CrimeStoppers - Lives of crime interrupted

They held a knife to a 60-year-old man's throat, threatened to beat an elderly married couple with a nail-studded board and broke the wrist of a man who was reaching for his wallet.

The men who invaded several Cape Girardeau homes in 1996, beating and robbing terrified elderly residents, provided a catalyst for an anti-crime movement that ultimately has led to the capture of 144 fugitives.

At least 16 burglaries targeting the elderly were reported that year. When residents began offering reward money, civic groups and police put together a local version of the internationally known CrimeStoppers program.

Since its formal inception in 1997, the Southeast Missouri CrimeStoppers hotline has been called a success by organizers, who point to the arrest totals.

"The reach is pretty unbelievable," said CrimeStoppers board chairman Mitch Robinson. "We've had tips come in from Southern Illinois, Eastern Kentucky, even as far away as Florida."

Coordinated by the Cape Girardeau Police Department and a 13-member board, the program is simple: Callers anonymously provide police with information about a crime, potential crime or whereabouts of a fugitive, and cash rewards are offered for information that leads to an arrest and charge.

Out of 449 calls received by Southeast Missouri CrimeStoppers since its inception, anonymous tipsters have received $13,670 in cash rewards for providing vital information in recovering fugitives, stolen property and drugs. The suspects profiled were sought for crimes ranging from gang-style shootings to probation violations.

When Shelton Hempstead's daughter, Erica, was shot in her back in January on the 400 block of South Ellis Street, the suspected shooter joined the ranks of CrimeStoppers fugitives.

Tips first led police to look for the shooting suspect, Zatron Twiggs, then 17, in Sikeston, Mo., but the teen evaded capture. About a week later, Twiggs was found in an attic in Carbondale, Ill., by Sikeston and Carbondale police. He eventually pleaded guilty and received seven years in prison for second-degree assault.

Although no reward money was paid since CrimeStoppers' tips did not lead police to Carbondale, the victim's family believes the program is effective.

"If I thought that I could help in any kind of way and speak in favor for it, I would," Shelton Hempstead said of the program. "With CrimeStoppers, all you need is one picture and everybody working together to find someone -- and it works."

Born in New Mexico

The first CrimeStoppers program originated after the shooting of Michael Carmen at an Albuquerque, N.M., gas station in July 1976. Two men robbed the station and fired a shotgun blast into his abdomen. After six weeks of trying to solve the murder, police approached an Albuquerque television station and asked whether a re-enactment of the crime could be aired in a newscast. The next morning after it aired, police received a tip, the case was solved and CrimeStoppers was born.

A local desire for the program came in the summer of 1996 as terrified senior citizens started reporting brutal home invasions in Cape Girardeau. The invaders demanded money and, in some instances, cut phone lines and wielded knives. They beat uncooperative victims, including a 90-year-old disabled woman who suffered a cut hand as she was dragged across a floor.

Jerry Probst's home was targeted in November 1996. He was alone watching "Nash Bridges" on television when it happened.

"They came in the back door, and I thought it was a neighbor playing a joke on me," he said. "Then I saw the board and I knew they weren't faking it."

Both men wore ski masks and one wielded a 6-foot-long black board, Probst said.

"They asked for my billfold, but I was laying on the couch on my pocket and about every time I went to reach back to get it they'd hit me with that board," he said. "When they broke my wrist, the board broke and I got up and they broke through the door and got out."

Three men ultimately were convicted for their involvement in the home invasions: Tyrone D. Walker, Walter S. Lee and John E. Jackson.

Walker pleaded guilty in 1998 to multiple burglary and robbery-related charges and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Lee pleaded guilty to second-degree burglary and was sentenced to three years in prison.

Jackson pleaded guilty to hindering prosecution, telling the court he drove a vehicle after the other two men robbed a home but had no knowledge of their intent. He was sentenced to three years in prison, but the judge suspended the execution of the sentence and placed Jackson on probation. He completed his probation in August, but the conviction remains on his criminal record.

When a call is received, a caller is assigned a unique number that is the only means of identifying the caller later for reward money. A caller's name is never recorded or documented.

"That secrecy aspect is at the heart of the success of CrimeStoppers," Robinson said.

One reason for secrecy:Callers can be very familiar with the suspects, said police spokesman Cpl. Ike Hammonds. "Sometimes people turn in friends or family members," he said. "And if they're going to do that, they at least want some money for it."

The dollars-for-tips program puts law enforcement and residents in a crime-fighting partnership, Hammonds said. He receives about 10 messages a week on the hotline.

"They tend to focus their information on drugs," he said. "But I'd like to see the CrimeStoppers line used for various crimes."

Southeast Missouri's program offers up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest and charging of anyone who commits a crime or who leads authorities to the recovery of stolen property or the seizure of illegal drugs or an arrest on an outstanding warrant.

The more serious the crime, the larger the reward. A rate structure was devised by the program's board in its first year, Robinson said. Tips about lesser crimes earn callers an average of $50. The highest award this year was $250.

Like most CrimeStoppers programs, Southeast Missouri's is community-supported. Contributions come from individuals, businesses and civic groups and are tax deductible.

"The last campaign we ran was in early '01," Robinson said. "At that point we received over $2,000. We've operated on that since with a cash balance of about $1,600."

Another $1,000 donation is expected to be delivered soon by the Lion's Club, he said.

The next board meeting will be later this month. Members are likely going to discuss new strategies for advertising the program, he said.

mwells@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 160