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Youngstown chief: quick arrests key to stopping murders
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
Police Chief Robin Lees says proactive work by patrol officers and quick work by detectives are why the city’s homicide rate has stayed steady for the second straight year.
Youngstown recorded 19 homicides for 2014, down three from 2013’s total of 22 and the first time since 2003 the city has recorded fewer than 20 homicides for a year.
That may change, however, with the discovery New Year’s Day of a body on the South Side. Police say the man had been missing since October and they think he died in the city. They are investigating the death as a homicide.
Lees also credited the work done by the city’s Community Initiative To Reduce Violence, or CIRV program, to keep a lid on the city’s homicide rate.
Officers on the road help to keep violence in check because they are often proactive while on patrol, Lees said, adding they are able to recover weapons that can head off potential trouble before it starts.
Detectives also have been able to make arrests early in cases, often within 24 hours, which is crucial because it cuts down on retaliatory violence and murders.
He pointed to two cases where this was especially true: the murder of Maurise Kerns on April 1 at a vacant home on Idora Avenue and the arrest of nine adults and four juveniles from an Aug. 17 brawl that resulted in the shooting death of 17-year-old Shawn Cortez.
In the Kerns case, a team of detectives — Capt. Brad Blackburn and Detective Sgts. David Sweeney and John Perdue — worked about 30 hours straight before arresting three people. A grand jury indicted another suspect in October in Kerns’ death. Detectives have said the motive was retaliation for a previous shooting Kerns was thought to have been involved in.
In the Winona Drive case, Lees credited Lt. Doug Bobovnyik for being able to quickly identify suspects involved in the brawl, which stemmed from a dispute between two groups.
“Those are the best examples of where quick follow-up action by the detectives and the arrests prevented that cycle of violence from continuing,” Lees said.
In the Winona Drive case and others, a review process takes place within 24 hours of a homicide. Detectives, along with all branches of the department and representatives of the city and Mahoning County prosecutors’ offices and various law-enforcement task forces, sift through reports, data and intelligence on suspects and people with whom they are known to associate.
Lees said that review was key in the Winona case, especially the role of prosecutors, who were able to find appropriate charges for people involved in the brawl to get them off the street so the chances of spinoff violence would be cut.
Lees said the fact that CIRV coordinator Guy Burney now has a city vehicle means he can be in neighborhoods all the time, making a direct connection with members of the community about what services are available to help them stay out of a life of crime.
CIRV targets gangs and other known violent criminals. Those people are offered help by religious and social organizations to get out of a lifestyle of crime, but if they persist in committing crimes, they will be arrested.
“I think that’s [CIRV] our best preventive measure,” Lees said.
CIRV also serves as a conduit to the city’s faith-based community. Lees said it’s important to reach out to residents in troubled neighborhoods. He also credited CIRV for help in the Winona Avenue case, saying that police were able to confer with some of the city’s pastors about the case and tell them progress was being made.
“It keeps the community linked to the police department,” Lees said.