Workman, who is serving his sec-ond term, said there is too much van-dalism, violent crime and accidents in Killeen.

“I think we need to be more focused on giving the police department more of what they need,” Workman said.

Larry Cole, who received the third most votes to keep his council seat, said nobody likes the reputation of having the highest burglary rate per capita in the state.

“The citizens need to feel safe and that their property is safe,” Cole said.

“I think it is the duty of the government to pro-vide as safe (an environment as) possible to residents.”

City manager: Police force will grow with populationBy Kevin M. SmithKilleen Daily Herald

Killeen is growing.In the past 18 years, Killeen’s popu-

lation has increased an estimated 45 percent.

According to the U.S. Census Bu-reau, Killeen’s population in 1990 was 63,535; in 2000, it was 86,911; and a sur-vey in 2006 estimated the population at 102,003. Killeen City Manager Connie Green estimates the population today to be about 115,000 and growing.

Green, in numerous presentations, said every population projection he has seen indicates Killeen’s popula-tion will be about 250,000 by 2030.

In March, the U.S. Census Bureau released a report that ranked the Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood region as the 14th fastest-growing metropolitan area in the nation.

In the current fiscal year’s budget, the council approved hiring 17 new police officers to keep the ratio of two officers per 1,000 residents.

In this year’s budget, Green said

to expect the same. In a budget town hall meeting May 23, Green said safety is consistently the No. 1 concern he hears from residents.

“We are aggressively addressing that,” Green said.

The largest allocation of the city’s budget this year — $19.5 million (32 percent) — went to the police de-partment. Some of that money in-creased pay to officers and funded new officers.

But personnel is not the only big ex-penditure for the police department. The capital outlay portion of the bud-get allocated money for the new police headquarters, to be built on Feather-line Road on the south side of town. The new police headquarters is ex-pected to open in 2009.

Killeen is growing south: The city annexed about 4,194 acres south of town in January. City officials cited the need to extend Killeen’s extrater-ritorial jurisdiction and accommo-date growth as the reasons for the annexation.

In a May 28 budget town hall meet-ing, Green reported the city currently has a population of 115,000 with 38,500 utility customers on 54 square miles.

Killeen is not the only place in Cen-tral Texas that’s growing. An announce-ment last December revealed that the

Army’s largest post will get even big-ger. Fort Hood has nearly 47,000 sol-diers stationed there, Brig. Gen. Fred-erick Rudesheim said in a December announcement. He estimated it would be near 50,000 soldiers by 2011. The U.S.

Census Bureau reported Fort Hood’s population at 33,711 in 2000.

Harker Heights’ population was 12,841 in 1990, 17,308 in 2000 and 22,842 in 2006, according to the Census Bureau.

“I’m a substitute at the schools and I hear a lot about gangs and

shootings and things like that. It’s not what it was

like ... 10 years ago.”Melissa Bond

“Certain areas just look really sketchy and the people that I’ve seen and experiences that I’ve had aren’t very

pleasant.”Christina Smith

“I’m used to being in a small town. ... You can leave your doors unlocked. You

can’t leave your doors unlocked here.”

Christy Blecke

“... Very safe because I’m a soldier. If you’ve

survived the Army, you can survive

anything, that’s how I feel. Plus, I grew up in the projects, so it has

nothing on that.”Marcus Marshall

Do you feel safe

in Killeen?Residents share their views

on crime in the city.

About this section:Before we are editors,

reporters, photographers or designers, we are residents of this area� Like our readers, we eat here, shop here, live here and raise our families here� Crime affects each of us� Whether it influences where we buy a house or how late we decide to go out for dinner, we think about our safety�

The Killeen Police Department reacted quickly and strongly to the burglary issue in town� Through their efforts, the city is on track to have fewer burglaries for 2008� The burning question remains, however: Do we feel safe in our town?

Well, the Daily Herald wanted to know how residents felt, so we compiled our own crime team to ask around� You will see some of their answers throughout the pages of this production�

We didn’t stop there� Reporters joined police officers from Killeen, Copperas Cove and Harker Heights to see what it was like in the area at night�

We looked to similar communities in the nation and have compared our

statistics to theirs� These cities were chosen based on their crime statistics and the demographics of their areas� Military communities were selected, as were larger cities in Texas�

We sat down with the chief of police to discuss, in detail, how police are battling the burglary epidemic� We asked City Council members how this affected their campaigns and how they plan to help�

We talked with attorneys, prosecutors and defense, to get their take on things�

In the end, we have a comprehensive look at crime in Killeen� The answer to the big question still remains unknown, however� After reading these pages, hopefully, you will be able to grasp what KPD is up against and how they plan to help us all feel safe at night� We hope you have your own answer to the question: Do you feel safe in Killeen?

When you have your answer, let us know� Send letters to the editor to dmiller@kdhnews�com and leave a message on our Web site at www�kdhnews�com/crime�

LubbockPopulation: 210,178Population Density: 1,738�2* people/sq� mile

Racial MakeupWhite: 160,052 or 76�2%Black or African American: 15,914 or 7�6%American Indian, Alaska Native: 1,791 or 0�9%Asian: 3,830 or 1�8%Some other race: 24,523 or 11�7%

Age breakdownUnder 5 years : 16,109 or 7�7%18 years and over: 158,701 or 75�5%65 years and over: 23,779 or 11�3%Median age: 29�6

Gender breakdownMale: 102,017 or 48�5%Female: 108,161 or 51�5%

Violent Crimes per 1,000 residents in 2007: 9�12Property Crimes per 1,000 residents in 2007: 54�6

WacoPopulation: 119,394Population Density: 1,350�6* people/sq� mile

Racial MakeupWhite 82,017 68�7%Black or African American: 24,602 20�6%American Indian and Alaska Native: 186 0�2%Asian: 2,940 2�5%Some other race: 7,002 5�9%Two or more races: 2,647 2�2%

Age breakdownUnder 5 years: 9,874 8�3%18 years and over: 87,463 73�3%65 years and over: 13,170 11�0%Median age: 26�8

Gender breakdownMale: 56,946 47�7%Female: 62,448 52�3%


DallasPopulation: 1,192,538Population Density: 3,469�9* people/sq� mile

Racial MakeupWhite: 630,392 or 52�9%Black or African American: 288,187 or 24�2%American Indian, Alaska Native: 5,232 or 0�4%Asian: 27,947 or 2�3%Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander: 748 or 0�1%Some other race: 225,641 or 18�9%Two or more races: 14,391 or 1�2%Hispanic or Latino (of any race): 513,739 or 43�1%

Age breakdownUnder 5 years: 109,866 or 9�2%18 years and over: 868,892 or 72�9%65 years and over: 98,642 or 8�3%Median age: 31�9

Gender breakdownMale: 614,331 or 51�5% Female: 578,207 or 48�5%

Violent Crimes per 1,000 residents in 2007: 10�69Property Crimes per 1,000 residents in 2007: 67�76 Sources: U�S� Census Bureau 2006 statistics, *based on 2000 statistics

Editor's note

Since the news broke that Killeen ranked as the fifth most dangerous city in Texas — with the highest burglary rate in the state — the Killeen City Council has kept a close eye on the police department�

Last November, a report by publishers of Congressional Quarterly magazine revealed Killeen’s ranking with nationwide crime data in its 14th annual City Crime Rankings based on numbers from 2006�

In December, Killeen Police Chief Dennis Baldwin addressed the City Council about the crime rate and what would be done to lower it�

Since then, Baldwin has been briefing the council each month on the latest crime statistics — so far so good with each month being lower than the previous one and better than 2007�

Councilman Juan Rivera said those briefings have been well-received�

“I’m glad the people who got elected have a mentality for public safety,” Rivera said�

City Manager Connie Green said the briefings were requested by the council�

He said the briefings give the police chief an opportunity to have a dialogue with the council about the status of crime and how things can be done to do better�

Rivera said the police department is a high priority for him as a councilman�

“I think the chief of police is doing a great job,” Rivera said�

Rivera wants the council to focus on getting the police department the

personnel and equipment it needs to lower the crime rate and make Killeen safer�

“We cannot expect to fight crime without police officers and without proper equipment,” Rivera said�

In his most recent briefing, Baldwin revealed crime statistics year-to-date

through April� Those numbers continued to show a downward trend� Baldwin reported that, year-to-date, violent crimes have decreased by 14 incidents compared to the same period last year and, year-to-date, nonviolent crimes have decreased by 340 incidents�

Councilman Larry Cole said city statistics are misleading�

“We are manning our police department based on the civilian statistics,” Cole said�

The per capita rate is higher than the number of people the police department serves because of the number of soldiers stationed at Fort Hood who are frequently in Killeen and the close proximity of several other cities, Cole said, adding that there need to be more officers on the streets�

With the added personnel in the Fiscal Year 2007-08 budget, the police department would have 224 patrol officers, giving it about two officers per 1,000 residents� Green estimates Killeen’s population at about 115,000�

Fort Hood has nearly 47,000 soldiers stationed there�

“We’re going to have to come up with a plan,” Cole said�

— Kevin M. Smith

Killeen population keeps growing

Source: U.S. Census Bureau*City of Killeen estimate **City of Killeen projection based on previous growth


City Council candidates campaign against crimeCouncil hears monthly reports from police chief

Baldwin


2 Sunday, June 8, 2008 EyEs on CrimE

Killeen Daily Herald • www�kdhnews�com/crime

“I feel safe, I guess because being in the area for a while you kind of know where

to be, where not to be, just be observant.”

Art Contreras

Do you feel safe



“No, I live on 16th Street and I’ve been

stopped four different times by cops because

I’m a woman and there’s a lot of prostitutes.”Amber Beckham

“I feel pretty safe in Killeen because it’s a big city and a lot of us are military. I don’t think we have anything to worry

about.”Derek Jackson

By Kevin M. SmithKilleen Daily Herald

For several decades, Junction City, Kan. — home to Fort Riley — was not the place to be.

A high crime rate marred the city’s reputation. But now, the streets are relatively quiet, officials said.

“When I first started, we were one of the highest in the state for crime — probably the highest per capita in the nation,” said Junction City Po-lice Chief Bob Story, who has worked for the police department off and on since 1984.

Story and Geary County Attor-ney Steven Opat said stricter laws, tougher penalties and aggressive ac-tion cleaned up the city.

Junction City’s crime problem dated back to the 1970s.

“Any press that was read about Junction City was negative,” Opat said.

Story said there would be about six homicides a year at that time. Accord-ing to the FBI’s uniform crime report, there was just one homicide in 2006.

“I think things in Junction City have gotten a lot better and a lot safer,” Opat said.

Story said the most recent step to curb crime was when the police de-partment implemented the “broken window” theory. It’s a law enforce-ment theory, according to Story, that says if a person who has been in jail returns to a better community, they are not as tempted to commit crimes. He said a nicer-looking com-munity sends a message to residents that crime is not acceptable in that neighborhood. Story said criminals who return to a neighborhood af-ter serving a sentence — if it’s nicer than the way they left it — usually ei-ther change their ways or move to an-other community where crime is an accepted behavior.

“We have seen a huge, tremendous change in the crime by doing that,” Story said.

The theory originated from an arti-cle by James Wilson and George Kel-ling that appeared in The Atlantic Monthly magazine in 1982.

Story said the theory was put into practice by the Junction City Police Department in 1997 and really caught on between 2000 and 2002. Part of Junction City’s implementation of the theory involved placing code en-forcement activities under the police department.

Story said drugs are also a factor in the community. Story, who started as a Junction City narcotics officer, said that division is not nearly as busy as when he was working it. And that is clear across the board.

“Narcotics run a lot of our violent crimes,” Story said.

He said drug dealers do not typi-cally live in “good” neighborhoods.

Opat attributed the cleanup to ag-gressive police behavior and stricter convictions.

“Things became very aggressive,” said Opat, who was county attorney from 1979 to 1989 and has served in that position since 2003 after having a private practice.

Opat said he, then-Geary County Sheriff Bill Deppish and then-Police Chief Jerry Smith worked together to aggressively seek criminal convic-tions. He said among the things they targeted were drug gangs.

“We ended up smashing three sub-stantial drug rings,” Opat said.

Opat, who went to Junction City as a public defender in 1977, said he handled “nearly every crime imaginable.”

“I think what I’ve seen is a more ag-gressive approach and an imposition of serious consequences,” Opat said.

Opat recalled seeking and achiev-ing many homicide convictions,

“which made people realize we were trying to address the problem and this wasn’t a place for criminals to be,” Opat said.

Opat said the success can be attrib-uted to an unrelenting attitude.

“I think things over the years have stayed fairly consistent and fairly ag-gressive,” Opat said.

Story also said crime data for Junc-tion City needs to be qualified.

“Our crime rate may be per cap-ita, but that doesn’t count Fort Riley,” Story said.

He said Junction City’s population is estimated near 20,000 now and Fort

Riley is up to about 18,000. He said the per capita statistic can be skewed be-cause there are many soldiers on post who frequent the community.

Deployments also have an effect on crime, Story said. The number of sol-diers home has a “two-fold” crime factor. He said there are more people to commit crimes, but also more peo-ple to be the victims of crimes.

Story said with more soldiers in the community, there’s more cars to break into or things in homes to go after.

“There’s so much more opportu-nity for someone to be a victim,” Story said.

Nonviolent Crimes per 1,000 residents in 2007

Fayetteville,N.C.

Clarksville, Tenn.

Lawton, Okla.LubbockDallasWaco

Harker Heights

Copperas CoveKilleen

Source: Each city reported its own data.0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

KilleenPopulation: 95,874Population Density: 2,458�9* people/sq� mile

Racial Makeup White: 47,698 or 49�8%Black or African American: 33,270 or 34�7%American Indian, Alaska Native: 437 or 0�5%Asian: 3,301 3�4%Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander: 62 or 0�1%Some other race: 5,974 or 6�2%Two or more races: 5,132 or 5�4%Hispanic or Latino (of any race): 22,990 or 24�0%




Nearby Army post: Fort Hood*Population: 33,711

Racial MakeupWhite: 17,103 or 50�7%Black or African American: 10,651 or 31�6%American Indian, Alaska Native: 407 or 1�2%Asian: 719 or 2�1%Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander: 284 or 0�8%Some other race: 2,938 or 8�7%Two or more races: 1,609 or 4�8%Hispanic or Latino (of any race): 5,630 or 16�7%

Age breakdownUnder 5 years: 3,947 or 11�7%18 years and over: 22,477 or 66�7%65 years and over: 36 or 0�1%Median age: 21�4


Sources: U�S� Census Bureau 2006 statistics, *based on 2000 statistics

Fayetteville, N.C.Population: 164,261Population Density: 2,059�2* people/sq� mile





Nearby Army Post: Fort Bragg*Population: 29,183

Racial MakeupWhite: 16,942 or 58�1%Black or African American: 7,368 or 25�2%American Indian, Alaska Native: 336 or 1�2%Asian: 536 or 1�8%Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander: 255 or 0�9%Some other race: 2,419 or 8�3%Two or more races: 1,327 or 4�5%Hispanic or Latino (of any race): 4,603 or 15�8%

Age breakdownUnder 5 years: 3,247 or 11�1%18 years and over: 21,664 or 74�2%65 years and over 17 0�1%Median age: 22

Gender breakdown Male: 19,980 68�5%Female 9,203 31�5%

Sources: U�S� Census Bureau 2006 statistics,ci�fayetteville�nc�us, *based on 2000 statistics

Clarksville, Tenn.Population: 113,175Population Density: 1,090�6* people/sq� mile

Racial MakeupWhite: 75,582 or 67�9%Black or African American: 26,944 or 24�2%American Indian, Alaska Native: 766 or 0�7%Asian: 2,759 or 2�5%Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander:130 or 0�1Some other race: 1,253 or 1�1%Two or more races: 3,883 or 3�5%Hispanic or Latino (of any race): 6,152 or 5�5%

Age breakdownUnder 5 years: 9,424 or 8�5% 18 years and over: 79,201 or 71�1%65 years and over: 9,228 or 8�3% Median age: 29�9



Nearby Army post: Fort Campbell, Ky.*Population: 14,338

Racial Makeup White: 8,396 or 58�6%Black or African American: 3,703 or 25�8%American Indian, Alaska Native: 142 or 1�0%Asian: 248 or 1�7%Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander: 147 or 1�0%Some other race: 1,019 or 7�1%Two or more races: 683 or 4�8%

Age breakdownUnder 5 years: 2,316 or 16�2%18 years and over: 9,235 or 64�4%65 years and over: 7 or 0�0Median age: 21�4


Sources: U�S� Census Bureau 2006 statistics, *based on 2000 statistics

globalsecurity�org, Lawtonpd�com

Lawton, Okla.Population: 90,851Population Density: 1,234�5 people/sq� mile


Age breakdownUnder 5 years: 7,951 or 8�8%; 18 years and over: 63,482 or 69�9%; 65 years and over: 9,217 or 10�1%: Median age: 30�3


Violent Crimes per 1,000 residents in 2007: 7Property Crimes per 1,000 residents in 2007: 51�6

Nearby Army post: Fort Sill Pop.: 18,000

By Mason W. CanalesKilleen Daily Herald

HARKER HEIGHTS — The city saw a decrease in overall reported crimes for 2007.

“We do enjoy a low crime rate across the board,” said Mike Gentry, Harker Heights police chief.

With numbers based on Harker Heights having a population of 23,726, the city had a crime rate of 3,723.5 per 100,000 people in 2006, and in 2007, its crime rate per 100,000 people dropped to 3,118.9, ac-cording to the Texas Depart-ment of Public Safety.

The two crimes reported most in Harker Heights were larceny and burglary in 2007, with 452 reported incidents of larceny and 207 reported

incidents of burglary.Both of those levels are

down from the previous year, according to the Texas De-partment of Public Safety.

A bulk of the criminal ac-tivity includes larceny, better known as theft, and it is typi-cally the highest crime in any city, Gentry said.

“As Harker Heights has grown and the residential area has grown, we are concerned on lowering the crime rate on property,” Gentry said.

The concern about growth,

both residentially and com-mercially, bringing more crime is something the Harker Heights Police De-partment is trying to han-dle before it gets out of hand, Gentry said.

It is using enforcement techniques like CADET (crime analysis, direct en-forcement and technology) to keep Harker Heights’ property crime, as well as other crimes, low, Gentry said.

“CADET is a proactive, ag-

gressive move against prop-erty crime, even though those are low,” Gentry said. “If we don’t get on this now, it will overwhelm us in the future.”

An effective way to police a community is to see a prob-lem before it becomes a statis-tic, Gentry said. You do that by attacking the source and policing heavily on the minor crimes, because those people are more likely to commit more severe crimes in the future.

Gentry appreciates the City

Council’s ability to help with policing issues by making stricter ordinances such as the ones placed on adult-ori-ented businesses in Harker Heights and things like traf-fic issues, he said.

The community itself also does its fair share of keeping Harker Heights’ crime low, Gentry said.

“Our community really does watch out for each other. Our people call us more for things that concern them and that is what we want,” he said, noting that the police department received 50,000 calls-for-service last year.

Harker Heights reported 740 crimes last year and cleared 138 of those crimes. It had a total of 51 violent crimes, ac-cording to Texas DPS.

“That’s why I live in Cove. I don’t live in

Killeen because of the crime.”

Genevieve Afan

Heights chief pleased with drop in crime rate“CADET is a proactive, aggressive move against property crime, even though those are low. If we don’t get on this

now, it will overwhelm us in the future.”Mike Gentry, harker heights police chief

The (Junction City, Kan.) Daily Union/JASON rOBerTS

Junct ion City, Kan. , pol ice of f icers take a woman into custody after conduct-ing a search of the Motel 6 at Sapp Bros. truck stop on U.S. highway 77 at the intersect ion with Interstate 70 in Junct ion City on Oct. 10, 2007.

Less CrImeIs PossIbLe

Kansas military town shares its success story


EyEs on CrimE 3Sunday, June 8, 2008


By Justin CoxKilleen Daily Herald

At the end of 2007, Killeen’s burglary rate ranked at the top of Texas cities. While that rate has steadily declined in recent months with the emphasis on preventing the crime, some officials believe Killeen’s population lends it-self to a greater number of burglaries. Many attorneys believe that Killeen simply has a higher percentage of peo-ple who commit this sort of crime.

One 21-year-old Killeen man, who asked to remain nameless, was con-victed of burglary of a habitation and possession of cocaine in March 2006, and was sentenced to three years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. After serving a little less than two years of his sentence, he is now out on parole.

More often than not, he said, bur-glaries are committed by individu-als because they believe they can get away with it. He was out with his friends, some of whom were drink-ing, and they didn’t have anything to do. One of his friends mentioned a neighbor who had a plasma television and video game systems.

“So I got it in my head that I could go by one night when no one was there and just help myself,” he said. “I didn’t think I’d get caught ... I was just actin’ stupid.”

He said he thought there’d be a chance that if he got in, he could get some crack too, because his friend insinuated the neighbor might be selling drugs. He said he got in, took the television, an XBox 360 and a laptop computer. He was

caught when police matched his face to a security camera at a pawn shop when he sold the laptop. He said most bur-glaries happen like this.

Judge Martha Trudo of the 264th District Court sentenced this man, and agrees with him.

“I think that a lot of the burglaries are crimes of the moment — a lot of them are not well-planned — they are

crimes of opportunity,” Trudo said. “When I see young people involved in burglaries, it’s usually because they are walking the street, it’s a vacation time, they see a house, they walk by, and they think, ‘Why not?’”

But, Trudo said, there are some that are a coordinated effort of a gang of criminals. These groups are led by men such as Christopher Lynn LeB-

lue, who was sentenced to 60 years in prison by a Bell County jury for en-gaging in organized criminal activity, enhanced to a first-degree felony.

LeBlue coordinated his team to com-mit a high volume of low-tech crimes, including burglaries. LeBlue, a five-time felon, was very mindful of the justice system, and gave instructions to his team on the types of crimes to commit in order to avoid more severe offenses and attention.

Lacey Higgins, part of LeBlue’s team, testified in the trial’s first day that they burglarized both cars and buildings for one purpose.

“Get more money so we could get more crack,” Higgins said.

According to testimony, LeBlue’s team consisted of a rotating ring of crack users. LeBlue had a consistent group of people he trusted that com-mitted burglaries of small businesses in January, February and March 2007 in a tactic they referred to on the stand as “smash-and-grabs.”

It wasn’t until police compromised this inner circle that they finally caught LeBlue in the act on April 21, 2007.

Killeen Police Department Detec-tive Larry Hurry served as the depart-ment’s lead investigator in the case.

Hurry said that group members would pair off and go to parking lots, looking for any exposed items of value left inside. Odds dictated that they would find several vehicles with a purse, an open checkbook, a wallet, exposed in plain sight.

Contact Justin Cox at [email protected] or (254) 501-7568.

“Killeen is getting rough.”Denise Washington

Do you feel safe



“(Don’t feel safe) in some places ... there’s a lot of

crackheads here.”Steven Lyon

“I would say I feel pretty safe — given

where I live — I hear a lot of sirens.”

Coretta Perkins

“You go down to Houston, it’s a lot

worse.”Mike hefner


Shawn Lidtka can’t wait to pack his bags. A witness to a shooting and burglary victim in a span of 34 days, the Fort Hood soldier is more than ready to leave his Bundrant Drive apartment.

Lidtka was burglarized May 12, when $150 in coins and a checkbook were stolen.

On April 9, he saw a group of people partying on the balcony of a neighboring Bundrant apartment complex. Minutes later, he heard three gunshots and saw one man firing shots at another at that complex.

On May 10, Killeen police designated Lidtka’s neighborhood as a “no-tolerance zone” because of the high number of crimes in the area.

“I almost feel like this is like living in the Bronx or something,” he said.

A 23-year-old man was shot and hospitalized in the April 9 shooting, but later released, according to police reports.

Also, a man was killed during an argument at the same complex across the street three weeks before Lidtka moved into the apartment.

Lidtka received warnings about crime in Killeen when he was moved to Fort Hood in December, but after seeing the barracks, he chose to seek an apartment off-post.

He chose his apartment on Bundrant Drive because newer ones cost nearly double the price with monthlong waiting lists. That is now a decision he second-guesses since he moved in Jan. 4.

KPD classified Bundrant Drive as a high-crime area and a “no-tolerance zone” in early May, but that is little comfort to Lidtka. He described the “no- tolerance zone” as similar to a bomb warning in which a person would want to get out of the area before the bomb explodes.

Lidtka plans to leave the Army and Killeen and move back to California.

“You always feel really bad that someone would do that (burglarize) to you, but you always get over it and you have to move on,” Lidtka said.

Contact Victor O’Brien at [email protected] or (254) 501-7468

By Justin CoxKilleen Daily Herald

In criminal sentencing, why do judges give some-one probation time rather than sending them to jail?

Sometimes, they have little or no choice, especially if the defendant is a first-time offender. Under state law, for first-time drug offenders found guilty of the lowest drug possession offense, possession of less than 1 gram of cocaine, for instance, probation is mandatory.

That means that it doesn’t matter if the prosecu-tor, defense attorney, arresting officer, or even sitting judge believes the defendant deserves jail time; under state law, he or she gets probation only.

Bell County District Attorney Henry Garza said he doesn’t believe many people realize that fact.

“When that law was passed, it was passed as a ‘one size fits all,’” Garza said. “In reality, that’s just not true. What it does is prevent the courts from be-ing able to make individual determination based on each case.”

Garza said he is firmly against the law because it puts two vastly different groups of felony offenders in the same punishment category.

“I generally think the public is unaware manda-tory probation sentences must be given out by the courts,” he said. “The Legislature was under tre-mendous pressure to reduce the population in the penitentiary. They were hoping to rehabilitate to save against having to construct new facilities in the future.”

Garza said he believes that about 60 percent of offenders who get probation end up committing an-other crime shortly thereafter and are back in the system, only to get the jail sentence the next time around that they should have already received.

“There are success stories out there,” Garza said. “For the individual who really wants to redirect their life, we’ll never see that individual again, and they’ll live out their lives. But more so, we’ll see individuals who have been on probation who are back up here (af-ter committing another felony).”

Prosecutors aren’t the only ones who believe that mandatory probation isn’t a viable solution. Defense attorney Paul LePak has tried many cases through the Bell County Justice Complex, and said some-times, probation just isn’t the way to go, not even for his client.

“I’m certainly a proponent of probation in the right circumstance,” LePak said. “If you’ve got noth-ing more than high school hijinks, then probation is

an acceptable punishment. But there are lots of these kids where it’s automatic probation, and that’s just not appropriate, even if it is their first felony offense. They’ve professed the fact that they are not gonna quit using drugs, or they’re not going to quit deal-ing drugs, or they are not mentally capable of fol-lowing the rules of probation for an extended pe-riod of time.”

But one way or another, it all comes back to the judge.

Judge Martha Trudo serves as one of the three criminal court justices from her elected post as the 264th District Court judge. Trudo said that even with offenses such as burglaries, probation is the neces-sary step and a chance to give some kids the wake-up call they need.

“For some who are not getting ‘pen’ time the first time around, have no prior record ... they are 17 or 18 years old — perhaps they cooperated or maybe had given information — maybe there’s not a prob-lem with giving a young person a second chance,” Trudo said. “When they see the same person picked up time and time again, I don’t know that it hap-pens that often. I don’t think you find that very of-ten, unless there is a really good reason. It’s a case-by-case basis.”

Crime: operation blue Canopy targets city’s high-crime areasContinued from Page 1

citizen contacts as of May 27, Baldwin said. The program has had two phases so far.

Phase II, currently in operation, in-cludes Dunn Street, Veterans Memo-rial Boulevard, 24th Street and Gilmer Street. The area is considered a “no-tolerance zone,” which means instead of verbal warnings, officers issue cita-tions and make arrests.

Phase I included the area between 38th Street, Rancier Avenue, Diane Street and Tucker Street. That area is

no longer a no-tolerance zone, but in-stead a high-density patrol area.

Baldwin said the aggressive tactics do not mean that crime is up — even the numbers show crime is down — but rather that KPD is being more ag-gressive in helping to build safer neigh-borhoods in high-crime areas.

“Every community of 100,000 is going to have hot spots they need to address with police resources,” he said. “So while crime overall is down, that does not mean there are not crime problems in specific areas of this community.”

Aggravated assaults also decreased

from 195 last year to 186 during the same period in 2008.

The murder total, which was among the highest in a decade last year, was the only crime category not to decline in the first four months, but only be-cause one man attacked in 2006 died in June 2007, and the case is listed as a 2008 murder because of when the in-dictments were finalized.

KPD has achieved measures of suc-cess despite a dramatic increase in calls-for-service in 2008. KPD had 3,896 more calls-for-service from January to April 2008 (43,645) compared to 2007 (39,749).

“The more calls-for-service you have, the slower response time you have,” Baldwin said. “We had nearly a 10 per-cent increase in calls-for-services and our response time slowed somewhat.”

While there is still plenty of time left in the calendar year, the early numbers say KPD is making the right moves.

“We are making progress across the board, but we’re not done yet,” Bald-win said. “The year is still too early to say how it will end up.”

Contact Victor O’Brien at [email protected] or (254) 501-7468.

“I feel safe ... I think no matter where you go,

there is crime.”Bernadette Serna

Why?

Sources: Texas Department of Public Safety, FBI Uniform Crime Reports, Killeen Police Department

Sources: Texas Department of Public Safety, FBI Uniform Crime Reports, Killeen Police Department

Law restricts judges in sentencing some first-time offenders

Area’s crime rate troubles resident

Convicted felons, district court judge say many burglaries are 'crimes of the moment'




� Sunday, June 8, 2008 EyEs on CrimE


“There’s too much crime.”

Gabriele Jones

Do you feel safe



“I wouldn’t have got a home security system if I

thought I was safe.”Donald Ludwick

“I do. ... Everybody that lives around you is

pretty much concerned about what you do.”

James Martin

“I never had any problems. I have lived

here for about 10 years.”Jamie Dill


A growing police department in a growing city has

increased needs, Killeen Police Chief Dennis Baldwin asserts. In the past four years, with the support of the Killeen City Council, Baldwin has been able to position the police department to aggressively attack crime, leading to a drop so far this year.

With a rising population, however, Baldwin lists several needs he hopes will be supported: more staff, more vehicles, new equipment and community support.

More staffThe police department

expects Killeen’s population to reach 121,000 by 2010 and with that Baldwin hopes to have at least two officers per 1,000 residents. To make that possible, Baldwin has budgeted for more officers in the past few years and plans to do so in 2008 to reach his goal of 242.

“I need to prepare for that today and not wait for it then,” he said. “Progress is being made on many fronts (in crime), but it all comes down to those boots on the ground when it comes to keeping up with those calls-for-service.”

Calls-for-service have increased 9.83 percent

through April and could continue to increase with the population.

The ideal plan would be to staff about 260 officers to handle Killeen’s service population, which far exceeds how many residents actually live in Killeen. In addition to more patrol officers to respond to crimes and detectives to investigate, civilian staff and public service officers will be needed to back up those officers at the department.

“We can’t do our job without civilian support staff,” Baldwin said. “They all weigh in on our success.”

VehiclesThe more officers KPD

has, the more vehicles will be needed to put those officers and detectives on the street. Also, those officers will be more effective in fully-equipped patrol units with new equipment and not just recycled material from older units.

“The last thing we want to do is take old, outdated equipment and move it from vehicle to vehicle,” he said.

EquipmentMuch of the department’s

specialized equipment has

been acquired through budget funding in the past several years. A helicopter, to be used in vehicle chases, area searches and to add more eyes over the city, is a wish Baldwin hopes is granted in 2008. Baldwin made a proposal to the Killeen City Council for KPD to purchase and maintain a helicopter in April.

In addition, Baldwin hopes for a license plate recognition scanner that runs registration checks as they pass on the road instead of an officer having to radio or type in a license plate number.

The scanner reviews thousands of vehicles a day, while an officer may only do several dozen, he said.

The scanner will help track wanted persons and stolen vehicles through vehicle registrations.

In addition, crime scene and surveillance technology is also on his wish list. Baldwin declined to detail specific technology to avoid giving away police strategy. The department plans to apply for grants to supplement any city funding in order to obtain new equipment since the investigative equipment is particularly expensive.

Community dialogueBaldwin considers

community voices as essential as any other plans.

When residents speak up, the department learns about the areas it needs to improve and areas of the city that need more officers, Baldwin said.

Even more important, tips and leads from residents alert them to criminal activity.

“I need them to continue to report suspicious activity and crime in their neighborhoods — regardless of what they think is going to get done with it. That information is vital because if we don’t know what’s going on it’s very difficult to allocate resources to the problem.”


Killeen residents were victims of 2,319 reported burglaries in 2007, according to information from the Killeen Police Department. This year, residents have seen about 584 from January through April.

The large number of burglaries led to the cre-ation of a specialized unit within the Killeen Police Department to handle the problem.

The Burglary Unit, started in November, is dedicated not only to solving burglary cases but also to taking a proactive approach to preventing future ones, said Sgt. Pat Turck, Killeen police officer.

“It is something that we have really fo-cused on this year compared to years in the past,” Turck said.

There is a significantly lower number of reported burglaries in Killeen from Janu-ary through May this year compared to the same time last year. “They are down by about 30 per-cent,” Turck said.

The growing relationship between the commu-nity and patrol, as well as the dedicated unit, are plausible reasons for the decline, Turck said.

It is the unit’s goal to make as many arrests as possi-ble for those responsible for burglaries, Turck said.

Typically, when one arrest is made for a bur-glary charge, it will clear several incidents. How-ever, sometimes those incidents are known to the police and sometimes they are not.

KPD receives a number of reports for burglaries

where there is a lack of evidence or information for police to track. There are burglary cases that have no witnesses, no suspect information and no way to identify the stolen items, Turck said.

When the serial numbers of stolen items are not provided to the police, it is harder for them to track the stolen goods, Turck said.

“That is where the victims can make a huge dif-ference in the prosecution, by providing serial num-bers of items that were stolen,” Turck said.

The following are some burglary arrests made by KPD since Jan� 1, 2008:

Incident: Jan� 7; Arrest: Jan� 7Location: 2600 block of Boswell DriveHow the arrest was made: Witnesses called and

reported a suspicious vehicle in a neighbor’s drive� They said they saw two people exit a home and enter the vehicle� Police attempted to stop the vehicle, but it fled the scene� The chase ended in a foot pursuit and two suspects were apprehended�

Incident: Jan� 14; Arrest: Jan� 14Location: 2100 W�S� Young Drive

How the arrest was made: Police responded to an alarm at Sears� Upon checking all the doors of the store, an officer saw two men pass by a window and then break a door with a fire extinguisher� It was a short chase involving a police K-9 before two teens were arrested�

Incident: Feb� 7; Arrest: Feb� 8Location: 2000 block of Cimmaron Drive�How the arrest was made: Person came home and

found several items missing from his home� A neighbor told him two people down the street were selling items

that matched the owner’s description� Police investigated and determined the two men were responsible for the Cimmaron burglary�

Individuals arrested: Michael Paul Dominick, Treavor Scott Whitfield

Incident: Jan� 20; Arrest: April 15Location: 500 block of Harris StreetHow the arrest was made: Neighbor was

watching the home when items went missing� The Killeen Police Department conducted an investigation of the burglary, located

and returned the stolen items to the owner� Police arrested the suspected individual�

Individual arrested: Paul David Reed

Incident: May 1; Arrest: May 1Location: 1000 block of Parmer LaneHow the arrest was made: A resident returned

home to find items missing� The officer received possible-suspect information from the resident and the officer located a chair outside a window of the home with a shoe print on it� Later that night, police arrested a suspect� The stolen items were returned to the owner�

Individual arrested: Rayshawn Cook

Killeen had its highest murder total since 2000 in 2007 and in addition to trials, Police Chief Dennis Baldwin expects progress in several open cases�

“We’re following up some very strong leads and I do expect some arrests to come about,” Baldwin said� He declined to be specific about which cases he expected arrests to be made on, but insists the Killeen Police Department does not forget about a homicide and continues to actively investigate�

“It does take time to bring these cases to where we can close them with an arrest, but that is our mandate and we continue to make that our goal,” he said�

Victim: Goldsin NimnuanAge: 25Date: Jan� 12, 2007Location: 1500 block of Janis

DriveStatus: Arrest Made; Rigoberto Martinez Jr�, 18, was convicted of murder March 28, 2008, and sentenced to 40 years in prison�

Victims: Darius Treymane Westbrook and Natasha Williams Brannum

Age: Westbrook, 30, and Brannum, 36

Date: April 28, 2007Location: 2500 block of

Grassland DriveStatus: Open; The couple’s

bodies were discovered by friends at their Grassland Drive home�

Victim: Joshua James MontagueAge: 26Date: June 8, 2007

Location: 4500 Central Texas Expressway at Hallmark Inn and SuitesStatus: Arrest Made; Joe Castillo, 29, of Harker Heights, pleaded guilty to the felony murder of Montague in exchange

for 25 years in prison� He will be eligible for parole after serving half his sentence�

Victim: Sheila Reed and Gricelda P� Ramos

Age: Reed, 40, and Ramos, 28Date: July 4, 2007Status: Open; Reed and

Ramos were killed in a double-homicide at the Dollar General Store in the 4100 block of Stan Schlueter Loop�

Victim: Therion Green

Age: 39Date: July 15, 2007Location: 4300 block of

Hondo DriveStatus: Open; Green’s

roommate found Green on a couch, Killeen police reported�

Victim: Anthony Jerome Hemingway

Age: 43Date: Aug� 20, 2007Location: 1500 block of

Windward DriveStatus: Arrest Made;

Christopher Ray Smith, 25, of Killeen, was charged with murder after being found wounded at the scene� No trial date has been set�

Victim: Tyrone HaskinsAge: 18Date: Sept� 30, 2007Location: 4400 block of Alan

Kent DriveStatus: Arrests Made; Rico

Doyle, 28, and Damiee Kendrick Johnson, 18, were arrested Dec� 12 and May 6, respectively, on murder charges� No trial date has been set�

Victim: Maurice Junior WalkerAge: 27Date: Oct� 28, 2007Location: 700 block of West

Avenue CStatus: Case under review;

The police determined that Walker and another subject were engaged in a verbal argument�

Victim: Robert Floyd WestAge: 29Date: Dec� 15, 2007Status: Case under review;

The preliminary investigation showed that West was shot during the course of an altercation with other people, a KPD news release stated�

Victim: Clifton Carruthers*Age: 52Date: Aug� 8, 2006Status: Arrest Made; Dan

Edward Tennon, 30, of Killeen, accepted a plea agreement of 18 years in prison on a manslaughter charge in connection with an assault in which Carruthers was beaten with a pistol� Carruthers was hospitalized and remained comatose until he died June 7, 2007�

*Due to the timing of indictments and charges, Carruthers’ death is considered a 2008 homicide, instead of 2007

Victim: Christopher Wall Bernard Jr�

Age: 18Date: April 1, 2008Location: 1200 block of

Jacqueline StreetStatus: Open; Wall died April

4 from wounds suffered in a drive-by shooting�

Victim: Kimberly Quynhnhu TranAge: 41Date: April 2, 2008

Location: 800 block of North Second Street

Status: Open; Tran was killed during an altercation at the back of an office building in downtown Killeen�

Victim: Diana MotaAge: 31Date: April 12, 2008Location: 3100 block of

Southhill DriveStatus: Cleared by

Exceptional Arrest; Police classified Mota’s death as a murder-suicide in which Staff Sgt� Gilberto Mota, 34, shot Diana before taking his own life�

Victim: Frederick John Dimock Age: 58Date: May 1

Location: 3100 block of South Fort Hood StreetStatus: Open; Police are seeking to talk with Antwon Harris in connection with the shooting death�

Sources: Killeen Police Department, Bell County district

attorney’s office and previous Killeen Daily Herald articles�

Herald/DAVID MOrrIS

edmond Jones, Citizens On Patrol member, discusses vehicle racing problems with Lt. Mike Click before a public forum for the Kil leen Police Department on May 19.

Killeen police chief shares his wish list

A CLOSer LOOK: status report on Killeen’s recent homicides

harris

reed

New KPD unit organized to stem burglaries

Whitfield CookDominick

“... Just because I don’t go to the bad areas.”

Veniecia Demeritte

Martinez

Castillo



“I have lived here for 13 years and haven’t had any problems. I live in

an area where I feel safe.”Sarah Martin

Do you feel safe



“I don’t know, because I haven’t had anything specific happen to make

me feel unsafe.”Charlene Fee

Thursday, May 15

9:00 p.m. A public service officer escorts me

upstairs to the briefing room. I wait while the nighttime patrol officers snack on a box of hours-old fried chicken in the briefing room and watch the San Antonio Spurs versus the New Orleans Hornets on a big-screen TV.

9:15 The nighttime

patrol sergeant calls roll and gives patrol area assignments for the evening. I’m assigned to a 30-year-old downtown patrol officer with a reputation for being aggressive. The officer requests not to be named for privacy reasons. I am brought downstairs, where I sign a waiver. The officer asks the sergeant if the waiver means he cannot give chase if one happens. The sergeant gives the bad news: There will be no chasing tonight.

9:25 I am in the parking lot behind the police station

checking out the cruiser. The police officer unloads his SWAT gear from his unmarked car into the trunk of his patrol cruiser. I stare as he loads his rifle into the car.

He has been with KPD for five years.

I hop into the passenger’s seat and the officer gets into the driver’s seat. He signs into his Mobile Data Terminal (MDT), the in-car computer that operates through a touch screen. The system dispatches him to calls, displays a touch-screen map and a view of the car’s camera, among many other tasks.

He runs a test of his lights and sirens. His car pops up on a map on the MDT.

We head onto the streets of downtown Killeen.

9:35 The officer begins his downtown patrol east

of 10th Street, where he routinely sees signs of drugs and prostitutes. He said prostitutes have decreased significantly in Killeen since the 1980s based on what he has heard from senior officers. He still sees them and they are one of the toughest parts of his job.

In a military town, prostitution can be a business, he said. He understands that prostitutes are part of the town, but that doesn’t keep him from arresting them.

He grew up in Killeen. He chose to be an officer after working in retail and constantly seeing people steal from him, but not being able to do anything.

The streets he is tasked with protecting are the streets he calls home.

“You kind of take it personal if a store in your area gets robbed,” he said. The officer patrols, waiting for the dispatch in Belton to show calls-for-service.

I don’t have to wait much longer for our first call. An officer requests backup in executing an arrest warrant just north of Rancier Avenue.

We pull up behind the officer with the warrant. He has handcuffed a short man. The officer tells me to stay in the car. I watch from the passenger seat as they escort the man into the vehicle. The arrest is made.

9:40 He resumes patrol, making a lap around

his downtown patrol area, getting a feel for the evening and seeing if any of the regular streetwalkers are out tonight.

“You get to know the regular people that you stop out on,” he said. “You have to know where you are in the city.”

A few moments later, the dispatch goes from zero calls holding to nine calls. I’m ready for some excitement.

9:51 The officer responds to a call about people doing drugs at the corner of Terrace and W.S. Young drives.

We drive, slowly, down Terrace Drive into Conder Park. He turns off his lights and we’re concealed by the darkness. He uses a spotlight intermittently to search the park’s

dark areas, which are numerous. He pulls up next to a car

parked in a lot. I wait in the car while he talks to

the person in the car. A woman is just sitting in her car on the phone, he said.

“We used to get a bit of action in the park, but it’s slowed down a bit,” he said. People stopped

committing crimes in the park after KPD stiffened

enforcement. Now they have found new places, he said. He thinks they

might return during the summer months, though.

10:00 I listen as a call about a domestic

disturbance on Gray Street comes on the scanner. We’re on our way.

Then, over the radio, comes the news that a suspect in a narcotics search has fled into downtown.

I hold onto my seat as we make a quick U-turn. We’re driving one block over from the suspect.

The officer turns right and pulls up behind the vehicle on Rancier Avenue. He turns on his lights and sirens. The vehicle pulls over.

“Wait here,” he said to me.The suspect starts to get out of his

car. “Stay in your car,” the officer says. The officer, another officer and an

undercover organized crime detective search the suspect and the vehicle. They find a large wad of cash. They put him behind me in the back seat of the cruiser. Only a barrier separates me from him. He asks me to get the officer’s attention. I get an officer’s attention and the suspect asks him if he can write down some numbers from a cell phone. The officer tells him he can get those numbers back at the jail. The officer tells me I can step out of the car.

I overhear from the undercover detective’s radio that officers at the suspect’s apartment found drugs. The officer returns to the car and we take the suspect to the jail on a charge of possession of a controlled substance.

The only noise I hear is radio chatter and the officer’s rock music playing in the car.

10:21 We arrive at the jail. I wait inside until

the officer takes the suspect out of the car. He tells me I can follow him into the jail. I follow them down a cramped hallway. The officer waves a metal detector over the suspect outside the jail. He puts him into the jail and the suspect sits on a bench, waiting to be booked. The officer tells me to wait a minute while he fills out the paperwork to get him booked.

10:38 We get back in the car and drive onto

Avenue C.We arrive at the scene of a violent

domestic dispute in the 1500 block of Metropolitan Drive. The officer tells me to wait in the cruiser. He talks to the figures. I watch as he walks to the front door and talks to more people involved. A few moments later, several people drive away. The situation is resolved.

Another officer passes by and tells him this isn’t the first time they have been to the residence and it probably won’t be the last.

10:55 “I need to go fill up,” the officer tells

me. We ride across town and fill up at the police barn off Little Nolan Road.

“Some nights, we go from the time we get on, to the time we get off. It’s non-stop.” Two hours in and this night has been moderately busy, he said.

10:59 A shots-fired call on Westcliff Road

comes across the radio. “You have your seat belt on?” the

officer asks me.“Yep.”He turns on his lights and sirens,

accelerates rapidly and we speed across U.S. Highway 190 down W.S. Young as vehicles pull over to the side of the road.

11:06 I see an ambulance with its lights

out parked along Lake Road. The ambulance waits for the police to respond to see if anybody was hit.

We arrive at an apartment complex, seconds behind another officer. This one is a no-brainer: I’m waiting in the car.

People are sitting on the steps and tell him they didn’t see or hear anything.

No one was shot. No one has a complaint. No bullets were found. On to the next call.

11:20 We drive down Rancier and we pass

W.S. Young. I covered a shooting at this intersection a little more than a month ago. Shots were fired from one vehicle into another.

At this hour, the streetlights and car dealerships at each corner are the only thing keeping it from being dark. We drive down the street to the 7-Eleven on Rancier Avenue. The officer gets an energy drink and talks to the clerks. I follow behind, observing.

He asks them how they are doing tonight and the clerk tells him they had one problem, but that’s it.

As we walk back to the car, the officer tells me he passes by this store nightly to find out what’s going on in his patrol area.

The two clerks have each been robbed before, he said. One of them was assaulted by a group of juveniles a few weeks earlier.

11:40 The officer drives around 14th Street

and Parmer Lane. While patrolling, he is waved over by a man he has arrested multiple times, at least once with drugs. The officer rolls down my window. The homeless man tells us about a teenage burglar down the street. The officer asks him about other characters in the neighborhood. The man tells us about a “Juju” and a “Fabien.”

The man walks away down the street carrying a bag in his hand. Another officer passes and tells us that he did not see anything where the man said the teen burglar was located.

11:48 We’re riding around downtown Killeen

again by Rancier Avenue. The officer stops a car when it straddles two lanes while making a wide-right turn onto W.S. Young Drive.

He runs the vehicle and driver history. I wait in the car. The driver’s record comes back clean. He lets the person off with a verbal warning.

This officer has earned a reputation for being “aggressive” and a “traffic Nazi” among his fellow officers.

“I like to get narcotics, get those off the street, and guns,” he said. “I like to get into the action ... I’m just trying to clean up the streets.”

He wants to clean up his hometown.

“People that drive downtown Killeen — that have never been here before — don’t need to see all the prostitution and drug addicts that are walking around. That’s something they don’t need to see. It gives us a bad reputation for our city.”

He said crimes such as burglaries and forgeries often happen because people are trying to get money for their next drug-induced “high.”

But it’s not the criminals he cares about. It’s the people in the homes that count on him to protect them. A few months ago, he took a call about an older couple who were the victims of serial burglars in their neighborhood. The burglars were looking for goods and money to trade for drugs.

“They were asleep in their house and someone pried their door open, stole their wallet, cell phone,” he said. “The suspect could have easily hurt them very bad. You could tell in those people’s faces that they were just scared.”

12:00 a.m. The night has slowed down.

He patrols downtown again. We see a man and a woman outside an apartment complex on Harbor Street. He pulls over and talks to them. It’s dark and he asks me to wait in the car. He runs the woman’s criminal history over the radio. She has a prior arrest in Temple for prostitution, he said.

Five minutes later, a loud screeching noise comes from a few blocks away. The officer rushes back to the car. We rush over in the direction of the screeching, but we see nothing.

12:10 The officer responds to a complaint about

a man being run down. He believes the complaint is related to the sound of tires peeling off.

I wait in the car again while he talks to a man. The man gets pretty heated and emotional. He tells the officer the vehicle with the tires peeling off tried to run him over.

He and another officer at the scene take the victim’s information.

We give the victim a ride in the back seat to a motel on Veterans Memorial Boulevard. Another officer says that he may have the suspect vehicle pulled over a few blocks away.

12:30 The officer assists on a traffic stop at

Second Street and West Dean Avenue. I wait in the car. A child, a woman and another man get out of the vehicle. The driver gets handcuffed and put into the other officer’s cruiser. Everybody disperses. The officer returns to the car and tells me the driver had a suspended license.

12:48 The officer resumes patrol and spots an

apartment on Gilmer Street that has its door open and lights on. Several people have been arrested at this address, the officer said. The woman tells the officer she had her door open because she has no air conditioning.

“From Gilmer to 10th Street, there’s still just a lot of people that walk around. The transients, drug addicts, prostitutes. They have to stay somewhere and unfortunately they stay on the city streets,” the officer said.

He resumes patrol and will continue until his shift ends at 7 a.m.

It’s time for me to go. He apologizes that I did not get to see more. He said some nights are busy.

This was just four hours on a Thursday. His night is only halfway done. The officer has four more hours

of patrol to go and then reports that follow afterward.

Read more at www.kdhnews.com/crime

View of Killeen from the passenger’s seatDAILY HERALD REPORTER VICTOR O’BRIEN ON PATROL

“I’m not afraid of anything.”Gary Despres

“I feel safe because it’s a lot of older

people living in the neighborhood

(I live in).”Samantha Nixon

“Done been broke into once a period ago, I

just don’t feel that safe.”henry McGee

“Yes ... because I haven’t got robbed or killed yet, but I heard someone got

mugged at a club.”Lee Jackson

By Victor o’Brien

6 Sunday, June 8, 2008 EyEs on CrimE


Do you feel safe



“I don’t feel scared or anything like that. ... I do the normal things,

like lock my doors ... but I don’t feel like it’s a big

city yet.”Latisha rosemond

“I originate from Virginia. Being from

there, I have seen a little bit of everything.”

roger McCullen

“You can catch somebody driving by and they look

all suspicious.”Vivian Odie

Thursday, May 22

9:00 p.m. I arrive at the Copperas Cove

Police Department and enter the administrative building, where I inform dispatch that I will be riding along with the Copperas Cove police tonight. They tell me to take a seat as they page Sgt. Martin Zeller and let him know of my arrival.

9:30 I am finally

buzzed in by the dispatch and walk around to the booking area, where I am greeted by Officer Jeffery Rodriguez.

He apologizes for the wait but explains that he was busy booking a man into the holding cells when I arrived. Just 10 minutes before I got into the police station, Rodriguez arrested Jeremy Deroy for the theft of beer from a local convenience store.

9:35 We head out to the parking lot, where

Rodriguez has parked his Ford Interceptor. He pulls an 18-pack of Miller Lite from the front seat and carries it to the squad room, where he pulls out a camera and takes some photographs of the evidence.

A couple of minutes later, Sgt. Zeller enters the squad room and apologizes for making me wait.

Apparently there is some action in Copperas Cove tonight that is keeping the cops busy: a man has been screaming and threatening people with his guns, prompting police intervention.

9:40 Rodriguez and I hop into his police car

and roll out as he adjusts the air conditioning and radio. He has been with the Copperas Cove Police Department for three years now.

We arrive at the Valero gas station in the 1100 block of South Farm-to-Market 116 to drop off the stolen beer.

I ask Rodriguez for the details on the beer theft. He tells me that the clerk called while a couple of citizens followed Deroy, who escaped on foot, in their car. That’s a good thing, since Deroy lived

close by and could have easily ducked into his house and

disappeared.I ask Rodriguez if it’s

advisable for citizens to follow suspects. He tells me that it often helps the police find perpetrators who otherwise would have

gotten away and that it is OK, but only if it can be

done safely.We see a car driving

down U.S. Highway 190 with its headlights off. Rodriguez turns on his

lights and pulls the vehicle over in the 1900 block. I stay in the car as he approaches the driver and asks for license and insurance. He walks to the back of the car to check for any warrants and to run the license plate. Everything comes up clean, so he lets the driver go with a warning.

9:57 We’re back on the road, and we get a call about

two cars playing “cat and mouse.” Rodriguez explains that it’s two cars with their lights off playing hide and go seek in some residential area.

We get to the neighborhood around Veterans Avenue and 25th Street, but by the time we arrive, the “cat and mouse” players are gone.

As we drive down Veterans Avenue, a car in front of us exhibits strange behavior by slowing down and starting and stopping suddenly. Rodriguez calls in the license plate, but nothing interesting comes up. The vehicle allows us to pass then turns the corner. We circle around to see where it went, but the car seems to have vanished.

10:08 We find the suspicious vehicle

again, which suddenly pulls off the side of the residential street, parks

and turns off its lights when he spots the cop car. Rodriguez tells me something is up.

We drive down a little further, turn on to a side street, then turn off our headlights and wait to see what the suspicious car will do. When we peek around the corner again, the vehicle has pulled out and is going the opposite direction.

We follow the car, which is still creeping along at 10 miles per hour, until it turns left on Avenue B and takes off. I ask if it’s permissible to pull the car over, but Rodriguez said he does not have enough probable cause to do so since the driver hasn’t broken any laws.

10:26 We arrive back at the station and head

to the squad room where Rodriguez begins typing up his arrest report. Unlike neighboring departments, Cove police do not have an in-car system to write up arrests and do not have dedicated time set aside during their shift to log their reports, so they usually just cram it in at the end of the night.

10:35 Rodriguez’s work is cut short when

dispatch reports a domestic violence call on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive at the Copper Commons apartment complex. Rodriguez and I jump in the car and take off.

When we arrive, we see a man and a woman sitting on the curb. Rodriguez talks to the man first, who explains his side of the story, and then the officer moves on to the woman to get her perspective.

The woman, who is pregnant, suspected her boyfriend of cheating and wanted to confront him. The man wanted to leave, but the woman

yelled and threatened to throw out his stuff and blocked the door when he tried to exit.

That was when the man reportedly forcibly moved the woman aside and punched the wall next to her head, prompting her to call the police.

Rodriguez asks if the woman wants to press charges, but she doesn’t. Then Rodriguez switches to the role of counselor and tells them that the man was doing the right thing in trying to leave instead of escalating the situation.

10:55 We arrive back at the police station,

where Rodriguez parks his car and locks the door. We head to the squad room, where Rodriguez signs out and I get introduced to Officer Lou Beshansky, who will be taking me on the late night shift.

11:00 I head out to the parking lot with

Officer Beshansky. As he is in the midst of unlocking the car door and clearing out the front seat, he gets a call on his headset. He tells me to go into the station as he jumps in the car, and before I realize what’s going on, he has left the station.

I later learn that he and several others were responding to an aggravated robbery at the Texaco in the 2400 block of U.S. Highway 190. The investigation revealed that a white male, armed with a small, silver-colored handgun, entered the store and demanded money from the cashier.


Thursday, May 15

9:00 p.m. I am sitting in the police department

waiting for the night shift officers to finish their briefing. I sign a waiver and Officer Jack Wallace — he is my ride — is showing me a slide show of facts about Harker Heights crime and the department’s organization. In this slide show of digital pictures, he points out the most important things to him.

“This button on the radio is the officer down button,” Wallace says. “If for some reason, I get shot, you’re to hold it down for three seconds and just start talking. You should hear sirens from everywhere,” he reassures me.

9:40 He tells me how to remove the shotgun in

the trunk, in case he needs it. He shows me the shotgun in the car, and its rubber ammunition. I was literally sitting shotgun, with the rifle impeding some access to my seatbelt.

Wallace works the same days and times every week, something he sees as a benefit, he says as we roll out on the Harker Heights pavement.

“I see the same people and the same faces,” Wallace says, explaining his work night across two districts in Harker Heights. “I know which tables people are at and when they get there,” he adds, explaining that he works along Business 190.

9:45 We are heading to a civil standby. Wallace

pulls the car across from a trailer park in the 100 block of West Bobwhite.

“Stay here until we know it's safe,”

he says, getting out of the car.Wallace and a female

officer search the area.

They can’t find the

address number, I

hear over the radio. They call

their dispatcher and ask for a call back. Wallace climbs back into the car.

“That is half our problem, believe it or not,” Wallace said. “People don’t know their own addresses. ... Sometimes it’s just the difference of east and west.”

9:54 Wallace pulls into a driveway in the 100 block

of East Bobwhite. Two females sit on the back of a truck as he exits the car. He walks up to them and starts talking as a second officer arrives.

Wallace looks at one of the two girls’ arms. The second officer converses, then goes to the door of a trailer. She knocks and two other people come outside. Two more people, parents of one of the females, arrive at the scene. After a couple of minutes, Wallace comes back to the car.

“What we have here is a teenage break-up that went bad, feelings got hurt,” Wallace said. “So we are going to be issuing a criminal trespassing, and we will be out of here.”

10:15 We drive through the neighborhoods

between Veterans Memorial Boulevard and Farm-to-Market 2410.

“This is my preference. For me, the city is small enough so I always have backup,” Wallace says about being an officer in Harker Heights.

10:55 The car slips down

some more residential streets in Harker Heights. I watch as we drive by dark houses on a night-fallen roadway.

“I take it personally when there is

a string of car burglaries,” Wallace says, looking at several cars in private driveways. “I take it personally, because it’s my city.”

There is really no set schedule for patrols, Wallace says. The Harker Heights patrolling officers just travel throughout the city day and night.

11:10 We are back

on Veterans Memorial Boulevard and a car passes us with one headlight shining. Wallace turns around and starts his lights. The traffic stop goes without incident, but Wallace checks for warrants; the woman’s name comes back clean.

A second officer rolls into the parking lot where the traffic stop took place. With windows down, Wallace speaks to the second officer. Another vehicle flies down Veterans Memorial Boulevard with one headlight. Wallace tells the other officer she can have that stop, and she takes off after them. We leave the parking lot attempting to catch a third vehicle with no headlights.

11:24 We are at the end of Veterans Memorial

Boulevard and Wallace turns off the street to go behind some apartments.

The radio blares that the second vehicle had a driver with a warrant and the officer needs backup. Wallace swings the car around.

When we get there, I am told to wait in the car. I watch as they shuffle one woman into the back of the second officer’s car.

11:34 Wallace places a second woman

in the back of our car and says to turn on the radio for her. I do. He asks if I want to watch the inventory of the offender’s vehicle for impounding.

Wallace writes down items as the second officer calls them out with their location in the vehicle.

The tow truck arrives on the

scene a couple of minutes into the inventory and drags the car away when they finish. We wait for the second woman to get a ride before we climb back into the squad car and

pull off Veterans.

12:00 a.m. The dispatch calls in a noise complaint at an apartment. Wallace announces we are on our way. We arrive at the complex and a

backup officer pulls in right behind us.

I stand around the corner while the officers knock on the door. The giggles and

laughter behind the door stop. It is a few moments before I can hear the officers talking to the residents.

Wallace explains that there is a noise complaint, and they should just quiet down.

“We will be back tonight,” Wallace says as we enter his vehicle and drive off.

12:30-1:15Lunch- time.

After lunch, we pull out of the parking lot where we ate. Wallace spots a man walking with a bag toward the business. He stops and asks the man if everything is OK.

The man says that his car broke down and he is trying to get home. Wallace looks the man over and takes his identification. He does a light pat down and a quick search of his bag, and we drive the man home to Killeen.

On our way to Killeen, the radio crackles with a noise complaint at an apartment. Wallace says, “I told you so,” and we drop the man in Killeen.

1:25 Wallace takes me back to my car at the Harker

Heights police station. As I open the door, a back-up request comes over the radio. I thank him just before he speeds out of the parking lot.


Cruising the streets of Copperas CoveDAILY HERALD REPORTER JOSHuA WINATA ON PATROL

Riding shotgun in Harker HeightsDAILY HERALD REPORTER MASON CANALES ON PATROL

“In general yes, but the police department

is understaffed to handle all the

activities in the town.”Jeffrey Gorman

“We’re staying in a bad neighborhood.”

Sandy holmes

“I ain’t worried about nobody.”

Derrick Smith

By Mason canales

By Joshua Winata


www�kdhnews�com/crime • Killeen Daily Heraldwww�kdhnews�com/crime • Killeen Daily Herald


The number of Bell County residents applying for gun licenses increased in 2007, but that does not mean more guns were purchased.

The number of gun licenses issued in Bell County increased by 300 from 2006 to 2007.

There were 910 gun licenses issued in Bell County in 2006, and 1,210 gun licenses were issued in Bell County during 2007, according to information from the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Concealed Handgun Licensing Bureau.

An increase in licenses issued does not mean gun sales will increase; it just introduces a greater number of people into the market who can legally buy guns.

At the beginning of last year, Guns Galore in Killeen celebrated record-breaking sales seven months in a row, said store clerk Fred Brannan.

A gun store in Copperas Cove, TJ Sports, opened last year, said Gean Tran, the store’s manager and owner.

Gun sales are currently not as high as in previ-ous months, but they are staying steady, said Bran-nan, who has been working at the store since last December.

“Gun sales here tie heavily to the military,” Bran-nan said.

When soldiers come home from deployment, they are likely to come back and purchase a gun for a number of reasons, Brannan said. They have been saving money, and some of them are just reaching the age to purchase a gun, he added.

“You always have some soldiers getting paid and coming in to buy weapons,” Brannan said.

First-time gun owners are customers at TJ Sports and Guns Galore, too.

“We do get a lot of first-time firers, people (who) have never actually fired a gun for any amount of time before,” Brannan said.

These people come to purchase guns for a num-ber of reasons. Some are enthusiasts and others are seeking to protect themselves.

Brannan has heard his share of stories from peo-ple who have been victimized, he said.

It is always shocking to him how many of these people’s stories never make it to the media, he said.

TJ Sports and Guns Galore seek to help those peo-ple by trying to determine what means of protection would be good for them, each said.

“(A gun) is not something that is a toy for you to go and play with,” Tran said. “You have to know the safety and the rules. Once you have a gun, there is a big responsibility.”

Guns Galore offers Mace and stun guns for people who have been victimized but are not comfortable with guns, Brannan said.

TJ Sports does as well, Tran said.“What are you comfortable with — sometimes peo-

ple are OK with a shotgun, sometimes Mace,” Bran-nan said. “There are all kinds of people.”


Area self-defense classes offer a chance for residents to not only learn how to protect themselves, but also avoid dangerous situations and help others.

“It is all focused on personal pro-tection for adults and kids,” Steve Miles, Killeen Parks and Recreation American ninjutsu instructor, said about his classes.

Grand master James McMurry, Harker Heights Parks and Recre-ation hapkido instructor, echoed Miles’ words and added that his class not only teaches people how to defend themselves, but also how to come to the aid of other people.

The classes are good for children because it teaches them how to get out of situations, McMurry said.

It teaches women how to use ob-jects around them to better protect themselves, McMurry said. Com-mon instruments include a brief- case, car door or spatula.

For everyone, the classes teach a basic theory, the three A’s.

“Aware, avoid and action,” are the three A’s, McMurry said. “If you keep those three in mind you can keep yourself safe. Make yourself aware of situations, learn to avoid dangerous ones, and when neces-sary take the appropriate action.”

Miles’ scenario-based class teaches the same principles and will increase your awareness, he said.

“Primarily, it just keeps you in bet-ter awareness of dangerous situa-tions,” Miles said.

Miles’ class also incorporates weapons with its focus on standing striking, ground fighting and take- downs, he said.

McMurry’s hapkido includes sim-ilar situations, he said.

McMurry has been teaching in Harker Heights since 1995 and on Fort Hood since the 1980s.

He trains about 100 Harker

Heights residents a year, a number that was at about 40 in 1995.

Miles has been teaching in Killeen for a year, and the classes consis-tently have about eight younger chil-dren, six older children and seven or eight adults.

Harker Heights holds hapkido class at the Parks and Recreation Center at 307 Miller's Crossing from 8 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Killeen holds three classes for dif-ferent ages between 5:30 and 9:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Killeen Community Center, 2201 E. Veterans Memorial Blvd.

Registration for both classes takes place with the parks and recreation departments in the two cities.

“When you come to a class with us, we teach you something that you can walk away with and can use to protect yourself,” Miles said. “Noth-ing we do is for show.”

Contact Mason W. Canales at [email protected] or (254) 501-7554.

Man’s best friend is a burglar’s worst enemyWhat may seem like a

canned joke in a high-dollar action film may actually be good advice.

Nicholas Cage’s character in the sequel to “National Treasure” tells a partner that he was impressed that the partner cracked a high-tech alarm system in 25 seconds. The partner responds, “That’s why I tell people to get a dog.” He offers good advice for Killeen residents.

Man’s best friend is a burglar’s worst enemy, Killeen Police Department Sgt. Pat Turck said. Turck leads the unit charged with reducing Killeen’s state-leading burglary rate.

“The number one tool that someone can use to prevent a burglary in their residence is a dog,” Turck said. “Burglars are opportunists. They want to get in that door quickly, steal what they can get away with easily and get away. A dog is nothing but an obstacle or a barrier to them accomplishing their goals.”

Turck said that in three years with KPD’s property crimes division, where he has reviewed thousands of burglary reports, he knows of no incident where a victim had a large dog.

The loud barking and the fear of getting bit are two strong deterrents, Turck said.

Home Safety Checklist1� Lock all doors and windows,

including garage doors, before leaving or sleeping�

2� Turn out all lights before leaving�

3� Turn on a TV or radio to give the impression the home is occupied�

4� Receive a home inspection from KPD with recommendations for securing your home�

5� Don’t leave “secret” keys anywhere outside, even under rugs�

6� Keep a record of all possessions including serial numbers, item descriptions, purchase dates and original value amounts� Keep a list in a safe place outside the home and with an insurance agent�

7� Photograph valuable items with a digital camera�

8� Make your home address visible in case police receive a report of crime or emergencies�

9� Have a peephole so you can see outside before you open the door�

10� Install thick outside doors that have solid cores or are made of metal�

11� Use double-sided locks with two keyholes for doors near windows where a criminal could break the glass and open the door�

12� Have secondary locks on doors and windows, such as pins and screws�

13� Place a key-operated lock on garage doors�

14� Cut shrubbery so burglars can’t hide�

15� Have bright lights to discourage burglars and so neighbors will see the crime if one happens�

For more information on protecting yourself and your home, call KPD Crime Prevention Coordinator Tammy Moseley at 501-8805�

Five Most Stolen Items Video games and systemsTelevisionsJewelryGunsCash

Security SurveysThe Killeen crime prevention

coordinator performs home and business security surveys�

These surveys are made at the request of a homeowner or businessman and involves the inspection of premises and its compliance with the state’s mandated security requirements� Successful completion of this inspection can qualify the owner for a 5-to-20-percent reduction in property insurance�


Get involvedThere are a number of ways

that Killeen residents can help protect their community� Some are as simple as getting involved or knowing about the many programs the Killeen Police Department offers�

Crime StoppersThe community program

is operated by residents and involves the public, the media and area law enforcement agencies in an effort to fight crime�

It is composed of a civilian board of directors and a designated Killeen Police Department employee to serve as the program coordinator and liaison�

Through the Crime Stoppers program, residents who have knowledge of specific criminal incidents are encouraged to give that information to police�

The program also offers rewards to those who supply information that leads to a conviction�

The Crime Stoppers phone number is (254) 536-TIPS�

Neighborhood WatchNeighborhood Watch allows

neighbors to get to know each other and work together in a program of mutual assistance� Residents are trained to recognize and report suspicious activity in their neighborhoods� They also learn crime prevention strategies such as home security and personal security�

Business WatchThis is a crime prevention

and personal safety program for businesses and employees�

Business Watch focuses on various crime prevention strategies through education and informative presentations� The program is intended to educate merchants and employees on crime prevention strategies�

National Night OutThis nationwide crime

prevention program is celebrated the first Tuesday in August each year�

From 7 to 10 p�m�, residents in neighborhoods throughout Killeen and across the nation are asked to lock their doors, turn on their outside lights and spend the evening outside with neighbors and police�

The NNO program helps build neighborhood unity and strengthen police community partnerships�

Kiddo Card Identification Program

This program creates an identification card made solely for the purpose of identifying a child� The card is designed to be carried by the parent or guardian in their wallet�

Every day children are abducted across our nation� As parents or guardians, people sometimes forget the vital information that law enforcement needs to start a report� The Kiddo Card has all the required information law enforcement needs to start the search�

Child FingerprintingFingerprints are obtained

and presented to the parent or guardian of the printed child for safekeeping� The parents are instructed to keep the prints, a current photograph and a detailed physical description of the child on file should the child become lost or missing�

Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association

This group is composed of graduates of the department’s citizens police academy�

These residents have expressed a desire to stay involved with the department after their graduation from the CPA�

The association’s goals are to support the department’s efforts to effectively police the community�

For information on any of these programs, call Tammy Moseley, Killeen Police Department crime prevention coordinator, at (254) 501-8805�

military influence drives gun sales

Herald/DAVID MOrrIS

Guns come in a var iety of colors. "Soldiers are buying pink guns for their wives so the y feel protected when the y deploy," said Dave Cheadle, manager of Guns Galore in Ki l leen.

Herald/DAVID MOrrIS

Dave Cheadle looks through the inventory at Guns Galore in Ki l leen.

be proactive: Take a self-defense class

Students in an American ninjutsu class learn d i f ferent mar t ia l ar ts to defend themselves i f attacked.

Heights hapkido classes 8 to 9 p�m� Tuesday and Thursday

Parks and Recreation Center307 Miller's Crossing

Killeen American ninjutsu10 years old and younger

5:30 to 6:30 p�m� Tuesday and Thursday

11 years old and older 6:45 to 7:45 p�m�

Tuesday and Thursday

Adults8 to 9:30 p�m�

Tuesday and Thursday

Killeen Community Center2201 E� Veterans Memorial Blvd�

Courtesy photo

� Sunday, June 8, 2008 EyEs on CrimE� Sunday, June 8, 2008 EyEs on CrimE

Eyes on Crime

News & Politics

Transcript of Eyes on Crime