Former UC Star Robbed Near UC Campus (Cincinnati, Covington: middle-class, condos)

[goyguy]

The article said they were attacked at a BP station, but I can't picture one along there. The 2600 block would be just north of Calhoun St/WHT Rd about where Vine St magically transforms into Jefferson (thanks to a block of the original street's being obliterated for University Plaza.)
I don't think the guys were targeted due to being recognized, that's not how "thuggz" operate. They pick an area and roam around for a while in hopes of finding an easy mark. Not for nothing, but when hiphop stars (alleged) and other people into rockin' the ghetto-fab effect decide to flaunt their goods they have armed bodyguards. Although the last thing I want to do is question/blame the victim, I also have to wonder what it was that led the "friends returning home from...Lake Erie" - to Kentucky - into Corryville. Were no service stations along the expressways open?

I agree, let's not kid ourselves: If Mardy Gilyard were just another Black man from the 'hood something like this would never have made the papers. In certain parts of town even homicides only merit a one-time blip on the radar screen. By the same token, underage drinkers die or are seriously injured in accidents more often than any of us want to think. Usually only the victim's family and friends mourn the event. Not when the deceased is a St X "standout" and future Notre Dame (thence NFL?) football star, though! Stories about this guy were splashed all over the Enquirer for days, and even saw print on the East Coast. Whether looking ahead or back toward college, whether Caucasian or otherwise, "major sport" jocks have had floodlights turned on them too much and for too long.

Short Vine has taken a tremendous dive downward from its '70s heyday, so much so that I got egg on my face last year when the first-ever C-D meetup in Cincinnati had to shut down early b/c the bar's management wanted to lock the place. The street was almost completely deserted on a sunny June Sunday, with only The Cupboard (a shadow of its former self) and Bogart's still around from years back. When my ride arrived, the remark I got was, "I'm glad they let you wait inside." Later in the summer, I narrowly dodged a run-in with roaming thuggz on Calhoun St. (They ended up going after a younger, better-dressed, iPod-wearing person instead.) My street sense had told me what their story was as soon as they'd boarded the bus I was riding + took seats in different places + communicated with sign language and head movements. 'twas no surprise when they disembarked at Calhoun, since UC = naive suburban adolescents (not necessarily White - or Asian) with stuff begging to be stolen. Had they not struck pay dirt that quickly, I'm sure they would've walked around the neighborhood for as long as it took to make a score, and who's to say that they didn't anyway? This emphasizes the point that a 20-something everyday individual relieved of a gadget and some money is merely another statistic, but a 20-something ath-a-leet unburdened of possessions warrants a front-page story. I never saw a word in the paper about what I witnessed that night in August.

[progmac]

this sucks! we shouldn't kid ourselves about what cities are and the problems they face. for those of us who choose to live in the city, we won't run from problems like this but attack them head on and try to improve our communities. if we think we have it bad, we should talk to people who lived in new york city in the 70s. we can't let a couple of thugs who probably never finished eighth grade change this.

[Cincy-Rise]

Originally Posted by goyguy

The article said they were attacked at a BP station, but I can't picture one along there.

The only BP in this area is the one in Corryville? I was starting to wonder if they got the names of the gas stations wrong and they're wording it as if it was at Shell.

[Sarah Perry]

I've seen the Enquirer make errors of similar type over and over.

[Cincy Rider]

I would like to see the crime stats on or near UC's campus vs. those around/near/on Ohio State's. I ran a business in Columbus and half of the employees were OSU students...Seemed like everyday they were either getting robbed or their apartments broken into. My co-worker's son goes to OSU and he just had his studio broken into, took ecverything. B&Es must be a regular part of life near OSU.

It was around 2001 when Short Vine fell into the gutter before that there was a vibrant bar/club scene anchored by Bogart's with Sudsy Malone's, B-Dubs, etc...It's hard to believe that section looks like a ghost town, a scary ghost town. My band played at Fat Cats around '05 it was already bad but getting worse then.

[Cincy-Rise]

^ I take it you haven't seen the plans for the massive project in plans for the short vine area?

[Cincy Rider]

Originally Posted by Cincy-Rise

^ I take it you haven't seen the plans for the massive project in plans for the short vine area?

No, I haven't but plans are just plans. Half of them never happen, see Cliffside Lofts. And plans won't bring back the awesome vibe of the area in the 90's.

[progmac]

they are 'just plans' but i think with UC becoming more and more of a residential campus every year, finding the demand won't be hard

[austiNati]

People get robbed around there all the time, like Marty said "I got caught slippin." More of these thugs get busted than not though. My friend and I were jumped a couple of years ago, they tried to rob us and it was 4-2. My friend K.O.d one of them, I beat the crap out 2 and the other punk ran away. My friend ended up with $50 and a Blue tooth set afterwards. Thank god they didn't have guns.

The best robbery story I've heard in Clifton is when a group of guys robbed an entire floor of an apartment building. They had all the residents lined up in the hallway while 2 of the thugs raided the apartments. When they were finished, 2 of them took off in a 2 door Saturn, leaving the other 2 behind, standing in front of the building with alot of stolen property.

The residents eventually freed themselves and went down stairs only to find the robbers still waiting there for a ride. They were subsequently stomped, beaten and one was shot with his own gun.

[high mileage]

^Lol. At the robbery story.

Actually though, if we're talking about just an ordinary street robbery, nothing high profile like a bank robbery or anything, they get away more times than not. A good portion of robberies go unreported, and the ones that do get reported usually have the same typical description of all black clothing and usually a mask which leads basically to a plethora of 'suspects.' How many people you see walking around daily with all black on. A lot of times the robbers are caught after being apprehended for another crime which links them to a previously reported robbery.

Unfortunately, I got caught "slippin" before. I was a victim of robbery and all I saw was black everything and a gun. I didn't even report it, but if I had, I know more than likely I would have been unable to provide an accurate or helpful description. Luckily someone randomly blowing the horn scared him off.