Homicide No. 5 Monday evening

Convenience store at West 3rd and Monroe Avenue. (Google Maps)

A reader texted me of Plainfield's fifth homicide of 2011 at 7:22 PM, shortly after City Council President Annie McWilliams' press conference on Council support for Recreation broke up.

The owner of the corner store at West Third Street and Monroe Avenue was fatally shot in the chest. MORE INFO AT 11:00 PM: The shooting happened outside the store, and it appears the victim was not an employee, but an innocent bystander and not the intended target.

Corner store, site of 5th homicide of 2011. (Google Street View)

Motive and perpetrator's identity not known at this time.

We can at least be thankful that someone responsible has stepped up to the plate on the gun issue in the person of Shiloh Baptist Church's pastor, the Rev. Dr. Gerald Lamont Thomas (see here), who called together last week's summit on guns and gun violence.

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• Plainfield Today:  "Violence picks up in Plainfield after 4th homicide, gun summit"

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Violence picks up in Plainfield following 4th homicide, gun summit

Following Plainfield's fourth homicide of 2011, violence has picked up across the city on Thursday.

A reader reports gunfire with a man wounded on Johnston Avenue, near North Avenue, at 12:20 AM Thursday morning. Police arrived very quickly, as did an ambulance and the wounded man was transported to hospital, as police took to searching the neighborhood.

This shooting came just hours after a summit on gun violence and how to deal with it was held at First-Park Baptist Church on Wednesday evening.

The summit, organized by Shiloh Baptist Church's pastor, the Rev. Dr. Gerald Lamont Thomas, drew a crowd of about 150, including religious leaders, elected officials and community activists, as well as Assemblyman Jerry Green, Council President Annie McWilliams and Union County Prosecutor Theodore Romankow. Plans are in the works for a followup to further organize a response to gunplay in the community, according to Councilors Adrian Mapp and Rebecca Williams, who were also in attendance.

Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs was noted by her absence, as well as Public Safety Director Martin Hellwig, and Councilors Bill Reid, Bridget Rivers and Vera Greaves.

The violence continued Thursday evening with reports of the following incidents, all before 11:00 PM --

• FIGHTS and report of a person with a gun at Netherwood Village on East Front Street;
  
  
• Male arrested for GUN POSSESSION, carrying two guns in the George Street/Garfield Avenue area;
  
  
• SHOTS FIRED at Liberty and West 3rd Streets, with callers reporting upwards of 20 shots heard; one bullet went into a home.

With Mayor Robinson-Briggs showing little recent interest in the hard work of developing a plan to attack the continuing gun violence, we can only be thankful that Pastor Thomas organized the summit and is willing to take the lead in mobilizing the community.

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Gunplay: Shots fired at three Tuesday night

The area is no stranger to drug-related violence.

The lull in Plainfield's gun violence was broken Tuesday evening as three individuals are reported having been shot at in the 1000-block of West 3rd Street.

The block is in the area of a longtime Plainfield drug dealing 'hot spot', West 3rd Street and Monroe Avenue.

Details as they emerge.

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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BREAKING: Two shot in Plainfield early Saturday

Plainfield started off the weekend with two Hispanic males being shot near West Front and Central Avenue just after 4:00 AM.

I am told one was hit twice, in the back and abdomen; the other was shot in the hand.

Gun violence involving Hispanics has been relatively rare until recently, and I am told is associated with turf wars between the MS-13 and Latin Kings gangs.

More as info develops.

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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UPDATED: Two shot in Plainfield overnight Saturday, one now a homicide

Got word of two Plainfield shootings overnight Saturday.

First, at approximately 1:44 AM near 310 West Front Street. Single victim, two gunshot wounds, one to chest. CPR performed while awaiting EMTs. 'Doesn't look good'. Site is in vicinity of El Palacio bar and across street from Pueblo Viejo, both of which have had prior incidents. [UPDATE, 11:15 AM: Victim died, is first homicide of Union County in 2011. See breaking Ledger story here.]

Second shooting at approximately 2:40 AM in 400-block of West Seventh Street. Hispanic male, gunshot to leg.

Not known if two incidents are related.

More as news becomes available.

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Drive-by shooting Tuesday night caps weekend of gunplay

Elmwood Gardens, site of much gunplay.

Plainfield was given no holiday reprieve from gunfire and gunplay.

Reports of shots fired over the Christmas weekend were capped by getting word yesterday that Elmwood Gardens was once again the scene of violence.

Was told that two cars were in involved in a drive-by shooting incident overnight Tuesday, in which shots were fired at people outside one of the buildings, causing folks to scramble for cover in the snow.

No one was hit, but the crime scene unit found plenty of shell casings.

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Children caught in crossfire by masked gunmen

 

Gunplay continues in Plainfield even as the Christmas holiday approaches. Am told that three masked gunmen ran into a hallway at one of the Elmwood Gardens buildings on West Second Street over the weekend and began firing shots.

Children and female teenagers were caught in the crossfire in the hallway.

Miraculously, no one was hurt.

And there are those who think Elmwood Gardens shouldn't be replaced with safer housing?

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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UPDATE: Saturday Crime Scene: Homicide at Kennedy Fried Chicken

Yellow crime scene tape marked area at 5th & Park early this A.M.

UPDATE: Courier story online at -- "Plainfield man, 25, fatally shot outside Kennedy Fried Chicken".

UPDATE @ 10:22 AM: It's a homicide. No further information yet.
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Another Plainfield crime, but what is it?

On my way back from getting the papers early this AM, spotted a Plainfield police car parked astride East 5th Street at the Park Avenue intersection, shooing folks away from a yellow-taped crime scene.

Two vehicles from the Union County Sheriff's Crime Scene Investigation Unit were parked on the street in front of Kennedy Fried Chicken.

Stabbing? Shooting? Robbery?

My guess is shooting, looking for shell casings.

Will post more info as/if it becomes available.

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Two anti-violence events in Plainfield this weekend

Sign at Cadogan memorial by People's Organization for Progress.

Plainfielders will have two opportunities on Saturday to express their concerns about violence in the community and suggestions about ways to deal with it.

Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs is organizing an 'emergency summit' according to a report on the Courier's Plainfield microsite (see here), set for 2:00 PM at Calvary Baptist Church, West 4th Street and Monroe Avenue. The mayor envisions the meeting to be essentially run by city youth, though officials have been invited to speak.

The People's Organization for Progress will hold an anti-violence rally at the site of the Spencer Cadogan memorial on West Front Street near Clinton Avenue from 3:00 - 4:30 PM.

Both Bernice (see here) and Maria (see here) comment today on anti-gun efforts.

Maria uncovers the fact that Mayor Robinson-Briggs has signed on with the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition (see here).

This is the group started a couple of years ago by New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg. Every news item in the NY metro media about this group since its inception has been duly included in the daily CLIPS links, along with comment noting that Mayor Robinson-Briggs (to that date) was not a participant.

So, the mayor goes and signs on and doesn't find it newsworthy? Leaving it for a blogger to uncover?

Only in Plainfield.

Memorial to Spencer Cadogan at site of slaying.

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Double shooting Tuesday evening

Last night's double shooting was in Elmwood Gardens.

A Plainfield Today reader reported hearing on the police scanner last evening of a double shooting in the area of 544 West Second Street just before 10:00 PM, said on the scanner to be a man and a woman.

I was later told that the incident involved two women, both shot in the face, and both of whom refused medical treatment.

This is the same Elmwood Gardens neighborhood which has figured prominently in both the street drug trafficking and the gang feud that has gripped Plainfield over the past several months.

Elmwood Gardens is also the group of buildings the Housing Authority of Plainfield proposes to raze and replace with lower density housing.

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Plainfield sees two shooting incidents Halloween weekend

Locations of gunshots over Halloween weekend.

With Halloween weekend not over yet, Plainfield has seen two shooting incidents so far.

On Friday evening, shots were fired at the Allen apartment complex at Myrtle and Clinton Avenues. No one was hit, but at least one window was damaged. Shell casing were found in the area, I am told, as well as a handgun being recovered.

About 2:15 AM Saturday morning, residents were awakened by gunfire near Albert Street and West Front Street, according to one reader who called the police. Nothing more is known about that incident.

It is noted that this is the area which generated concern about being included in the proposed gunshot-detection technology proposal which has since been shelved because of Plainfield's fiscal situation.

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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BREAKING: Gang wars continue with victimless shootings

At least two unreported shootings since last Thursday show Plainfield's gang warfare continues -- even if victimless for the moment.

Thursday evening I am told there was gunfire at Prescott Place and West 3rd Street, with two males being shot at though not hit. Shell casings were found at the scene.

Last evening -- Monday -- three males were shot at in the vicinity of Clinton and Myrtle Avenues. None of the intended victims was hit, but again shell casings were found at the scene.

The second shooting occurred in a neighborhood that was at the center of an uproar over the proposed gunshot-spotting technology which the Administration has had to table in light of the city's current fiscal situation.

Police regard both areas as gang territories as evidenced by gang activity.

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Man shot overnight Saturday

 

A man was shot in the back overnight Saturday while sitting in his car in the side parking lot of 674 West 7th Street.

This is the first violence in the complex known as Town & Country apartments, formerly owned by high-flying Plainfield real estate mogul David Connolly.

The man was transported to Robert Wood Johnson hospital.

Shot in the back while sitting in his car?

Drug deal gone bad?

Gangs?

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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BREAKING: 2 shootings, stolen car crash overnight

Plainfield saw violence again overnight Sunday.

Two separate shootings in the West End include a cabbie shot in the head on Spooner Avenue, and a man shot three times on Brokaw Boulevard. Am told it does not look good for either shooting victim.

Am also told a stolen car reportedly crashed at Clinton Avenue and South Second Street, also in the West End.

UPDATE 1:00 PM: Courier has breaking news item here; see Ledger here.

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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BREAKING: Gunshots near Park & Prospect, perp apprehended

A Plainfield Today reader just alerted me (12:12 PM) of gunshots fired in the area of Prospect and Park Avenues early Thursday AM (today).

The reader was able to spot the perp in the shadows and called police with his description and direction of flight. The police apprehended a male with a large-caliber automatic handgun. (I have been told in the past of drug dealing at the 909 Park Avenue apartment building.)

There was also a report of a suspicious car parked at Evergreen and Kensington Avenues with the motor running.

Also, a reader in the East End reported via a comment this morning (see here) that shots were fired on George Street near Johnston Avenue on Tuesday night.

Though the police arrived within minutes, the reader notes that what was a quiet neighborhood when they bought there four years ago has changed drastically.

'What is the city doing about that?,' they ask.

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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BREAKING: Two shootings on Labor Day

Plainfield did not escape the Labor Day weekend without more violence.

I am told there was a fight with shots fired about 11:30 PM on Labor Day night at East Third Street and Wiley Avenue -- taking the violence to the East End, which has so far been largely spared.

A few minutes later there was a shooting in the 1100-block of West Front Street, with a 17-year-old male shot in the leg.

As one officer said to me, 'Of course, retaliatory shootings are imminent'.

Of course.

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Gang shooting, other violence and possible arson Saturday

Four gang-related incidents in recent days are highlighted in red.

Plainfield's string of shooting incidents continued overnight Saturday, with a male being shot in the leg in the 600-block of Clinton Avenue.

This followed an earlier incident at West 3rd Street and Rushmore Avenue, where shots were fired. No one was hit, but police recovered a handgun at the site.

I'll bet both are gang-related -- the shooting incident is just steps away from Lyman Place where a man was shot in the back Thursday night. A car had been stolen in front of a convenience store in the same area last weekend, possibly to be used in the gang shootout that took place in front of a West Second Street building in the Housing Authority's Elmwood Gardens complex.

Last night's shootings bring the total since early May to at least 22 shooting incidents, with at least 18 persons injured and one death.

Mayor Robinson-Briggs' Tuesday night walks through various neighborhoods continue. The administration went before the Planning Board for a second time on Thursday, trying to get the gunshot-detection technology put on the city's capital improvements plan.

To date, the Robinson-Briggs administration has not come up with an overarching plan for addressing the root issues behind the rise of gangs and any concerted effort to head them off.

Everyone agrees there is no possibility of arresting our way out of this, so what is Robinson-Briggs going to do?

As if the gang-related violence weren't enough, early Saturday evening saw two other incidents --

• The playground equipment at BUF's daycare at West 7th and Central Avenue was burnt up completely, possibly arson, and
  
  
• A Hispanic male was stabbed and beaten by a group of Hispanic men on West Front Street; the victim was transported by ambulance to RWJ.

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Victim hit 5 times in another gang-related shooting

Plainfield's gang warfare evidently continues.

I got word shortly before 10: AM this morning of another gang-related shooting last night.

The victim, said to be a member of the Liberty Street Gang, was hit 5 times.

That may explain the helicopter I heard at 11:41 PM last night as I preparing to go to bed.

My house is in the flight path from RWJ to Hub Stine Field, and I can hear them pass from southwest to southeast and then the descent at Hub Stine.

Public Safety Director Martin Hellwig and Capt. Steve Soltys were at the Planning Board last night (for a second time around) to answer questions preparatory to the Board's adding the Shot Spotter gun-detection proposal to the five-year capital improvements plan.

More later.

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Gang shootout erupts over weekend

A shootout erupted at Elmwood Gardens early Sunday.

Gang warfare broke out again early Sunday morning in Plainfield, just days after a multi-agency task force made 40 arrests (see Courier story here), targeting gang members involved in violent crime.

Shots were fired from a vehicle at a group of a dozen or so people who were outside one of the West Second Street buildings of Elmwood Gardens. The vehicle returned some time later, once again shooting at those outside the building, but this time members of the group in front of the building returned the gunfire.

Police found shell casings at the site, but apparently no one was injured.

I also learned that gunshots were fired Sunday evening at Plainfield Avenue and West Front Street, just around the corner from the previous drive-by shootout.

Clearly, the multi-agency task force involving eight jurisdictions, including the FBI, State Police and Union County Prosecutor's office as well as the Plainfield Police Division, which worked for three days last week to identify and arrest the large number of suspects, had done a good job and made what appeared to be a dent in the violent crimes that have plagued the Queen City in recent months.

However, Public Safety Director Martin Hellwig may have overreached when he told the Courier's Mark Spivey, 'people who should be off the streets now are off the streets'.

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• Courier:  "Multi-agency sweep nets 40 arrests"
  

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Violence resumes with multiple shootings, carjacking

 

Plainfield's brief respite from violence ended over the weekend with multiple shootings and a carjacking.

Saturday night there was gunfire at West 4th Street and Plainfield Avenue. No one was struck.

Overnight Sunday, there was a carjacking at gunpoint at Liberty and West Front Streets.

Late Monday night there were two separate shooting incidents in which victims were struck by bullets --

• 500-block of West 4th Street
  
• West 3rd Street and Prescott Place

All this as the Council hears of the need for some financial assistance with the Open Gym nights at Washington and Emerson schools during August, and ponders issuing bonds to help pay for gunshot-spotting technology.

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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