DRUG, ALCOHOL EFFECTS INCLUDE HOMICIDE

In the past seven years, about three-dozen of Fayette County's
homicides involved either drugs or alcohol.

It was the direct catalyst for several of them and had a tangential
involvement in others.

Perhaps the most prominent example of a drug-related homicide in the
county was the deaths of three people and an unborn child at the
hands of Mark Duane Edwards Jr.

Edwards, 24, of Uniontown was sentenced to death for shooting and
killing Larry Bobish Sr., his wife, Joanna, and their daughter,
Krystal, on April 14, 2002. He also killed Krystal Bobish's unborn
child, and nearly killed the Bobish's young son, Larry Jr., when he
shot and cut the boy's throat at his North Union Township home.

Edwards went into the Bobish home after Bobish Sr. threatened to
report him to police for robbery because Edwards stole the drugs
"wet" from the Bobish home.

Wet is formaldehyde laced with PCP, sometimes cut with a solvent like
kerosene, paint thinner or lighter fluid. People dip cigarettes or
marijuana joints in them and smoke them.

After Edwards brutally shot the family, with the younger son begging
him to stop, he set the residence on fire. Bobish Jr., now living out
the area, managed to escape the blaze, and an off-duty trooper
delivering newspapers with his sons found the boy.

It was a case District Attorney Nancy D. Vernon referenced earlier
this month, when state Reps. Tim Mahoney, D-South Union Township;
Deborah Kula, D-North Union Township; and others came to the county
to host a hearing to help stem the flow of crime and violence.

The goal of the task force is to bring concerns from across the state
to Harrisburg in an attempt to find state money to combat problems.

Members of law enforcement and social service agencies spoke at the
hearing, trying to give the representatives an idea of what was
necessary to help combat the oft-referenced problems drugs create.

During the hearing, Vernon, task force Lt. Kyle Sneddon and Uniontown
police Chief Ronald Kozak all came out in favor of a countywide
police force to bring a united front against crime.

"When you have the appearance of police, you have a decrease in
crime," Vernon said.

With smaller municipalities cash-strapped and sometimes unable to
afford a department, each agreed that there was sense in bringing the
smaller departments together, under the heading of a larger one.

Fayette County Commissioners Chairwoman Angela M. Zimmerlink said
that the idea may have some merit, but requires further
examination.

"There are pros and cons on having a countywide police force versus
municipal departments, and because of that, I would be willing to
listen to both sides and also obtain public input before making a
decision," she said.

Commissioner Vincent A. Vicites said he also would be willing to
explore the possibility.

"I certainly would keep an open mind and listen to whatever ideas or
plans that they may have for that. I realize that we need to keep
focused on this problem. If we can work with them to come up with a
good plan, I certainly would consider it," he said.

Vicites noted that he has been a supporter of the county's Crime
Stoppers program, and also the Fayette County Juvenile Probation
Youth Commission, which gives first-time juvenile offenders a second
chance.

"I realize that the crime in Fayette County is mostly alcohol- and
drug-related, and I think we have to help in any way we can, and
explore all options," Vicites said.

The fight over drug territory also puts innocent people at
risk.

Although police have been unable to prove it, they strongly suspect
that one of the drug factions in the county put a bomb on the vehicle
of another faction, Sneddon said. The intent was to kill the member
of a rival faction, he said.

But the bomb fell from the man's car, and was on the sidewalk for
hours while children played nearby. Eventually someone called police
about the package, and the Allegheny County Bomb Squad was called in
to detonate the pipe bomb.

"Many people lack a sense of security in their homes. Many of our
residents are experiencing a lesser quality of life," Sneddon said.

That drives Vernon, who heads the Fayette County Drug Task Force, to
keep pushing forward in an attempt to curtail the drug trade.

In just over 2 1/2 years, the task force has taken nearly 13 pounds
of marijuana, crack and powder cocaine, heroin and other drugs off
the county's streets and made 287 drug-related arrests.

The value of all of those drugs was $274,700.

Those numbers are based on a report of the task force activity for
all of 2005 and 2006, and thus far in 2007.

But also significant in the statistics is the growing number of
vehicle, gun and drug money seizures made by the task force. In just
more than 2 1/2 years, the task force has seized 21 vehicles and 33
guns.

The bulk of those guns - 20 - were seized this year.

Sneddon and Vernon have both said the great number of guns is
evidence that drug-related violence is on the rise.

In 2005, the task force seized $11,397 in drug money. That total grew
to $70,431 in 2006, and already tops $80,000 this year, according to
task force Lt. Ronald Haggerty Jr.

Vernon said the hope is that the task force can stop the flow of
drugs into the county and counteract the effect that they have locally.

Task force members work to show the community that there is a police
presence through their patrols, Vernon said.

She and Sneddon attend many neighborhood watch programs throughout
the county.

They go both as a means of lending their support and to help the
watch participants learn more about what to look for in identifying
potential drug activity.

At some point, Vernon said she would like to organize a countywide
watch, to bring together the smaller community watches.

The task force works with the cooperation of the public. To leave an
anonymous tip, call 724-415-3100, or e-mail to drugtips@zoominternet.net.
The task force Web site is www.fayettecountydrugtaskforce.com.