If it smells like gang activity…

… it just might be. We’ll be watching this case closely as it develops. (We actually may be reading about it soon, since the Register & Bee reads SouthsideCentral)

Accused gang member faces attempted murder charge

This is the story that I told you about on Saturday that I found in the Chatham Star-Tribune. It’s gotten absolutely no mention in the R&B or the local TV stations.

We’ve got attempted abduction, attempted carjacking and assault and battery charges that have now been jacked up by a grand jury to attempted capital murder, attempted rape and conspiracy to commit capital murder. Pretty serious stuff when you read the narrative, folks. I’ve been highly suspect of real gang activity in the Southside area but this caught my eye. This is going to be a “Yes, we have real gang issues” or “No, this is horsecrap.” once this case goes to trial.

Now let’s get to another issue that’s almost as serious as the crimes are… why hasn’t anybody covered this story and why hasn’t law enforcement been more forthcoming with these incident that has resulted in serious charges? When James Terry got busted in South Boston for raping and killing an elderly woman, the South Boston police department and the Halifax County Commonwealth’s Attorney office was out with media releases within hours and continue to keep that case in the news. We’ve got nothing like that happening here.

I can think of a few reasons why…

• A) The law enforcement community doesn’t really want people to know that there is a significant gang problem because it will panic the community
• B) The law enforcement community doesn’t really want people to know that there is a significant gang problem because it would show that it has expanded under their own noses
• C) The local media (except for the Star-Tribune & sister publications) just completely suck at real investigative reporting and only take the stories that are handed to them by the authorities.
• D) All of the above.

I have my money on “D”. Let’s see if this article gets this story some more traction with the local media and possibly some response from the law enforcement community. We’ll continue to follow up on this here on SouthsideCentral.