Residents express concern about gunshots in neighborhood

Editor's note: The story has been corrected to reflect an officer's comments about patrolling private property, not public property as earlier stated.

Residents expressed their frustration with recent shots-fired calls on their block and offered a number of suggestions to curb crime to Cape Girardeau police officers during a neighborhood roll call event Thursday night at the corner of Lorimier and Bellevue streets.

The May 19 shooting of 17-year-old Andrel Dolpin at 235 Lorimier St. was still on people’s minds.

Cpl. Richard Couch talks with community members during a neighborhood roll call Thursday at the corner of North Lorimier Street and Bellevue Street.GLENN LANDBERG ~ glandberg@semissourian.com

“I’m getting ready for bed at 10 till 10, and I hear four shots; should I duck?” Becky Mocherman asked. “The major case squad, do they get any leads?”

A resident, who did not give her name, wanted to know why she was not interviewed about a shots-fired call June 25 at 224 Lorimier St. She said she saw the white Chevrolet Malibu a witness mentioned driving south on Lorimier right before the shooting.

Cpl. Richard Couch recommended offering information to any officer in the vicinity. He said residents should not hesitate to call him or any other officer if they have information about a crime.

“If we’re busy collecting evidence, stick your head out,” Couch said.

Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce president John Mehner asked residents what police and city officials could do on a daily basis.

“We have the same goal in mind,” Mehner said. “You don’t want this going on, and we don’t want this going on.”

Residents offered specific recommendations.

Kelison Hines suggested patrol cars drive into apartment-complex parking lots to deter criminal activity.

She said that was previously a common police practice.

Couch said police usually do not patrol on private property, but there is no rule against the practice.

“They don’t like to deal (drugs) around us,” Couch said.

Deputy city manager Molly Hood said the city is working to encourage rental-property owners to clean up apartments and be more selective about their tenants.

Hood said rental inspectors and nuisance-abatement officers were going to identify hot-spot properties in the city, and she encouraged residents to report nuisance and code violations to the city.

Resident Andrew Bard said the owner of the apartment complex at 235 Lorimier St. convinced problem tenants to leave his apartments.

Couch said a resident who lives in the neighborhood had been arrested on suspicion of drug charges.

Resident Michael McGinnis suggested Lorimier should be a one-way street.

Hood said an engineering study would be necessary to determine whether Lorimier could be a one-way street, especially since North Middle one block west is one-way.

McGinnis also recommended putting up city-operated cameras on Lorimier and Bellevue streets. Hood said city-run cameras might be prohibitively expensive.

Resident Brad Hines asked about using funds from Isle Casino Cape Girardeau.

Hood said taxes collected are put into a fund to pay for technology.

Couch recommended residents try to make their houses a hard target for burglaries by turning on exterior lights.

Multiple residents, including McGinnis and Bard, talked about putting up personal security cameras.

Resident Sharon Warren asked about improved street lighting.

Hood seemed receptive to that idea, at least on city-owned electrical poles.

McGinnis asked about stop-and-frisk tactics, famous in New York City.

Couch said police have employed stop and frisk before.

“I think studies have shown it helps,” he said.

Couch commented Lorimier and Bellevue residents were taking a step in the right direction by caring about their neighborhood. The 19 residents in attendance were the largest group to attend a neighborhood roll-call event, Couch said.

“You can get cooperation out of this block,” Brad Hines said. “I’ll tell you that.”

bkleine@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3644

Pertinent address:

North Lorimier Street and Bellvue Street, Cape Girardeau, Mo.