All Homicides Down 12%

DRUG-RELATED SLAYINGS DECLINE TO 10-YEAR LOW

Other Leading Factors In Charlotte: Domestic Violence, Robberies

Drug-related homicides in Charlotte hit a 10-year low in 2001, part of a 12
percent decline in the total number of slayings. Charlotte-Mecklenburg
police say four of last year's 66 slayings - about 6percent - were tied to
the illegal drug trade.

The motives in nine slayings are either undetermined or still under
investigation. Just two years ago, there were 21 drug-related homicides -
about 25 percent of the 84 killings in 1999. Police say they will continue
to focus this year on drug interdiction, but also increase their efforts to
combat domestic violence, robberies and burglaries - the leading factors in
Charlotte homicides. Despite last year's decline in homicides, officials
warn the economy - which took an additional hit after the Sept. 11 attacks
- - could send more people toward crack-cocaine, marijuana, alcohol and other
drugs. It could also send more criminals in search of cash to pay for the
next high - committing robberies, burglaries or worse.

Many become murder victims themselves, killed by drug dealers, police say.
"A lot of crimes take place in high-risk environments," said
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Darrel Stephens. Jonathan Lamar Harris,
26, was shot in the head in May during an early morning scuffle over drugs
at the Plaza Oaks Apartments in east Charlotte, police said. Harris' death
is the type of drug-related violence targeted by Stephens since his tenure
began in 1999. Charlotte was facing a 29 percent increase in homicides,
fueled by drug-related crime. In response, police revived street-level drug
enforcement units, deploying them across Charlotte-Mecklenburg based on an
analysis of crime data. The units, the largest of which is in west
Charlotte, focus on illegal guns and drug-dealing. Stephens credits the
units with reducing the number of drug-related homicides, but warned the
improvements could be short-lived. "When people are out of work, they are
more likely to turn to alcohol or drugs," Stephens said. "That generally
increases not only violent crime, but property crime also." Many large
cities, including Chicago, Boston, Atlanta and Los Angeles, reported
increases in the number of homicides in 2001 after nearly a decade of
steady decline. Stephens says possible signs of increased crime may already
be here, though crime overall was down about 1.5 percent through October
compared to the same time period last year. Armed robberies, for example,
were up 16percent during the first 10 months of 2001. Commercial
burglaries, including holdups at restaurants and convenience stores, were
up about 22percent. Seventeen - or about 26 percent - of the homicides in
Charlotte-Mecklenburg last year occurred during a robbery or burglary.

Police hope several initiatives already under way will help reduce the
number of slayings. Beginning about a year ago, officers in the University
area and northern Mecklenburg urged convenience store owners to limit
late-night access by installing service windows.

Police report few robbery attempts at stores in compliance. Also, the
Police Department's international relations unit has been meeting with
community groups and Spanish-speaking residents, urging people to put money
in banks or credit unions instead of carrying large amounts of cash. A
record 18 Hispanics were killed last year, many during robberies or
burglaries. Latinos make up 7 percent of the population in Mecklenburg, and
about 27 percent of last year's Charlotte homicide victims.

In 2000, 10 of the 75 murder victims - about 13 percent - were Latino.
Thirty-five blacks were slain in 2001, about 53 percent of homicides.

In 2000, blacks made up 62 percent of homicide victims.

Whites comprised 17 percent, up from 13 percent in 2000. In most cases, the
killer and victim were of the same race. Of homicides in which police know
whether there was a relationship between the killer and victim, just one
involved strangers. Killers are more likely to live with or date their
victims or share their victims' bloodline.

One in four homicides was the result of domestic violence within a family
or intimate partners, police records show. To combat domestic homicides,
police are tracking hot spots for repeat domestic violence calls and
encouraging officers to make probable cause arrests whenever there is
evidence of domestic violence. Police say domestic homicides are among the
hardest to prevent, because abuse often goes unreported until it's fatal.
The number of homicides in other Mecklenburg towns remained low in 2001.
Huntersville, for example, reported one slaying, a June murder-suicide
involving cousins in their 70s. In 2000, the town investigated two
homicides. Matthews police did not investigate a murder in 2001. Deputy
Chief Carla Thompson said there were several close calls. "If not for the
trauma centers at area hospitals and the quick responses by Medic and
volunteer first responders, we probably would have had quite a few,"
Thompson said. Gaston County police investigated four homicides, up from
two the year before.

Gastonia city police investigated six homicides, two fewer than in 2000.
Cleveland and Gaston residents were shaken in September after a gentle and
well-liked 19-year-old Kings Mountain man was fatally shot within 100 yards
of his grandmother's house.

Two 14-year-old boys have been charged with first-degree murder.

Police said the victim, Justin Braswell, who had a mental handicap, was
robbed of less than $20. There were eight homicides in Cabarrus County in
2001, the highest total since 1998, when there were 12. Five of them were
investigated by the Concord Police Department, including the unsolved
Nov.18 murder of Terri Bobbitt, a prominent advocate for the
developmentally disabled. York and Chester counties in South Carolina,
quiet for most of 2001, finished the year with a spate of slayings. Joe and
Joy Pittman of Chester were fatally shot in their bed Nov. 28 as they slept
and then burned in an intentionally set fire. Authorities charged their
12-year-old grandson with murder. A day later, a 12-year-old girl was found
strangled to death in her bed in Rock Hill. She had also been raped, police
said. Her father, Billy Wayne Cope, was charged in the attack. Early last
month, Rock Hill police also investigated a murder-suicide and a fatal
shooting near a basketball court. Shannon Thomas and her grandmother, Wilma
Thomas, were fatally wounded Dec.14 in the parking lot of the Moss Justice
Center, York County's law enforcement center.

Shannon Thomas' former common-law husband, Michael Godfrey, was charged
with two counts of murder. "Anytime you have that many homicides in a short
period of time, it makes people nervous," said Rock Hill Police Chief Dave
Fortson. York city police last month investigated their first homicide of
2001. Sylvia Floyd was beaten, kicked and stabbed with a kitchen knife.

Authorities charged Russell Holley, a man she had been dating on and off
for years, with murder. Staff Writer Richard Rubin contributed to this article.