Thread: City state of emergency to continue

We need more info... looks like the illegal immigration fueled gangs may have a hand in this.

W

City state of emergency to continue

Melton says he'll lift proclamation when residents feel safe

By Kelli Esters
kesters@clarionledger.com


Mayor Frank Melton has decided to extend the state of emergency in Jackson for the second time, Cmdr. Tyrone Lewis said Sunday.

Melton has said the emergency proclamation is the most effective way to fight crime, which has increased since he took office a year ago.

The order, which originally was signed on June 22 for a five-day period, will be extended through Friday.

Under the proclamation, minors are subject to a 9 p.m. curfew on weeknights and 10 p.m. on weekends.

Melton said it will continue until people in the community let him know they are "safe and secure."

When asked when that will be, Lewis answered, "until he (the mayor) is comfortable that the community is comfortable. He will make that decision."

Melton, who was out of town on vacation, could not be reached for comment on Sunday.

Lewis said Melton is receiving feedback from beat officers who are talking to people in the community and observing activities and juveniles in the neighborhoods.

After midnight Friday, Jackson saw its second homicide during the state-of-emergency period in a quintuple shooting outside a west Jackson nightclub.

Uriel Castillo, 22, of Pearl was shot and killed outside the Taqueria Mexicana in the Bel Air Shopping Center at 1999 U.S. 80 West. Castillo was shot once in the chest and once in the arm, Hinds County Coroner Sharon Grisham-Stewart said Saturday.

Police would not release the names of the other four men, but described them as all being in their 20s. One was in serious condition with a wound to his back. The other three were released from local hospitals.

JPD Cmdr. Lee Vance said Sunday that police had no other details to release in the shooting, and no arrests have been made.

On June 23, Terry Thomas, 39, of Jackson was shot to death in west Jackson. No arrests have been made in that case.

Some in the Lanier High School area were questioning Sunday what it would take for the mayor, whose campaign was based on crime-fighting, to end the emergency period.

Helen West, 58, who sat on her porch Sunday on Rondo Street with Bobbie Ramsey, 38, said she didn't feel a difference in her neighborhood since the state of emergency began. Her neighborhood remained quiet.

Ramsey, whose eldest child is 14 years old, said she didn't have to worry about her children missing curfew, because they were at home.

"If you have a 14-year-old, you should know where they are at 10 p.m.," she said.

The curfew, though, makes other parents accountable for the whereabouts of their children, she said. "It gives parents more responsibility to know where their children are at that time of night," Ramsey said. "I feel safer that he's (Melton) doing that."

She said it's hard to tell if the curfew is really working in keeping crime down, because the amount of crime being committed is not known. "We won't know if it's making a difference until crime has gone down," Ramsey said.

City officials have said that the number of minors arrested for curfew violations during the emergency period will not be made public until the state of emergency ends.

Geneva Tillman, 72, who was doing yardwork on Campbell Street, said she used to sit out on her porch, but is afraid to because of the crime she hears about in the area.

Although her street is "pretty quiet," she said it doesn't seem like crime is being reduced in the city because of the curfew. "You can't tell," she said. "There are things going on every night." But, Tillman said, the curfew has only been in effect for 10 days, and it's too early to tell if it's working. "We have to give it time," she said.

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs. ... /607030352

Can't say what's up in Jackson, but the mayor must be a character.

http://www.thedemocrat.com/site/news...&PAG=461&rfi=9


http://www.wlbt.com/Global/story.asp...&nav=menu119_2

http://www.wlbt.com/Global/story.asp...&nav=menu119_2

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pb...NEWS/606230372 June 23, 2006 Jackson's State of Emergency
Other pages and links on above page about the state of emergency.

http://www.officer.com/article/artic...ion=1&id=31249 June 27th, 2006 5 shot in Jackson, Mississippi since state of emergency

http://www.wlbt.com/ Looks like a lot of news here! Several videos about Jackson crime.
Jackson Mayor declares state of emergency video.
Mayor, said "focus on narcotics and weapons".
He also said something to the effect that adults are behind some of the behavior of the children.

http://www.wlbt.com/Global/story.asp?S=5112269

Jackson 7/04/06
Second Victim Dies From Shooting

This weekend's quintuple shooting has become a double homicide.

Nedrano Ale Lopez-Calel, 19, was shot in the back early Saturday morning at the Taqueria Mexicana Restaurant on Highway 80. Police say he died last night at the hospital.

Uriel Castillo, 22, was also killed. Three others were treated and released.

Police say an argument ended with gunfire in the bar's parking lot. Police have not identified the shooter.

http://www.wlbt.com/Global/story.asp?S=5112261

Jackson 7/04/06
Elderly Man Still Recovering From Attack

The 66 year old victim of a brutal attack is still in the hospital, clinging to life. Police hope to get a better description of the attackers. Right now, they don't have much.

Three men forced their way into Charles Hillman's home on Afton Street sunday. He was beaten, possibly with a baseball bat. He was also robbed and his truck was stolen.

Parts of Hillman's South Jackson home are covered in blood. When officers responded, they found the victim on the side porch.

Hillman is a city of jackson employee. He's been with the solid waste division for about ten years.

Police are still looking for his red 1982 chevy truck. The tag number is 975-HI8. If you have any information, call the Jackson Police Department.

Other sources:
http://www.wlbt.com/
http://www.wjtv.com/
http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/
http://www.topix.net/city/jackson-ms
http://www.wapt.com/index.html I didn't watch the Jackson home invasion video so I don't know what it is about.

Looks pretty nasty in Jackson,

Dixie