Suspect In Parking Lot Robbery Arrested

 By NewsChannel 36 Staff / www.wcnc.com

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Police have arrested a man in connection with a Saturday evening robbery in an apartment complex parking lot.

                                                      Dequavious Joseph   

Officers were called to the 7900 block of Shady Oak Trail around 8 p.m. The victim said a man armed with a gun approached him in the parking lot, ordered him to get into the trunk of his own car and then took his wallet, cell phone and GPS.

Police, including a K9 unit and aviation unit, searched the area and found a man who matched the description of the suspect. Officers also found the victim’s property in the area where they found the suspect.

Dequavious Joseph has been charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon and second-degree kidnapping.

Anyone with additional information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.

Repeat Felon Wearing Electronic Monitoring Device Charged With Another Armed Robbery

Woman Robbed at Gun-Point When She Went to Look at Car Advertised For Sale

The Charlotte Observer reported, in an article by Steve Lyttle, on Wednesday, January 26, 2011, that the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police say a man already wearing an electronic monitoring device after an armed robbery arrest last March has been arrested in connection with two more cases on back-to-back days this month.

Catrell Holloway, 21, is among three people charged in connection with a Jan. 18 robbery in the 1300 block of Wembley Drive in police’s Eastway Division. Investigators say Holloway faces additional charges in connection with an incident Jan. 17, in which he allegedly pointed a gun at a woman on Kentbrook Drive in east Charlotte.

Police say Holloway had been put on electronic monitoring after being charged in a March 11 armed robbery on Shamrock Drive.

The Jan. 18 incident happened when a woman arrived at a location on Wembley Drive to buy a car, police say. The woman told investigators that when she arrived, she was approached by three people, one of whom asked to borrow her cell phone.

The woman said when the man got close enough, he grabbed her purse. Another man told the woman he had a gun and advised her to let go of the purse. The three people ran off toward Central Avenue, the woman said.

Investigators said they checked the electronic monitoring records to see if anyone wearing a device was in the Wembley Drive area at the time. The victim identified three suspects as being involved in the robbery, according to police.

Charged with robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery were Holloway; Gadarrius Murphy, 21; and Porschia Jordan, 19.

CMPD Searching For Man Who Cut Off Monitor, Skipped Court

By NewsChannel 36 Staff / http://www.wcnc.com

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte-Mecklenburg police are searching for a man who cut off his electronic monitor and skipped his scheduled court appearance Monday morning.

Police say Salvador Marquez is wanted on outstanding warrants for breaking into a motor vehicle, felony larceny and interfering with an electronic monitoring device. 

Salvador Marquez

Marquez was wearing the electronic monitoring bracelet while out of jail on bond. He was scheduled to appear in court Monday at 9 a.m., but police say he cut off his bracelet and discarded it on Interstate 485 at Steele Creek Road.

Police say Marquez should be considered armed and dangerous. He is 24 years old, 5-feet-6 and weighs about 165 pounds.

If you see him, call 911.

Man Arrested For Breach of The Peace

From http://www.ten8.wordpress.com

By Wade Allen / Gaston Gazette

A Stanley, NC man was arrested for a breach the peace by knocking on doors and asking for money in the early morning hours on Saturday, according to arrest warrants.

Stephen Terrell Rhyne, 26, of 138 Rural Lane allegedly knocked on the doors of four residences between 3:30-4:30 a.m., the warrant states. Three of the residences are located on Upper Spencer Mountain Road in Stanley, the warrant affidavit states.   According to the warrant affidavit, Rhyne was asking for money and trying to sell sunglasses.

Rhyne was charged with public disturbance and held on a $2,500 unsecured bond.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Identify Man Shot, Killed While Attempting Armed Robbery of Subway Restaurant

By Steve Lyttle and Bruce Henderson / Charlotte Observer

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said Tuesday a 20-year-old with at least three arrests in the last 2 1/2 years was the man shot and killed by a Subway employee Monday night during an apparent armed robbery at the restaurant on West Sugar Creek Road in north Charlotte.

The suspected accomplice was identified by police as a 19-year-old with at least 15 arrests in recent years, including two armed robbery charges since October. Police also arrested a woman whom they say drove the 19-year-old to the hospital after he was wounded by the Subway employee.

Investigators did not say if the employee, whose name has not been released, will be charged in the case — at least the third time in recent months that a store employee has shot and killed a suspect during an attempted robbery.

Killed in Monday night’s incident was Jamal Steven McKenith, police say. Wounded was Demetrius Nathaniel Thomas, 19. Police say he underwent surgery early Tuesday for his wounds and is recovering at Carolinas Medical Center. When he is released, police say, he will be charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon and conspiracy to commit robbery.

        Jamal Steven McKenith

The third person charged was Deonna Brown, 19, whom police say drove Thomas to CMC after the shooting. A fourth person whom police say got into Brown’s car after she left with Thomas for the hospital will not be charged, investigators say.

According to court records, McKenith was charged in November 2008 with assault with a deadly weapon and intent to kill, among other charges. Thomas’ most recent arrest was Dec. 1, when he was charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon.

The shootings took place just before 7 p.m. at 626 W. Sugar Creek Road, in a row of businesses fronting the busy thoroughfare. The clerk was not hurt, police said.

Officers responding to reports of gunshots found a man lying at the end of a strip mall near the Hidden Valley neighborhood, dead of an apparent gunshot wound, police said. Witnesses told police two men had entered the Subway store, armed with handguns. Moments later, gunshots rang out.

Police say they arrived at the scene and found McKenith dead outside the restaurant. A short time later, another man, whom police say was Thomas, showed up at CMC suffering from a gunshot wound.

Police said there were patrons in the restaurant at the time of the shooting, but they were not injured. Police have not said whether the robbery suspects fired their weapons.

Rick Abernathy, who lives across the street from the restaurant, described the shootout to WCNC-TV, the Observer’s news partner.

“We were eating supper, and we had about 10 gunshots go off, so we ran to the door and could see across the street, somebody shooting,” Abernathy told NewsChannel 36. “He kept going around the corner, shooting.”

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call 704-432-8477 and ask to speak to a homicide detective, or call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.

Spokesmen for Subway, headquartered in Milford, Conn., did not immediately reply to e-mails about the company’s policy on employees arming themselves.

In at least two area cases last year, fast-food and convenience store workers shot and killed would-be robbers.

In October, a Pizza Hut employee was being pistol-whipped by two robbery suspects in east Charlotte, police say. The employee, a delivery driver who was at the store just after closing, later told the Observer that he pulled a Glock 22 from under his shirt and shot his assailants. The men, both 21-year-old convicted felons, died at the scene. The delivery driver was not charged.

In June, two clerks at a Sunny Food Mart in Monroe exchanged gunfire with a masked man during a robbery attempt, police say. The Union County district attorney decided not to charge the clerks.

WCNC-TV contributed

Armed Senior Citizen: Entering and Exiting Your Motor Vehicle Safely Everyday

…One of the places where we need to be especially aware of our surroundings is whenever we are entering and exiting our motor vehicle…

From The United States Concealed Carry Association (www.usconcealedcarry.com)

By Bruce N. Eimer, Ph.D

“It is better, by noble boldness, to run the risk of being subject to half
the evils we anticipate than to sit in cowardly inaction, for fear of what
audacity might bring forth.” — Herodotus

Be aware of your surroundings. One of the places where we need to be especially aware of our surroundings is whenever we are entering and exiting our motor vehicle. In Florida, at least, where there are a lot of senior citizens, crime around vehicles and in parking lots is rampant. Vehicles can be like Venus Fly Traps. Don’t be a fly!  Be prepared. Every day, senior citizens are attacked (i.e., “mugged”) as they go about their business of entering and exiting their motor vehicles in an unaware state of mind. Criminals are aware of, and take advantage of, this glut of scared and unaware elderly citizens. Opportunistic criminals lie in wait in parking lots, and stake out people’s driveways. This means that you need to think about the act of entering and exiting your vehicle as a potential danger situation. Don’t allow yourself to get car jacked; the results are not pretty. Carjack victims have a greater than one in two chance of ending up dead or missing! 

Let the surprise be the carjacker’s, nut ours.

I have an elderly mother who lives in Florida. I know first hand that many seniors feel compelled to limit their lives to avoid becoming crime victims. They often do not venture out of their immediate personal zones of comfort—the one-mile vicinity around their apartment or condominium complex. They avoid going to see a late movie (even if they can’t sleep) and sometimes avoid even dining out or even going to the movies at all. This is no way to live!  Some scared seniors even live the life of a shut-in. It does not have to be this way!

So, what are some rules for staying safe when you are getting in and out of your motor vehicle?  First, never allow yourself to get distracted. Always maintain full awareness of what you are doing and what is going on around you. Have your personal defense tool or tools at the ready.

Stay in “Condition Yellow”—aware and alert. In this way, you are mentally and physically prepared to be approached, but not surprised. You know beforehand what you are going to do if you are in fact approached. This means having your verbal tape loops and automatic psychomotor routines ready to roll. You must have a plan. Having several tools such as those pictured in the photo should be part of your plan.

The North American Arms Guardian .380 ACP pistol is a little pocket gun that packs a big punch. Easy to carry and conceal, this little good luck charm will ruin any violent criminal’s day. And NAA, the great company that they are, will gladly customize yours so it is not only very pretty, but eminently controllable and shootable. Benchmade defensive folding knives are second to none in quality, durability, sharpness, holding an edge, and tactical useability. Plus, Benchmade will sharpen your knife for free for life!

Status check. Whenever you leave your vehicle make a mental note of its condition. Please be sure to always lock your doors!  When you return to the vehicle, note whether there has been any change in its condition.

Whenever you approach your parked vehicle, whether it is in your own driveway or a parking lot, make sure it’s in the same condition in which you left it. If it is not, proceed with extreme caution and do not enter! If something doesn’t look right, don’t ignore your perceptions. Try to figure out what it is that is not right, or just move away from your vehicle immediately and get help.

Carry small loads—even if you have to make multiple trips to your vehicle—keeping at least one arm free for movement. Carry your keys at the ready. As you approach your vehicle, observe it. Check its 360: Look around and under the vehicle. Look into the front and back seats before unlocking the door. When you open your door, keep scanning your 360 degree environment. This is a carjacker’s favorite time to rush you. So, make certain that no one is approaching before you begin to get into your vehicle. You must be prepared to deal with a situation.  While you are partially compromised as you are getting into your vehicle, you could be rushed by an attacker. Stay alert and keep your attention focused on the area around your vehicle and inside your vehicle as you get in.

As soon as you are safely in your vehicle, lock the doors. Once you are in and the doors are locked, do not dawdle!  This is not the time to clean, look for things, or to become distracted talking on your cell phone. Be deliberate. Remember, parking lots and driveways are dangerous places. Violent crimes occur in these places every day.

Use light. Try to park in lighted areas. However, if you cannot, have a powerful flashlight, such as the SureFire shown in the Photo. If it is dark outside, use your flashlight to check out the interior and underside of your vehicle. Such a bright light can serve several useful functions: It can help you locate the presence of an intruder, identify an intruder, and blind the intruder. The particular light shown in the photo can also serve to deliver a sharp knock to the intruder’s noggin and buy you time to get away. It can also help you find your keys!

Carry pepper spray. The Spitfire pepper spray shown in the photo can serve to ruin any intruder’s day! Again, pepper spray is a less than lethal force option that can buy you needed time to make your exit from the situation. Spitfire has the unique advantage of having a dispenser that facilitates “point shooting” or “point spraying”. In other words, you do not have to cock your wrist in an awkward position. You can point and shoot in any direction. Just point your thumb to aim, and dispense into said bad guy’s evil face. Now that’s easy. At 2 million Scoville Heat Units (SHUs) it is guaranteed to give an attacker a really bad day!

Things to do and not do:

If you are with a companion. Do not let yourself become distracted. Someone (probably you) should be the designated bodyguard. Let everyone enter the vehicle while you stand by the open door and scan your surroundings for threats. When everyone is safely seated inside the vehicle, promptly get in and lock the doors. The point is to be your own bodyguard. Unless we are rich enough to hire professional bodyguards (and even then we shouldn’t let down our guard), we have to take full responsibility for our personal safety.

Walk with confidence. Opportunistic criminals and violent criminal actors (as opposed to the criminally insane) look for easy prey. They select “victims” and not “victors”. As such, they search for people who appear weak and vulnerable, and those who are not paying attention. So don’t be a victim. As noted defensive firearms trainer and author, John Farnam, likes to say, “Own your magnificence. Walk with confidence. Be deliberate. Do not dawdle. Don’t be tentative. Look like you know what you are doing and know where you are going.”

Keep your valuables out of sight. Valuables are “dirt magnets”. Don’t attract opportunistic criminals. Keep your valuables out of sight and locked up if possible.

Carry a spare key. This is essential should you lose your keys. If you don’t have a spare set and you lose your keys, you will look lost and then you will become a target. Don’t let this happen to you.

Avoid conversations and altercations. If at all possible, avoid engrossing distracting conversations and altercations when you are entering and exiting your vehicle. Certainly you become a mark if you are arguing with other passengers in your vehicle. Stay focused and alert. If someone starts up with you, disengage promptly. Have an automatic verbal tape loop ready to help you to disengage. For example, in ascending order of verbal force:
 “Sorry sir, I apologize.”
“Sorry sir, I did not mean to offend you. I am sorry.”
“Sorry sir, I cannot help you.”
“Get away from me!”
“Leave now!”
“Get out of here!”

Rattle off the verbal tape loop and then leave. Don’t linger. The key is to avoid antagonizing strangers or other drivers. Also, it helps to avoid sporting on your vehicle bumper stickers that draw attention. Learn to live as John Farnam calls the “stealth existence”. It is much better not to be noticed. So, avoid wearing bright provocative clothing. Bright red, orange and yellow vehicles also draw unnecessary attention. Park and travel on main streets and in well lit, populated, areas as much as possible. If you feel you are being followed, drive to the nearest police or fire station, or populated area, and sound your horn for help. Remember, you can learn to use that cane or umbrella as an effective defense tool to discourage an attack, or put distance between yourself and an attacker and buy time to get away.

Additional Dos and Don’ts:

• Don’t stop for disabled vehicles.
• Do not pick up strangers.

If you are rear-ended or struck by another vehicle, stay in your vehicle and call 911. Keep the doors locked. If you sense danger, drive away and head to the nearest police or fire station after calling 911.

Summary: Be your own bodyguard:

Seemingly innocuous driveways and parking lots, as well as curbside parking situations, are crime magnets. Hopefully, we represent the positive pole. However, positive attracts negative. As such, we must be prepared to peel off negative polarities that are attracted to us, or camouflage our positive pole with the outward persona of toughness, invulnerability, confidence, and lack of receptiveness (and maybe even a little negativity). Remember do not dawdle. Be decisive. Go about your business aware and alert, and then promptly leave. Remember to watch and notice if you are being followed. Be your own bodyguard, and remember to carry your own personal guardian.

Sources:

John S. Farnam. Defense Training International.
P.O. Box 917, LaPorte, CO 80535
www.defense-training.com
Tel: 970-482-2520

Benchmade Knife Company
(300 Beavercreek Road, Oregon City, OR 97045
Tel: 800-800-7427
Fax: 503-655-6223. http://www.benchmade.com)

North American Arms.
N.A.A. of Provo, Utah
800-821-5783
www.naaminis.com

Spitfire Pepper Spray.
Personal Defense Solutions
www.personaldefensesolutions.net

SureFire, LLC.
800-828-8809
www.SureFire.com

Man Arrested in Charlotte, NC for 29th and 30th Time Since 1990

January 14, 2011 by ten8 (www.ten8.wordpress.com)

by NewsChannel 36 Staff / www.wcnc.com

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A Charlotte man was arrested for the 30th time since 1990 on Wednesday.

NewsChannel 36 reported on Troy Catoe’s 29th arrest last week. He was arrested on Jan. 5 after a police pursuit.

Catoe was most recently arrested on charges of breaking and entering a motor vehicle and misdemeanor larceny.

Man Arrested For 29th Time After Police Pursuit

by GLENN COUNTS / NewsChannel 36 / http://www.wcnc.com

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The man who led police and state troopers on chase into South Carolina on Wednesday afternoon isn’t a stranger to the law.

NewsChannel 36 found out that it’s easy to find Troy Catoe’s mugshot on the Mecklenburg County Jail website.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers spotted the 37-year-old driving a stolen car on Wednesday, and eventually state troopers arrested him.

Officers say Catoe drove all the way to Rock Hill and then came back to Charlotte.

“Reaching speeds of about 80 miles per hour, he struck a curb a couple of times and a small fence as he tried to merge on to 485 again,” says Trooper Robin Benge. “He got on the outer loop, he slowed down and stopped. It appeared his vehicle was disabled.”

Catoe surrendered peacefully. He’s got plenty of experience with law enforcement.  Catoe has been arrested 29 times since 1990 for crimes like ranging from burglary and resisting arrest to drug and alcohol related crimes.

He just got out of prison in September after serving a year on a stolen automobile charge. His record shows that most of the time he’s been arrested, he hasn’t had to serve time in prison. That’s a frustrating fact for those who caught him on Wednesday.

“Yeah it’s frustrating. But working with Charlotte PD yesterday is a good collaboration between us to get this guy off the roads,” Benge says.

CMPD Seeking Public’s Help in Locating Murder Victim’s Vehicle

From the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Dept. via Crime in Charlotte ( http://crimeincharlotte.blogspot.com)

Case Update:  Monday, January 10, 2011 11:29 p.m.

Charlotte’s first murder victim of 2011 has been identified as Christopher Julian Radok, DOB: 11/18/1955. 

Mr. Radok’s family has been notified of his death. 

Homicide Unit Detectives identified Antoine Dion Young, DOB: 05/29/1981, as the man who murdered Mr. Radok.  Mr. Young was arrested Monday night by the Violent Criminal Apprehension Team at his father’s residence, 2954 Enfield Road. 

The evidence in this case points to the fact that Mr. Young broke into Mr. Radok’s home and that he attacked Mr. Radok as he arrived home from work.

   Mr. Radok died of injuries which he sustained during the attack.  Mr. Young has been charged with Murder, Armed Robbery and Larceny of Vehicle.

Please alert viewers/listeners to the fact that Mr. Radok’s 2001 Jeep Cherokee has not yet been recovered.  Anyone who knows the location of this vehicle is asked to call 911 immediately.

Detectives believe that Mr. Young acted alone during the commission of this crime and are not currently seeking additional suspects.

 Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call 704-432-TIPS and speak directly to a Homicide Unit Detective.  Detective Whitworth is the lead detective assigned to the case.  In addition, you may also call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.

CMPD Arrests 3rd Suspect in Breaking and Entering Incident That Led to Chase & Crash

January 11, 2011 by ten8 (www.ten8.wordpress.com)

By Meghan Cooke / Charlotte Observer

Police have arrested a third suspect in connection with a chase that resulted in two collisions in south Charlotte last week.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police have charged Justin Diante Hill, 22, with felony breaking and entering, felony larceny, resisting an officer and felony possession of stolen goods.

          Justin Diante Hill, 22

On Jan. 4, police received a report of a breaking and entering and a description of the suspects and their vehicle. Police found the vehicle and followed it as it exited Interstate 485 in Pineville, traveling toward Johnston Road on Pineville-Matthews Road.

An officer attempted to stop the car, police said, and a brief chase ensued until the suspects’ vehicle collided with another vehicle near a gas station at the corner of Pineville-Matthews and Carmel roads. The suspects’ vehicle continued to flee, police said, and struck another car in the intersection of Pineville-Matthews and Carmel roads. No one was seriously injured in the collisions, police said.

After the second collision, three suspects ran from the vehicle, police said.

Two men, Dandre Lamar Morrison and Damal Digsby, both 22, were taken into custody after a brief foot chase and face several charges in connection to the chase, including felony residential breaking and entering and resisting arrest.

Ballantyne Area Grandmother Hides Under Bed as Burglars Break Into House

by Glenn Counts / NewsChannel 36, http://www.wcnc.com

CHARLOTTE, N.C.– Two burglars are in jail thanks to a grandmother who was able to put her fears aside long enough to help police.

The crime happened Tuesday, but even now the 58-year-old trembles when she picks up the phone that she used to call 911.

“I kept thinking this is how I’m going to die!” said the victim.

The woman didn’t want to be identified.

Police say Tuesday afternoon Damal Digsby and Dandre Morrison rang the doorbell of her Ballantyne area home.

The victim got suspicious and instead of answering she ran to an upstairs window where it appeared the men were about to drive away, but then they came back.

“Then one on the passenger side got out slow and put on a grey toboggan on his head… I knew that was it,” said the victim.

The 58-year-old then squeezed under her grandson’s bed while calling 911.

“I was begging them to come help me. All of a sudden I heard the door bam in, and I said ‘They’re in my house! They’re in my house!'” the victim recalls.

The suspects went upstairs looking for valuables, but fortunately they didn’t stop in the room.

“I just thought they were going to kill me. I was begging for my life praying to myself,” said the woman.

She never heard the suspects leave.

The woman did hear an officer call out Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police.

“I just held him. I got a death grip on him and would not let him go. He was an angel in a black uniform with wings that’s the best way I can describe him,” the victim said. 
 

The woman got a good look at the suspects’ car and their faces.

She was able to give police a good description and officers caught the suspects off Colony Road after a brief pursuit and foot chase.