Crime in Williamsburg (Triangle: apartment complex, insurance, condo)

[Cattknap]

Crime seems to be on the increase in Williamsburg - I can't believe they are having home invasions now. I live in So. California and don't know anyone who has experienced home invasions. Also the problems with the youth in Williamsburg seem to be continuing. What are the police doing about this? I've included two current articles from the online Virginia Gazette - one on a recent home invasion and another on a task force addressing drinking parties/underage teens. When we were first looking at Queen's Lake to retire to, they had no need of a Neighborhood Watch....now they have a Neighborhood Watch and their latest newsletter states that they have been having vandalism problems in the neighborhood. This is so very sad to me - we have been to Williamsburg many, many times and know that crime used to be practically non-existent.


Sunday, May 27, 2007 8:34 PM




Elderly victims recovering

By Amanda Kerr
The Virginia Gazette

Published May 26, 2007

WILLIAMSBURG — When Linda McGinley kept getting a busy signal while calling her parents Thursday morning, she knew something was wrong. She was right.

A quiet street off South Henry was the scene of a vicious home invasion robbery, and the suspect is still at large.

82-year-old Dora Bryant and 80-year-old Lawrence Bryant were gardening in their front yard on Mimosa Drive around 10 a.m. when they saw a man they didn’t recognize walking on their street.

About 10 minutes later, he came up behind them wearing a red rag to mask his face.

Williamsburg deputy police chief Dave Sloggie said the suspect threatened Lawrence Bryant with a knife and forced him and his wife behind the house, where the suspect then beat them both in the head and face. He forced the couple inside the home and continued to beat them.

The suspect bound their hands with duct tape and forced Dora Bryant into a closet, blocking the door with a dresser. He then took Lawrence Bryant around the house in search of money and valuable items.

Sloggie said the suspect eventually took off out of the back door with cash and jewelry, but not before ripping the phones out of the wall. A neighbor reportedly saw the man walking the street as if he were casing it, according to another source.

Lawrence Bryant was able to free his wife from the closet, and the couple fled to Dora Bryant’s brother’s home across the street where they called police. They were treated for minor injuries at Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center.

Police and tracking dogs searched the surrounding areas for the suspect until about 10 p.m. Thursday night. They resumed the search Friday.

The suspect is described as a black man about 20 years old, 5-feet-7 to 5-feet-9 with a stocky build. He was wearing a white jacket and a red baseball cap.

On Friday McGinley said her parents were doing well under the circumstances. “They’re sore and bruised up and, of course, emotionally scared, but overall they’re doing pretty good,” she said.

Her mother has lived on Mimosa Drive all of her life, first in her childhood home and then just down the street after she and Lawrence were married more than 50 years ago.

The assailant made off with her great-great-grandmother’s 100-year-old wedding band as well as some of her grandmother’s jewelry. “Nothing like this has ever happened here.”

Eddie Arrington has lived on Mimosa Drive for nearly 50 years. He was shocked when he heard about what happened to the Bryants.

“I’ve always felt pretty safe,” Arrington said in an interview. “I couldn’t believe it. I’ve known [the Bryants] since I was seven years old.

“[Lawrence Bryant] was my mom and dad’s life insurance agent,” he said.

Arrington said that while there hasn’t been a history of violent robberies in the neighborhood, there has been a drug problem stemming from the Mimosa Woods apartments at the end of Mimosa Drive.

“A few years ago they were selling some drugs from the apartment complex,” he said. “We could see them out of the window passing money and drugs, but police have cleared up a lot of that. I’m sure it’s still going on. They just got slicker about it,” Arrington said.

McGinley said her parents have never been bothered by residents of Mimosa Woods.

No one was more surprised about the robbery than Williamsburg Mayor Jeanne Zeidler, who lives at 148 Mimosa Dr.

“This is not typical in the city or in my neighborhood. I have always felt safe,” Zeidler said. “This is a really horrible and devastating thing that has happened to the Bryants.”

Zeidler and her husband, Ed Crapol, have lived in the neighborhood for 14 years. She spent time with the Bryants Thursday shortly after they called police, and then again in the evening.

“This is a good reminder to all of us that we need to be alert. We all need to watch out for each other and feel free to call police if you see something unusual,” Zeidler said. “For me, it made me think that our Neighborhood Watch program needs to be revised. The program would be a good thing to make people feel safer and actually be safer.”

Zeidler, who lives near the entrance to the Mimosa Woods apartments, said she wasn’t aware of any drug problems in the complex and that she has never had a problem with any of the residents.

“I think it was pretty random, although it appears the perpetrator planned what he was going to do. But I don’t think he knew where he was going to do it,” she said. “But random doesn’t make me feel any better for the [Bryants] who suffered.”

McGinley said she doesn’t think her parents will move as a result of the attack. She is confident that they will recover.

“I think they will be all right. They’re very strong people, they have a very strong faith,” she said. “I think eventually they’ll be fine.”


Drinking parties to be targeted

By Sharon Schiff
The Virginia Gazette

Published May 26, 2007

WILLIAMSBURG — The scene is familiar to police: beer bottles scattered, loud music playing, teens bolting in all directions.

With so many parents traveling, underage drinking parties at home are growing. One upshot is that teens fleeing the party may wind up in a car accident.

The Historic Triangle Substance Abuse Coalition wants to help law enforcement deal with home parties.

“Our data has told us for years that our kids are drinking more in homes,” said Gina Thorne, executive director for the coalition.

Last fall the coalition released a youth survey showing that more than 50% of 12th-graders had consumed alcohol in the previous 30 days. Use among eighth-graders was put at 40%.

Next Wednesday, the Coalition and the Pacific Institute for Research & Evaluation are hosting a day-long training session at the College of William & Mary for local police, sheriff’s deputies and security personnel from Kingsmill, Ford’s Colony and Governor’s Land.

Training will include a mock underage drinking party on campus to provide practical experience on nabbing drinkers. A group of 15-20 high school and college students will pretend to party. Law enforcement officers will get tips on how to collect evidence from a scene to prosecute.

An alternative goal is to reach the students.

“What we are hoping the kids will see is that this strategy is designed to protect them,” Thorne said.

Attendees at the forum will hear from the Commonwealth attorney’s office and the Virginia ABC.

Lt. Christopher Cherrie, who works security at Governor’s Land, is looking forward to learning new strategies.

“Most of the parties that we have out here have been in residences, and they are pretty easy to spot by the high volume of traffic,” he said.

Security guards think teens pose even more danger when they scatter. Thorne heard instances of vandalism, and one teen tried to get away in a golf cart.

“It’s not a pervasive issue, but some of them are doing it,” Thorne explained of the bolters.

Steve Hein, community manager at Ford’s Colony, said his security team is keen on home parties. “We’ve been kind of plugged into this for a long time,” he said, without mentioning last spring’s infamous pimp-and-ho party. “We are eager to join with the community to gain more knowledge about how to be prepared for and deal with events that come up.”

Last week the coalition sent out letters to parents of 11th- and 12th-graders to set firmer alcohol use rules. It also reminds parents of the legal ramifications they can face if they allow or condone underage drinking at home.

The coalition developed a tipline last spring to allow parents and teens an anonymous way to report underage drinking parties. The goal was to head them off in the first place by alerting parents or reaching the kids planning them.

In the past year, the tipline has fielded around 60 calls, of which about 60% were legitimate tips. Coalition staff said calls come in every two weeks or so.

More — The tipline can be reached at 4-SOBRFN (476-2736). The coalition is also seeking volunteers to participate in the mock party. To attend the forum, call 476-5070.