Murder, shootings perplex police Information about recent violent acts develops slowly Christina Hampton, 22, was shot June 17 inside Apt. 11B, center, at the Robert Smith Apartments on Richmonds north side Chri A recent rash of unsolved violent crimes has investigators busy, but very little new information has been discovered in the five incidents. Wayne County Sheriff Jeff Cappa said “persons of interest” have been identified by investigators in an April shooting incident south of Richmond at 2696 S. 23rd St. Cappa said three armed and masked black males entered the garage at the home with the intent to rob its two occupants. Another person was inside the house at the time. Shots were fired, and responding officers found two people with gunshot wounds inside the garage. The masked subjects fled the scene in an SUV, which a short time later delivered to Reid Hospital a third man who had been shot. Cappa has not identified which injured man was brought to the emergency room in the SUV. Cappa said the three injured men were Kyle Varvel, 25, and Jason Cavins, 39, both of Richmond, and Stevie White of Indianapolis. White’s age was unavailable. “The investigation is ongoing, and hopefully, we will have a positive result, but at this time, we have persons of interest in the case but no arrests have been made and we have no more details to release,” Cappa said. Richmond police say they continue to check leads and investigate two murders this year in the city. Joseph L. Dawkins, 32, was shot to death near his home in the 1100 block of Sheridan Street on April 5, and Caleb Woosley, 17, was found beaten to death May 18 in the 200 block alley between North 14th and 15th streets. “We are still getting information on the Woosley case,” Richmond Police Department Capt. James Branum said. “We have had two detectives working that case every day since it happened, but we are still looking at the evidence and right now, it is an open investigation.” Branum said the Dawkins murder generated a lot of initial information from the public, but that has stopped coming in as of late. “We have some information and some evidence, but we are still looking for the final, solid big piece of evidence that will allow us to make an arrest,” Branum said. “That case remains an open investigation, and it is being worked on every day by a detective. Information has been hard to come by for RPD investigators in a pair of unsolved shootings, one because of a voluntary lack of cooperation by the victims and the other because of the physical condition of the victim, Branum said. Christina Hampton, 22, was shot June 17 inside Apt. 11B at the Robert Smith Apartments on the city’s north side. Two males were seen leaving the area after the incident, but no suspects have been identified by authorities. Branum said Tuesday that Hampton remains at IU Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis and is unable to speak with detectives as she recovers from her injuries. “(Detective Michael) French is working on that case and has spoken with the family, and they say she is wanting to cooperate as soon as she is able, but right now she can’t talk or communicate very well,” Branum said. “But that is one where she indicated to her parents she wants to cooperate, and we anticipate cooperation as soon as she is able.” Officers have not received any cooperation from four men who were shot at the intersection of North 15th and H streets just after 9 p.m. April 10, Branum said. The men have been identified as Frank Deloney, 33, of Richmond; Maurice Boatman, 26, of Anderson, Ind.; Terry Johnson, 23, of Anderson, Ind.; and Treston Odell “T.O.” Bennett, 34, of Dayton, Ohio. “We talked to all the victims and the witnesses, but the victims were not cooperative at all,” Branum said. Neither RPD nor the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department believes any of the crimes are directly related, and Branum said all but one of the cases appears to have targeted a specific victim for a specific reason. “We don’t think any of these were just random,” Branum said. The lone possible exception is the shooting of Hampton, Branum said. “We have some information and we think (the attack) might have been intended for someone else, but we are waiting to talk to her about things first,” Branum said. RPD Chief Kris Wolski recently announced extra patrols that will continue in Richmond with help from the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department and the Indiana State Police. The intent of the patrols is to let citizens know officers are out in the community in an effort to combat crime and violence. “I hope we continue to do them,” Cappa said. “I think they are a great deterrent to crime and it lets the community know that we are out there taking this seriously and trying to be proactive.” Citizens are encouraged to quickly report any crime or suspicious activity in their neighborhoods so police can respond promptly and locate as many suspects and witnesses as possible. “The citizens need to speak up and report things as soon as they hear or see something,” Wolski said. pal-item/article/20140624/NEWS01/306240019/Murder-shootings-perplex-police
Posted on: Thu, 26 Jun 2014 08:53:49 +0000
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