Stewart: Prince William murder, gang fight point to rise in crime
http://www.insidenova.com/news/crime_police/stewart-prince-william-murder-gang-fight-point-to-rise-in/article_6134c41c-aacc-11e3-b403-0019bb2963f4.html
Prince William County Board of Supervisors Chairman Corey Stewart says he’s concerned about a possible uptick in violent crime in the county and has asked Police Chief Stephan Hudson to research recent crime trends and statistics and report back to the full board as soon as possible.
Stewart, R-At Large, noted during Tuesday’s board meeting that the county’s overall crime rate is at a 15-year low. But he said a recent spate of high-profile crimes, including the fatal shooting of a 21-year-old Woodbridge store clerk and a fight involving several teen-agers at Potomac Mills Mall, has him concerned.
“Over the last several weeks there have been several notorious incidents that seem to indicate, at least the perception is, that this drop in violent crime in Prince William County is now reversing itself and that has a lot of constituents concerned,” Stewart said.
Addressing his fellow supervisors about the issue, he added: “This community has never papered over problems. I guess it’s just the nature of this board that we bring things out in the open.”
Stewart’s concerns come amid budget planning for the 2015 fiscal year, which begins July 1. During a press conference held in his office prior to Tuesday’s meeting Stewart said he’s concerned the county hasn’t added enough police officers in recent years to keep up with population growth.
The county currently has 610 sworn police officers but should have 870, according to the county’s police staffing formula that recommends two officers for every 1,000 residents. The county’s population is estimated to exceed 430,000.
The county’s police staffing plan recommends adding 25 police officer positions each year, but the budget proposed by County Executive Melissa Peacor would add only five new officers in 2015. The county added 14 police officer positions this year, 12 in fiscal year 2013 and 10 in fiscal year 2012.
Stewart said supervisors limited hiring during the recession and need to catch up.
“We put off things that were easy to put off for a year or two, like hiring new police and new firefighters,” Stewart said. As a result, the county’s total police and fire-rescue personnel numbers are “not just a little bit lower than we should be, [they’re] a lot lower.”
When asked if current police staff numbers are affecting the department’s ability to respond to calls for assistance, Stewart said he’s not sure.
“I don’t know that and I want to find out,” he said, adding he also wants to know about current crime trends, the ages of recent perpetrators, to what extent recent crimes are related to gang activity and whether crime is up regionally.
Violent crime on the rise?
Violent crimes reported in Prince William County in 2012 were up about 9 percent from the previous year, according to the 2012 crime report. But those crimes – defined as murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault – amounted to about 6 percent of the total crime in the county in 2012, the most recent year for which statistics are available.
The 2012 report shows lower numbers of murders and aggravated assaults in 2012 compared to 2011 but slightly higher numbers of reported rapes and robberies. Police say it's important to note that some of the crimes included in the 2012 report occurred in 2011, but weren't immediately reported.
The 2013 crime statistics are still being compiled and won’t be released until later this spring or summer. But Prince William County spokesman Jonathan Perok said in an email that he doesn’t know of “any particular spike in crime.”
“Once the report is compiled and publicly available, we will have a better understanding of our current standing between 2012 and 2013,” Perok wrote.
Stewart said his recent concerns were sparked by the “absolutely heartless, execution-style murder” of Glenda Marisol Coca-Romero on Feb. 21 and the Feb. 15 mall fight that erupted in the food court on a crowded Saturday evening and was later said to be related to gang activity.
“People are waking up and wondering, what’s going on?” Stewart said, referring to the two incidents. “If this is the beginning of the reversal of this trend, we need to know about it and we need to nip it in the bud to see what we can do about this trend.”
Coca-Romero was working at Plantanillos Grocery and Jewelry on U.S. 1 in Woodbridge when three men, dressed in black with their faces covered, stormed into the store at about 9 p.m. and shot her and a 42-year-old coworker. Coca-Romero had a 10-month-old daughter. The co-worker suffered life-threatening injuries but survived. Police are still searching for the suspects and a possible motive.
Three teens – two 15-year-old Woodbridge boys and a 14-year-old Triangle boy -- were arrested and charged with malicious wounding, assault and battery and criminal gang participation in connection with the mall fight.
As evidence that crime might be up across the county, Stewart also mentioned three sexual assaults reported in the Manassas area March 8 and 9, a Nokesville bank robbery March 6 and a March 1 robbery in Triangle.
“It’s not just in Woodbridge or Dale City, it’s not just in places where people would think these things would occur. They are happening in the western end of the county,” he said.
One of the three reported sexual assaults involved a suspect who was a stranger to the victim, a 40-year-old woman who told police an unknown man climbed into her bed and sexually assaulted her March 9. The incident occurred before dawn in an apartment on Prince Cole Court.
The two other sexual assaults involved juvenile victims, a 12-year-old and 16-year-old, who told police their assailants were known acquaintances. Arrests have been made in both cases.
When asked why Chief Hudson did not also attend the Tuesday press conference, Stewart said he believed his effort needs to start with the board of supervisors.
“The police chief can only be directed by the county executive and the county executive can only be directed by the board,” he said.
Upon hearing Stewart’s concerns during the board meeting, Supervisor Maureen Caddigan, R-Potomac, also asked if Stewart had spoken to Hudson.
“He is waiting for direction from this board,” Stewart said.
Supervisor Pete Candland, R-Gainesville, said he agreed the board should look into recent crimes but added, “We don’t want to worry anyone if there isn’t a problem.”
“This might just be an anomaly,” Candland said. “We want to make sure we’re not just making rash decisions, but it might be an issue.”