Police have made several recent arrests in response to threats made by men who've given themselves gang names in Charleston.
Charleston police provided information about the arrests at a Monday afternoon news conference with prosecutors at City Hall.
They also attempted to ease fears about the three recent slayings in Charleston by discussing how they've devoted more resources to the West Side and noting that homicides typically involve suspects and victims who know one another.
Lt. Steve Cooper, Charleston's chief of detectives, said that to prevent future violence, police apprehended several people who had outstanding arrest warrants.
“If they're in jail, they can't get shot and they can't shoot anybody,” he said.
Cooper said the six men recently arrested are affiliated with rivaling groups of people in Charleston, the Shine Boys and the Young Restless Gunnas, involved in a dispute dating back at least to early December and possibly back into the summer. He wouldn't get into specifics about the dispute but said the root of it was “very petty.”
“There have been a lot of threats on Facebook and there's been a lot of chatter on the streets,” Cooper said. “We're getting a lot of information about potential retaliation and we have to take it seriously, because there have been a couple people shot in what appears to be a retaliatory nature.”
Three people were killed in Charleston over six days last week.
“By the time we've made an arrest in one homicide, we've had another,” Cooper said.
Cooper said some of the retaliation could be only “perceived retaliation” based on a “misunderstanding.” He didn't elaborate. He did note that the third shooting couldn't be considered retaliation for the second because both victims belonged to the same group.
Shannon Cade, 20, died in the hospital Saturday. A 14-year-old girl also was shot and sustained minor wounds. The shooting was reported shortly before 11 p.m. Friday in the 800 block of Mathews Avenue. Four to six shots were fired at the house on the West Side. Police have not released the names of any suspects. Cooper said the Young Restless Gunnas typically gathered at Cade's home.
J'Shaad Jones, 18, of Charleston, was killed early Thursday outside of Artie's Kickback Lounge, at 935 Central Ave. Marlon Rush is charged with murder in that case. Jones was wanted in the Dec. 13 shooting of 18-year-old Malik Ahkeem Hawk on Bream Street. Hawk was arrested Monday on a charge of wanton endangerment.
Jones also was a Young Restless Gunna, but Rush was not affiliated with either group, Cooper said.
Bryan Rogers, 29, of the Ripley area, was shot and killed Dec. 27. Tremaine Jackson, of Charleston, is charged with first-degree murder in Rogers' death. Jackson told police that Rogers had stolen about $3,000 worth of heroin from him several weeks earlier, according to a criminal complaint filed in Kanawha County Magistrate Court. Cooper said Monday that Rogers suffered from an addiction problem.
Over the past couple days, police have arrested:
- Malik Hawk, the man who Jones allegedly shot last month. Hawk had a warrant out for his arrest for wanton endangerment involving a firearm from August in South Charleston. He was arrested Monday.
- Maylik Watson, 22, was arrested on charges of carrying a concealed weapon and obstruction. He also had a warrant out for his arrest for third-degree sexual assault. Cooper said Watson admitted that he was looking to retaliate after Jones' death.
- Frankie Dewayne McNeal, 21, who had a warrant out for his arrest for forgery of a public document from a traffic stop in August. During the August incident, he also was charged with felony possession of narcotics, carrying a concealed weapon, possession of a stolen vehicle and being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm. He was arrested Sunday.
- Lamar Tyrell Coles, 24, had a warrant out for his arrest for allegedly transferring/receiving a stolen vehicle. The vehicle was the suspect vehicle in a burglary/grand larceny on Ridgemont Road.
- Antwan “Twig” Curnell, 26, had a warrant out for his arrest for fleeing in a vehicle.
- Jalil Myers, 19, had an arrest warrant for delivery of a controlled substance (heroin). He was arrested Monday.
Cooper wouldn't talk about whether any of those arrested would be considered a person of interest in Cade's case.
He cautioned that the groups aren't nationally recognized gangs, while they have joined together to commit criminal activity.
“You're going to find that in probably every neighborhood in America,” he said. “There's no Bloods or Crips involved, or anything like that.”
Police and prosecutors held the news conference to let community members know how they are responding to the uptick in violence and attempt to quell fears.
Cooper said those involved in killings in Charleston often are involved in criminal activity, and the victim and suspect typically know one another.
“That's not to disparage any of the victims,” he said. “Clearly, we care about the victims or we wouldn't have worked so hard to have solved all of these cases — and we continue to.”
He also said malicious-wounding incidents have declined significantly in Charleston over the years.
“It doesn't feel that way if it happened outside your window,” he said, “but we do believe the reporting is accurate and there has been a great reduction.”
Police Chief Brent Webster said officers from the Special Enforcement Unit and the bike unit have been moved to the West Side. He didn't specify how long that would continue.
“We still have problems on other sides of town,” he said, “but we recognize that the West Side, right now, is the most vulnerable, so we're moving resources around to address that — to try to get out and walk and meet with people.”
Webster said police can't fight violent crime in a similar manner to drug crimes.
“There's no informant out there that's going to call and say, 'Hey there's going to be a shooting in 20 minutes,'” he said.
Reach Erin Beck at erin.beck@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5163, Facebook.com/erinbeckwv or follow @erinbeckwv on Twitter.