VIOLENT WEEKEND HIGHLIGHTS CHRONIC PUBLIC HOUSING CRIME

ASHEVILLE - Gunshots that sounded like
cannon fire woke Roger Ware about 3 a.m. Sunday, reminding him of
another shooting months ago in his Lee Walker Heights community.

"You'd better get some sleep during the day because you're not going
to get any at night," Ware said. "I don't know what he was shooting,
but it sounded like a cannon."

That shooting was one of three weekend incidents of violence where
police were called to public housing complexes. None were crimes that
typically would grab a lot of attention. But taken together, they
highlight chronic crime problems that have become the focus of City
Council and community debate.

In the shooting, police charged DeWayne Austin Darity, 22, with going
armed to the terror of the public and drug possession. Authorities
said he fired an assault rifle. Police also found a .50 caliber
handgun from an apartment where Darity was staying. No one was injured.

Also over the weekend, police arrested 16-year-old Daniel Rice of
Bartlett Street in the shooting of 19-year-old Orion Michael Hunt, who
told officers he was shot at Pisgah View Apartments. Hunt was shot
twice in the leg and was taken to the hospital by a friend. Rice was
charged with assault inflicting serious injury and attempted armed
robbery.

Shawntanne Goodlet, 26, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon
inflicting serious injury in the stabbing of James Edward Conner. He
was stabbed in the right chest at Hillcrest Apartments Saturday.
Police said they were boyfriend and girlfriend.

Dr. Carl Mumpower, vice mayor of Asheville, talks about things that
will be in his latest proposal for cleaning up public housing that
were not included in his previous proposals.

Roger Ware, who has lived at Lee Walker Heights since 1961, recalls
what it was like to live there at first.

Mr. Ware talks about getting Lee Walker Heights cleaned
up.

Mr. Ware laments the fact that he doesn't feel safe in his own
home.

Asheville Police Capt. Ted Lambert said while this wasn't a typical
weekend in public housing, "I don't think it's unusual to have a busy
weekend like that."

Crime in public housing, and particularly drug-related crime, has been
on the City Council's agenda since Vice Mayor Carl Mumpower pushed his
colleagues to fund a drug interdiction program earlier this month.

Last year, the city got 610 calls for service related to drug dealing.
Most were concentrated in public housing developments, where about
3,000 people live.

The proposal with a $1 million dollar price tag failed in a 4-3 vote.
Those opposed agreed that drugs are a problem requiring the city's
attention. But they advocated a slower, more methodical approach that
would attack the problem "holistically" by also addressing societal
issues such as jobs, underfunded education, after-school programs and
inadequate drug counseling.

The original plan was criticized for throwing money at a program where
arrests would be the ultimate goal.

Mumpower says he has continually advocated for a holistic approach to
the drug problem, but has now drafted a third proposal he says is a
compromise plan.

"Honestly, I think we have to start with public safety. If we can add
a few things to make others feel more comfortable, we will," he said
of fellow council members. "We want to keep our eye on the ball.
That's public safety."

He declined to go into great detail about the new plan because the
full council has not seen it, but said it proposes the council:

n Look for ways to push for stronger support for children living in
public housing, in part by encouraging the entire Asheville community
to partner with the public housing community.

n Forge stronger partnerships with the Drug Enforcement Agency,
Attorney General's office and State Bureau of Investigation to reduce
drugs.

n Establish a strong relationship with the city school systems to
develop meaningful hard drug intervention for youths.

"We should not ask people to live in places we're afraid to drive
through," Mumpower said. "What happened this weekend unfortunately is
not unusual to the extent there are a lot of harmful things occurring
in too many neighborhoods in our city."

Forcing drug dealers out of those neighborhoods must happen before the
problems of children and others in the community can be addressed,
said Ware, who has lived in Lee Walker since 1961.

He is doubtful his complex can return to the peaceable community he
once knew, and said he wants police to constantly stay in Lee Walker.

Sunday's shooting reminded him of the December shooting that left
Odell Dixon Jr. dead and a 13-year-old charged with his murder. Both
happened in Lee Walker Heights, and helping the kids there must start
with ridding them of the bad influences, Ware said.

"They see those grownups selling drugs and that's what they're going
to want, to be getting that fast money," he said. "You have to clean
up your house first, we'll get the kids later. There's no sense
putting them in a dirty house."

Contact Maxwell at 232-5957 or TMaxwell@CITIZEN-TIMES.com.

Timeline of violence in 2003

May 26 - George Boston killed at Deaverview in May. Boston, who was
out on bail for murder charges, was shot multiple times while children
played outside.

June 16 - Albert Fleming shot at Pisgah View. A bullet to his side
made him a paraplegic.

July 12 - A 10-year-old girl was grazed by a bullet fragment that went
into the car she rode in at Pisgah View. A 23-year-old man and a
15-year-old boy were arrested in the shooting, which injured them both.

Aug. 3 - Three-month-old Angel Divine Randall was smothered to death
at Pisgah View Apartments. His father, 16- year-old Princeston
Christopher Randall, was charged with murder.

August - A woman is arrested in Deaverview and charged with allowing
men to have sex with her daughter in exchange for drugs.

Dec. 11 - Odell Dixon, 18, died after being shot in the head at Lee
Walker Heights Apartments. Danquon Brown, 13, was arrested last month.