Crime In Charlotte, NC

UPDATE: Ernest Hill is back on the streets of Charlotte!

From the CMPD South Division: At approximately 1:30 this afternoon, police were called to the 900 block of Ideal Way in regards to a residential burglary. Providence officers quickly responded to the scene and obtained a suspect description from a neighbor who witnessed the burglary. The suspects were described as four black males occupying a white Cadillac.

Providence officers began circulating the area looking for the suspects. A short while later, an officer spotted the Cadillac at South Boulevard and East Boulevard in the parking lot of Fuel Pizza. A tow truck was in the process of towing the vehicle. Apparently the vehicle had struck a curb while fleeing and became disabled. Officers stopped the tow truck and detained the passenger who matched the description of one of the suspects involved in the burglary.

The witness from the burglary was brought to the scene and the detainee was positively identified as being involved in the burglary. A subsequent search of the trunk of the car located the victim’s flat screen television. The tow truck driver, who was not involved in the burglary, informed officers that he had observed the suspect throw something in a nearby dumpster. Officers searched the dumpster and located the victim’s computer.

The suspect, Ernest Hill, was arrested and taken to the Providence Division office to be interviewed by burglary detectives. Police are still looking for the other three suspects.

At 10:00 this morning, a robbery occurred at a residence on Ballantyne Crossing Avenue. This is in the Ballantyne Country Club Community on the east side of Johnston Road. According to police, the description of events are as follows:

The female resident (wife) arrived home after visiting the Wachovia Branch Bank located at Ballantyne Commons Pkwy and Elm Lane. She parked her car in the garage and entered the residence and left the garage door open. She left the door from the garage to the house unlocked as well because her husband was outside doing yard work in the backyard.

After being in the house for approximately 10 minutes, the wife emerged from the bedroom and was confronted by a suspect in the hallway holding a handgun. The suspect immediately asked the victim where her jewelry was located. The victim told the suspect that her jewelry was in her bedroom and the suspect walked the victim into the bedroom at gunpoint. He took three boxes of jewelry and started toward the door leading to the garage.

The male resident (husband) had just entered the residence when he saw the suspect approaching him. The wife yelled to her husband that they were being robbed. The husband engaged the suspect in a physical struggle. The wife informed the husband that the suspect had a gun so the husband stopped fighting the suspect. The suspect then ran out of the house, got into a car, and fled the scene. Neither of the victims were injured.

We are asking residents to be on the look out for a white Acura with a “New York Yankees” novelty plate on the front and a temporary dealer tag on the back. The tag begins with the numbers 219. If you see this car, call 911 or Crime Stoppers at 704 334-1600. The suspect was described as a black male, 6 feet tall, 205 pounds, short hair, approximately 30 years old. The suspect was wearing a matching brown shirt and pants. The shirt was a collared, button-up short sleeve style. The victims described the clothing as being similar to medical style "scrubs."

Police have two theories as to why this residence was targeted. One possibility is that the suspect followed the wife home from the bank. Logically, this seems less likely since the suspect did not ask for money. The other possibility is that the suspect saw the victims’ open garage door from Johnston Road. The residence is adjacent to Johnston Road and the garage faces Johnston Road.

Captain Golding says CMPD strongly urges you to keep your garage doors shut and your doors locked. This is especially true if your house is near a major thoroughfare. Even if you are doing yard work in the back of your house, shut the garage door after removing your equipment. I realize that this is inconvenient but it’s goes a long way to make your home less inviting to a criminal.

On Saturday morning, the CMPD's South Division Captain Golding sent the following e-mail alert: (Click here to subscribe to CMPD crime alerts)

Shortly after noon on Friday, residents helped police arrest three suspects during a burglary in progress on Sulkirk Road, located in the Beverly Woods neighborhood near Sharon Rd & Park Rd South.

A neighbor reported observing a white Mercury Grand Marquis occupied by three black males driving in the community. The neighbor further observed the vehicle drop off two suspects. The neighbor was able to get the tag number and called 911. A motorist on Sulkirk observed the two suspects walking down the victim’s driveway and also called 911.

The suspects went to the victim’s side door, broke the glass and wooden frame of the door and entered the residence. The suspects then began gathering items of value from inside. Meanwhile, the victim arrived home. After opening the front door and seeing her property disturbed, she went back out the street and met with one of the 911 callers.

The suspects were attempting to flee the residence when officers arrived. One suspect ran in to woods behind the residence and the second suspect went back inside. Officers surrounded the residence and requested a K-9 unit. When the K-9 unit arrived, the residence was entered and the suspect surrendered without incident.

Other officers stopped the suspect vehicle which had been circulating in the area. The driver was arrested and suspected stolen property from other burglaries was recovered from the vehicle. The police helicopter and the K-9 unit attempted to locate the third suspect that had ran into the woods behind the residence. We were unable to locate the suspect at that time.

However, approximately 45 minutes later, an alert citizen spotted the third suspect walking in the neighborhood and called 911. Several South Division and Providence Division officers responded back to the area. With the help of 911 callers and several citizens standing outside, the suspect was finally located by the K-9 unit hiding under the deck of a house at the end of Fairheath Drive.

All three suspects were charged with burglary. There may be more charges if we are able to link any of the other property found in the suspect vehicle with other burglaries.

Special thanks to the citizens who assisted us with this apprehension. This is a prime example of the benefits of establishing Neighborhood Watches.

As always, thanks for your support.

Captain Golding
CMPD South Division

On Tuesday, a resident living in the Piper Glen Community came home to discover over $150,000 worth of jewelry missing. Captain Golding of the CMPD South Division sent the following information regarding the break-in.

The suspects gained entry by forcing open a door at the rear of the residence. Several factors lead police to speculate that the residence was not randomly targeted. Burglary detectives will be following up on leads provided by the victim.

· The only area of the home targeted was where jewelry was stored.
· The victim has had several contractors doing work in her house and recently hired a new cleaning service.
· The residence was left unattended for only 55 minutes before the crime was discovered.
· The alarm was not activated.
· The M. O. (method of operation) has not been seen in other burglaries.

Although burglaries in the South Division are up for the year, we experienced a 35% downward trend during the last 28 days as compared to the previous 28 days. We believe that the arrests and continued incarceration of several groups of burglars is driving this trend and we are optimistic about how these arrests will affect the year to date totals in the division.

The summaries of these significant arrests are as follows:
· As I reported in the last bulletin, we apprehended a group that we felt was responsible for the “garage door opener” burglaries. Although we have yet to connect them to similar cases, there have been no new cases with this M. O. reported.
· You may recall seeing a highly televised police pursuit involving a white pickup towing a trailer in the northern part of the county. Three suspects were arrested. These individuals are very prolific burglars in the Charlotte Metro area and are suspects in cases in the South Division and neighboring Independence Division.
· Two members of the group doing the “front door kick-in” burglaries are currently incarcerated on burglary and other charges.

Bonds on these individuals are relatively high at this time due to their lengthy criminal histories. If these individuals are released, they will receive GPS equipped ankle bracelets and be electronically monitored by our department.

Please continue to practice sound crime prevention techniques and continue to report suspicious behavior to 911. I will keep you updated with any changes. As always, thanks for your support! - Captain R. M. Golding

UPDATE: Police have named the two suspects they arrested in relation to the garage door thefts at the Providence Country Club neighborhood. Javario Miller (Top Photo) and Jovan McLaughlin (Bottom Photo) are charged with felony breaking and entering, breaking/entering a motor vehicle and two counts of larceny.

Police are still looking for the third suspect. He is described as a young black male, 6 feet tall with and athletic build and short to medium length hair. He last seen wearing a red shirt and jeans.

The following information was sent from Captain Golding of the CMPD South Division:

At approximately 1:30 pm, a burglary occurred on Providence Country Club Drive. The burglars first broke into the resident's SUV which was parked at Providence Country Club. The burglars took the garage door opener and some bills from the vehicle.

The suspects were able to get the victim's address from one of the bills and went to the victim's residence and used the victim's garage door opener to gain entry to his house. Meanwhile, the victim had reached the first green when he noticed his dog in the yard. Since the victim had not left his dog outside, he went to check on his house. He saw the burglars’ van parked in his driveway with the engine running and he could see the burglars in his house.

The victim took the keys from the suspect's van and went back to the golf course. One of the suspects pursued the victim onto the golf course and confronted him while brandishing the flag/ pin from the green. The victim was able to fend off the suspect by wielding a golf club. There were two other suspects who left the residence.

An off-duty officer who works for Providence Country Club happened to be passing by and was able to apprehend one suspect on the scene. A second suspect was located in the Longview Community in nearby Union County. A third suspect is still on the loose. He is described as a young black male wearing a red shirt and jeans. He was six feet tall with an athletic build and had short to medium left hair.

Based on the method of operation, we are speculating that these are the same individuals that were committing the series of “garage door opener” burglaries that have been occurring over the last two weeks.

Even though these individuals were apprehended today, we are still cautioning citizens not to leave garage door openers in their cars. Many brands of garage door openers offer smaller remotes that can be attached to a key ring. Also, don’t leave documents with your home address in your car. Of course, state law requires that you have your registration with you so consider placing the registration in a place only known to you or anyone who drives your vehicle.

In closing, I would like to take this opportunity to ask you to help us expand this service. We currently have 1,600 subscribers. With 137,000 residents in South Division, we need to have thousands more sign up. Tell a friend or two to sign up for “notify me” at http://www.cmpd.org/