Homicides persist in city Winston-Salem experienced 25 homicides in 2017; community urged to join together to lower that number

The city of Winston-Salem experienced 25 homicides in 2017, a statistic that residents shouldn't accept, Police Chief Catrina Thompson says.

"We should never tolerate violence in our community," Thompson said. "To combat this problem as a community, we can take time to invest in our youth."

She suggested that residents volunteer to mentor a student and go to schools to read to children, as well as encourage children to read to adults.

"As an educated community, we are less likely to have an increase in violent crime in part because we have other positive options available to us," Thompson said. "We must also work together to teach our community members nonviolent conflict-resolution strategies, as well as the true value of human life.

"When we truly value human life, we are less likely to become involved in violence against others," she said.

Of the city's 25 homicides, investigators have arrested nine people and charged them with murder and other offenses, said police Lt. Michael Cardwell, who supervises the Winston-Salem Police Department's detectives.

The Forsyth County District Attorney's Office determined that five homicides resulted from acts of self-defense, Cardwell said. Detectives are looking for suspects in 11 homicides in which no arrests have been made.

Three homicides were related to domestic violence, he said.

"As with all investigations, it is important that members of the community assist law enforcement in solving crime," Cardwell said. "The majority of police investigations are successful due to the willingness of community members coming forward to provide information about the crime.

"We encourage community members to help us solve these cases by contacting us with information," Cardwell said. "That one call might be the final puzzle piece we need to solve the case."

By comparison, Winston-Salem's number of homicides is similar to the number of killings in Durham, Raleigh and Fayetteville, but lower than this year's homicides in Greensboro and Charlotte.

As of Friday, there were 28 homicides in Durham, and 26 in both Raleigh and Fayetteville, according to police spokespersons in those cities. Greensboro has had 42 homicides and Charlotte 85.

There were 24 homicides in Winston-Salem in 2016 and 17 in 2015, according to police data. In 2014 and 2013, there were 15 homicides each of those years in the city. The number of homicides spiked in Winston-Salem to 41 in 1994, according to the State Bureau of Investigation.

In North Carolina, there were 517 homicides in 2015, according to the latest SBI statistics. In 2016, there were 678 homicides, an increase of about 31 percent.

Nationally, there was an 8.6 percent increase in the number of homicides, according to FBI statistics. In 2015, there were 15,883 homicides in the United States while there were 17,250 in 2016.

Winston-Salem's 25 homicides have caused grief and suffering throughout the community, said Jimmy Boyd, a retired Winston-Salem police sergeant and a former president of the local chapter of the NAACP.

These tragic events can be reduced as residents work together to reduce recidivism, crime, poverty, homelessness and unemployment, Boyd said.

"Winston-Salem is fortunate to have a substantial number of community organizations that foster the idea of working together to make our city safe and great," he said. "We must employ that same mission in reducing homicides; perhaps by having town hall meetings or safety training at churches for older adults and youth."

Local employers, community colleges and universities as well as local, state and federal agencies also can play a role in reducing crime, Boyd said.

"Our city is equipped to handle tragedies, but we must now approach any situation with a proactive mindset to keep our communities safe and secure," he said.

Kimya Dennis, an associate professor of sociology and criminal studies at Salem College, noticed some patterns in the city's homicides.

The year's first two deaths occurred in the apartment complex at Bethabara Point Circle in the city's northern section, said Dennis, who is also Salem College's coordinator of criminal studies.

Taurus Ferguson, 36, was fatally stabbed on Feb. 6 after he argued with a woman who lived in an apartment there. Investigators determined that the woman acted in self-defense.

Nearly five weeks later, Jahiml Almin, 25, was fatally shot in the parking lot at the apartment complex. William Anthony Brown was later arrested and charged with first-degree murder and other offenses in Almin's death.

"Most homicide victims know the perpetrators in some way (co-worker, acquaintance, friend, family)," Dennis said. "Violence can result from argument, (or) owing money.

"Some lower-income areas have more rental property than home ownership, there are often different levels of homogeneity, meaning, people not only knowing each other, but also feeling they can trust each other for personal safety and property safety," she said.

"With parts of Winston-Salem (and across the nation) changing due to buildings and apartment complexes being built," Dennis said, "it is not uncommon for neighborhoods to become less of a 'community' and more of a heterogeneity place where people live around each other but do not have consistently safe interactions.

"This increases the likelihood of being victimized by someone they know and also not having a 'neighborhood watch' to protect from victimization," she said.

Dennis and James Perry, the president and chief executive of the Winston-Salem Urban League, pointed out that most of the victims are young black men.

"Almost every time the crime or homicide rate increases and black people are disproportionately victims or alleged perpetrators, some folks in the black community call for an end to black on black crime," Perry said in an email. "Others suggest self hate or promulgate theories that support flawed racial bias theories."

The geographic proximity is a likely factor in killings in cases, which victims and perpetrators live near each other and share a common racial background, he said.

"Winston-Salem, like every other city in America, is segregated along lines of race and poverty," Perry said. "Interestingly, segregation is likely the reason that most often white perpetrators afflict white victims; black perpetrators afflict black victims; Hispanic perpetrators afflict Hispanic victims; and poor perpetrators afflict poor victims."

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