HIGH POINT HAS MOST HOMICIDES SINCE 1973

HIGH POINT -- Homicides in High Point climbed to 16 in 1997, the most the
city has seen in more than 20 years.

There's no need to panic yet, says High Point Police Chief Louis Quijas,
but it is time for the community to help the police combat crime in the city.

"We need to work hand in hand," Quijas said. "The easy thing for us to do
as a community is to point fingers. The hard thing to do is to sit down and
come up with strategies."

Quijas hopes to initiate a project with Wake Forest and High Point
universities and the U.S. Attorney's office to determine what factors
contribute to the city's violent crime.

"We want outside people ... to help us see where the weak link in the chain
is," Quijas said. "These things sneak up on you. All of a sudden you have
16 homicides."

The Rev. E.B. Freeman, president of the High Point chapter of the NAACP,
agrees that the community needs to get involved, but he isn't sure how much
the community can do.

"It's puzzling to me how we as ordinary citizens can really do anything
until ... the issue of street drugs like cocaine and marijuana can be
lessened coming into the community," Freeman said.

"We have got to stop the pipeline of drugs into the community."

Lt. Debra Duncan said most of 1997's homicides were drug-related. She
attributes the high number to the increasing use of drugs and guns in the
city.

In 1996 there were 12 homicides, six of which are unsolved. In 1973 there
were 18 murders, the most the city has ever had. In 1984 High Point had
only two murders, the lowest number in more than 30 years.

Duncan said High Point was just lucky to have only two murders in 1984. "I
don't think we were doing anything differently in 1984 than we're doing
now," she said.

Broken families, unemployment and other factors that police cannot control
also contribute to violence in the community. That doesn't make it easy for
police to prevent homicides and other violent crimes, Quijas said.

"A lot of times (homicides) happen behind closed doors," Quijas said.
"Homicide is hard to prevent because a lot of times it's spontaneous."

Duncan added: "You don't sit there and say 'I'm going to kill someone next
Tuesday at five' ."

Quijas said the year's 16 homicides also may be evidence that
black-on-black crime is increasing in High Point. The majority of the
victims and suspects were black males, Quijas said. "That causes me great
concern."

The police department, along with community leaders, recently formed a
Black-on-Black Crime Task Force to address the issue of violent crime in
the black community.

Quijas also worries that people are no longer affected by killings that
happen in their neighborhoods.

"We've become immune to the fact we're having these homicides," Quijas
said. "I think we should be as concerned about the first homicide as we are
the 16th homicide. I think it's time now we say enough is enough."

Freeman added, "No one is (angry) enough in High Point to say 'Let's stop
the killings.'"

UNSOLVED HOMICIDES IN HIGH POINT IN 1997High Point has four unsolved
homicides from 1997. They are:

Tammy Sue Slack, 28, was reported missing Oct. 27 by her parents. On April
10, police ruled her death a homicide when her skeletal remains were found
in a Cedrow Avenue yard.

Lisa Carol Kinley, 31, was found in a wooded area near the Motel 6 at
Ardale Drive on May 5. Kinley's death wasn't ruled a homicide at the time
because an autopsy didn't indicate foul play. Seven months later, police
ruled Kinley's death a homicide based on new evidence.

Gennadly Dzhanyants, 36, was found shot to death in his apartment at 1602-E
Long St. on Aug. 29.

Harold Jevone Dockery, 23, was shot and killed Dec. 26 while talking to two
other people in the parking lot of his apartment at 501-D Meredith St.
Police said a man jumped out of a passing car, ran toward the three and
fired a 9 mm pistol. Dockery was shot in the head.