Guilford residents meet to talk crime
A rash of startling crimes in the Guilford neighborhood prompted a community meeting last night, with more than 50 residents gathering in the middle of the street outside of a home where a man was robbed and abducted.
Police kicked off the meeting with good news - after broadcasting a picture of the suspect, extra officers who were deployed to the area stopped a suspicious person and have now linked him to the abduction and an earlier robbery. Charges are pending.
That drew a huge sigh of relief from the crowd, but their relief quickly gave way to lingering concerns, including dissatisfaction with police response times, private security that the community pays for, and police disclosure of crimes.
Maggie Smith, who helped organize the meeting and offered up her living room until the crowd grew too large, was exasperated: "I'm terrified to leave my house. I feel as though I've been robbed of my freedom. When my neighbor said good morning to me today, I almost had a heart attack."
For Smith, the crimes hit home. She rents a room in her home to the man who was abducted and left locked in a trunk in "East bumfiddle Baltimore." She said word spread throughout the day that someone from the street had been a victim of such a crime, and when the man returned home, she asked if he'd heard of it.
"It was me," he said matter-of-factly, according to Smith. "I'm alive and I'm hungry." They gave him food, Tylenol and coffee.
"He was calm, cool and collected, but he was probably in a state of shock," Smith said. The man, who had been in the city for just four months and who Smith said "fiddles" at the Maryland Institute College of Art, was brought home by his parents to Bethesda. She doesn't expect he'll return.
Residents urged each other to be more diligent, to not change their way of life but be more aware of their surroundings. "That's the way we're going to beat these bastards," said Bill Robertson, 62. "By working together and keeping an eye on each other."
As people relayed incidents that they had experienced, others spoke up, saying they were concerned that it was the first time they were hearing of the crimes. Most expressed disgust with the private security patrol residents there pay for. An alert about the robbery-abduction only mentioned the robbery, and one man accused of police of obscuring the more gritty details.
Another man turned his gripes on the court system. "Where's the state's attorney's office? When are we going to start holding Pat Jessamy's feet to the fire and hold her accountable?"
"The man has been arrested..." City Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke began to say.
"And he'll be back on the streets," the man retorted.
Tom Hobbs, president of the Guilford Association, stressed to neighbors that the recent crimes were abnormal for the area. "Street crime, assaults of this type are virtually not heard of," he said.
In Friday's Sun, Peter Hermann has a report of the crimes through the eyes of one fearful resident.
Comments
Every time I read a story like this, I think the same thing. When will people wake up and realize that as long as the criminals are the only ones carrying guns, the law abiding, honest, and hard working are easy targets for crime. The police cannot and do not prevent crimes from happening, no matter how many people think that they do. They react to crimes that have already been committed. The only way that the law abiding can be safe is by giving them back their fundamental right to self defense and allowing those qualified to purchase a handgun the ability to carry it in public for defense of themselves and those around them. Arming the law abiding citizens takes the advantage away from criminals and deters crimes against the innocent from happening in the first place. More than three-fourths of the states have gone shall-issue. All of them have proven that it reduces crime, and not one has gone back to restrictive gun laws such as the ones in Maeyland!
Wake up, Maryland! Demand to have your right to self defense, guarateed by the Constitution, restored to you! Make Maryland a shall-issue state! Self defense is a right, not a privilege!
Posted by: Tom | January 15, 2010 9:39 AM
Check out www.marylandshallissue.org !
Posted by: Tom | January 15, 2010 11:37 AM
The police keep trying to plug up the holes but the courts and judges keep letting the water out.
Posted by: Anonymous | January 15, 2010 1:43 PM
I agree. Our justice system is broken. The guys with rap sheets that are pages long should be held without bail and imprisoned for the full length of their term with no possibility of parole, no suspended sentences, no breaks!
Even more evidence that proves that you can't count on the police to protect you and your loved ones. The law abiding citizens need to have their right to self defense back, and that means being able to carry a handgun in public to defend themselves and those around them. The criminals havethe advantage with the restrictions currently in place and that cannot change soon enough!
Check out:
www.marylandshallissue.org
Posted by: Tom | January 15, 2010 4:14 PM
I agree with Tom. How sad is it that I can pass an FBI check (I had to for my job), etc., but cannot carry a gun in Maryland unless I have "documented threats against me"? How many criminals are going to mail me letters threatening me first? My home, just north of Guilford in Homeland, was burglarized recently. Judging by pry marks on a window, the thief was armed with at least that. Suppose I'd come home from work and surprised him? What would I have to defend myself, my keys? I own several guns and am proficient in their use (a friend of mine is a police officer, and I can pass the same shooting test he does), yet am unable to carry. As the economy continues to suffer, these crimes will continue before things improve. Come on, lawmakers of Maryland! I don't mind having to have a background check, passing a marksmanship test, etc. But get rid of that "documentation" clause in the carry laws.
Posted by: robert | January 15, 2010 6:10 PM
Everyone who feels the same way, GET INVOLVED IN ANY WAY YOU CAN!!! MAKE OUR VOICES HEARD!
Check out:
www.marylandshallissue.org
Posted by: Tom | January 15, 2010 11:55 PM
I am afraid any time I travel in Maryland since it is clearly a "Felon Friendly" state. Unless a police officer is riding with each citizen, the citizen is easy prey for the rapist, murderer, etc. I am thankful that I seldom have to visit Maryland.
Posted by: Marshall | January 23, 2010 10:12 AM