Murders too close for my taste here in Johnson City (Franklin: violent crime, chapel)

[Tony1790]

What is the murder rate here in Johnson City? There's been 3 murders (including the sick 17 yo who killed and abused his mothers corpse). I believe there have been more, but I've only been concerned with the 3 that are within 4 miles of my house. I guess it's just a matter of being in a small town that you are geographically close to murders, makes me a little freaked out.

And that son who (allegedly) killed his mother was a classmate of my son last year at Science Hill. My son said that he wasn't a bad kid, but to strangle his mother, abuse her corpse and stuff her in a trash can

All too close to home.

Tony

[mbmouse]

I agree, I hate to hear about murders, that is awful in this case as well. I still want to know the involvement of the adult Christopher Johnson in all this. But we shall see.
One thing I have noticed in all the years I have lived here, the majority of violent crimes, whether it be murder, shootings, break in's, etc. It always seems to be by a family member or close family "friend". This I will never understand. There does seem to be a lot of family feuds going on.
As for your location...well, it is not in, but close to (yea, about 3-4 miles) one of the worst parts of JC for crime.

[Tony1790]

I'm real close to downtown JC, 3.5 miles to ETSU, Gray would be much better

True, people mostly killing people they know, but it's too close to me when a classmate of my own son kill's his mother. If he's willing to do that to her, what would someone like that do to you or me or someone he "didn't" like

I'm to the point I don't even want to watch the news, local or national, nothing but bad news, men being laid off and killing their entire family instead of getting a new job or just sicko's killing others over nothing. Sad.

Everytime I go by the playground down from my house, I think of the dead body they found there a few months ago. That was a drug deal gone bad, but those same druggies are the kind that break into your home looking for cash or things to sell for drugs, not a pleasant thought either.

Normally I watch the news and ho hum, but all the cities I've lived in, I've never been this GEOGRAPHICALLY close to murders, like I said, maybe it's just because JC is so small.

Tony

p.s. Where is "downtown" in JC?? I've been here a year and haven't seen a downtown, is it the area around the JC library, county annex (roan st & SOF)? If so, I love it, but it's wierd, way small, nice, but weird. I forget how small JC is until I go somewhere else and see how big everything is, but then I'm glad to get back to JC!

[jabogitlu]

Tony, yep, the nucleus of downtown is at the intersection of Roan and Market/Main Sts (right north of State of Franklin/I-26) aka at the library and courthouse annex.

There is also a more western part of downtown (focused around the Down Home area) and a more southern part of downtown (Walnut St. leading towards ETSU campus).

For our size, downtown is actually pretty large, and if it were properly developed and linked it would be very nice, IMO. One of its weaknesses is that it *is* majorly divided, by State of Franklin and Buffalo/Water St.


As far as crime goes, I'm with ya. I didn't realize I lived in such a high-crime area until I looked up a map somewhere on the Internet (can't find it now) that showed actual police reports as dots. There were TONSSSSS around the area where you and I live!!!

[JakilaTheHun]

Johnson City is pretty damn safe. There are murders everywhere. You just hear about it more in a town like JC.

The one and only thing that I'd consider a huge problem in the Tri-Cities region crime-wise is drugs. Everyone thinks that the bigger cities are where all the drug dealing is going on, but Johnson City is more drug-infested than just about any other city I've been in. That includes Atlanta, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, DC and various NoVa/MD suburbs of DC. Only Baltimore is really comparable on the drug front.

[DBradley]

Originally Posted by JakilaTheHun

Johnson City is pretty damn safe. There are murders everywhere. You just hear about it more in a town like JC.

The one and only thing that I'd consider a huge problem in the Tri-Cities region crime-wise is drugs. Everyone thinks that the bigger cities are where all the drug dealing is going on, but Johnson City is more drug-infested than just about any other city I've been in. That includes Atlanta, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, DC and various NoVa/MD suburbs of DC. Only Baltimore is really comparable on the drug front.

I know, its ridiculous .

[rccrain]

Originally Posted by JakilaTheHun

The one and only thing that I'd consider a huge problem in the Tri-Cities region crime-wise is drugs. Everyone thinks that the bigger cities are where all the drug dealing is going on, but Johnson City is more drug-infested than just about any other city I've been in. That includes Atlanta, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, DC and various NoVa/MD suburbs of DC. Only Baltimore is really comparable on the drug front.

I agree with you, except for Atlanta. Atlanta is the distribution center/drug capital of the east coast. They have entire warehouses devoted to storing drugs that come in on semis.

[JakilaTheHun]

rccrain,

That's true, but where do you think they get distributed to?

I hardly ever encountered drugs and/or druggies in Atlanta. It may be where all the drugs are routed through, but it doesn't mean you see drugs overtaking any parts of the city. Meanwhile, it's almost impossible to live in the Tri-Cities and not know several people who are/have struggled with drug addiction.

I'm not precisely sure why it's so bad in the Tri. My theory is that it's a combination of being urban enough to attract drugs, but lacking much in the way of professional jobs that most urban centers have. The lack of professional jobs creates a "brain drain" from the region with the most gifted people moving elsewhere. As a result of this, the region ends up with a lot of people who can find no path to life fulfillment and are very unmotivated, so they then turn to drugs. Since the region is so tightly-knit, if one person turns to drugs, if often means they can drag others with them. Over time, the culture in the region sorta reinforces this problem.

It's really sad to me every time I go home or take on the phone with friends and relatives and hear about another person lost in drug addiction. It's so common there.

No clue if my theory has any reality to it. I'm just not sure how else to explain why it's so much worse there than most other places I've been. Other cities I've seen with drug problems seem to have similiar traits (lack of professional jobs, more closely-knit population).

[rccrain]

I see your point. This areas also seems to have a disproportionately high number of the most dangerous drugs. Different drugs do seem to have different effects on society.

[Tony1790]

Drugs are everywhere, every state, every city, town. They don't bother me as much as murders, and murders that are close are more worrisome than just murders "on TV".

Previously the closest I've come to a murderer was when I met an old HS classmate when we both got out of the Army, we had a few beers and we parted ways. The next day I saw his face on TV as he was arrested for the murder of 4 women in several states while a truck driver. That was close, too close

I love small towns, the only problem with a small town is if you get a batch of murders then they are all close by. I guess when one of the "alleged" murderers was sitting a few rows over from your child in school, that strikes a little too close to home, don't you agree??

Tony