POLICE SEEK TO EXPLAIN CRIME SPIKE

Chief Says Some Victims At Wrong Place At Wrong Time

A rash of violence in Charleston may be due to a combination of a
downturn in the economy and people being in the wrong place at the
wrong time, city police said today.

The latest examples of this trend occurred on Monday when there were
two separate incidents -- a nighttime shooting and a stabbing death
that happened earlier in the day.

Last week, there were two West Side shootings. In the first case, a
home was riddled with gunfire, while the second involved a man who
was shot while standing in his living room.

Charleston Police Chief Jerry Riffe said he does not yet have
statistics to determine whether or not there has been more violent
crime this year. But compared with last year, "it seems as though
there is," he said.

Drugs play a part in a number of the shootings, Riffe said.

"It's safe to say they play a part in a vast majority. There's
nothing new about that," he said.

Asked if Charleston residents should be concerned about their safety,
Riffe said, "You greatly enhance your chances of being injured when
you are out of your element -- when you are in a part of town known
for drug dealing in the early hours of the morning.

"If you find yourself in that situation, you should be worried. More
often than not, we see victims who have put themselves in these
circumstances and are then victims."

Another factor in the upswing in violent crime may have to do with a
trend the chief predicted a while back, a Charleston detective said.

"It's as Chief (Jerry) Riffe said several months ago," said Sgt. Rick
Westfall, "with the economy and recession -- I think the crime rate
will cruise up a bit."

Charleston Assistant Fire Chief R.C. Stanley echoed the same
sentiment: "We hardly go a shift by without a shooting or a stabbing,
now."

At 10 p.m. Monday night, police were called to Littlepage Terrace on
the West Side, Westfall said.

Danny Bennett, 36, said he had been hanging out on the corner on King
Avenue when he was approached by four or five men who knocked him
down and shot him in the right leg, Westfall said.

Bennett, who lives on the East End, called the shooting "unprovoked
and not drug related," Westfall said.

Bennett could not give detailed descriptions of his attackers, Westfall said.

"What can you do about random shootings and random stabbings?"
Westfall asked. "We are getting an upward trend.

"We hit a point here in our life in Charleston when we were having 18
murders a year and that was normal. We're starting to ease back
toward that," he said.

Riffe said that though patrols have been increased on the West Side,
where the majority of the incidents have taken place, "You can have
all the patrols you want, but what if they aren't right there when
the shooting takes place?"

There have been a number of shootings and stabbings in Charleston
over the past few weeks, including the Monday death of Mark Hicks who
was found stabbed on the floor of his apartment.

Roger Matthew Belle, 39, of Charleston has been charged with
first-degree murder Monday in the slaying and is being held at South
Central Regional Jail.