Homicides in Cincinnati hit a 14-year high in 2001, a year in which there were also an unprecedented number of shootings and bank robberies following the worst riots in 30 years.

        Sixty-one people were slain in the city this year, compared with 40 last year — a 52 percent increase. The last time there were so many homicides was 1987, when 66 people were slain, 24 of them by serial killer Donald Harvey.

Erin Turner, right, and Marlo Bannister, are sisters of Clem Turner III, who was shot to death last summer. (Steven M. Herppich photo) | ZOOM |

        The record for homicides is 81 in 1971.

        Homicides in Hamilton County outside Cincinnati went from four in 2000 to nine in 2001. Warren County saw a drop in killings, from five in 2000 to one in 2001. Butler County's homicide total stayed at 10.

        Nationally, the number of homicides rose slightly in the first six months of this year, the FBI reported this month. .

        In Cincinnati, which has 331,000 residents, homicides increased so dramatically in part because of a spate of violence that began with April's riots and swelled during the summer as shootings — many connected to drugs and street robberies — exploded almost nightly.

        “It is a tragic number, but I am not surprised given what we have seen this year,” Mayor Charlie Luken said. “We have got to do a better job in getting our neighborhoods involved in crime fighting.”

        Cincinnati's 2001 homicide numbers remain behind other Midwestern cities'. For example, Columbus had 76 homicides in 2001, Cleveland had 77, and Indianapolis had 89.

        More than half of Cincinnati's homicides — 37 — have been solved; 24 still are open.
       

Impact of riots

        The killings in Cincinnati peaked this summer, when shootings jumped 600 percent compared to 2000.

        “2001 is a year I don't want to remember a heck of a lot,” Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen said. “It has been the most stressful year in my professional career without question. It truly is turning into an epidemic.”

Curlee Jackson-Bobbs' son Jermaine, 19, died in her living room after being shot in her front yard Sept 30. (Tony Jones photo) | ZOOM |

        Forty-four of the 61 homicides are from fatal gunshots. Between May 14 and Aug. 31, 24 people were killed and 20 of those people were fatally shot.

        Overall since April 11, more than 160 people have been shot and many of those incidents, including those who died in the gunfire, were connected to street robberies and drugs, said Lt. Roger Wolf, commander of the Homicide Unit.

        Dozens of those fatally shot also had gang indicators, said Officer Eric Smoot, the department's gang expert. Those shootings stemmed from drug-selling gang members who were either establishing territory or exacting revenge for previous killings, he said. There are about 500 local gang members, he estimated.

Scars run deep

        Relatives of those slain are forever changed. It's especially hard now, they say, during the holidays — the first since the deaths of their brothers, children and grandchildren.

        At the height of the summer of violence, Clem Turner III, 20, and Lornie Pierre Starkey, 23, were being chased in a Honda CRV July 25 when a man in the other vehicle opened fire, hitting Mr. Turner. The SUV overturned on a quiet residential street in Pleasant Ridge.

        Mr. Turner and Mr. Starkey, both of whom had criminal records involving drugs, still were alive but trapped when the gunman got out of his car and pumped several shots through the windshield.

        Both men, Little League playmates, were killed.

        Mr. Turner, who dropped out of school in the ninth grade, was trying to find a job when he died, family members said. But he found it hard to overcome his June 1999 felony conviction for preparing crack cocaine for sale.

        “He hated where he was, but he never hated who he was,” said his mother, Stephanie Williams, 50. “He was talking about going back to school. You don't make a dishwasher out of a mind like his.”

        An acquaintance of Mr. Turner's, Montez ""E Money” Taylor, 23, of Silverton, was charged with two counts of aggravated murder. If convicted, he could get the death penalty.

        Mr. Turner's family denies he may have been killed over drugs. They maintain he raised Mr. Taylor's wrath by warning him to keep his guns out of Kennedy Heights, where Mr. Turner lived his entire life.

        “Clem and Pierre are the last two people that anybody would have murdered,” said Mr. Turner's sister, Erin Turner, 23.

        She went to the scene the night her brother died and helplessly watched as he gasped his final breath through a mouthful of blood.

        “He didn't want to die!” Ms. Turner yelled, crying. “My brother was not ready to go! I close my eyes and I still see it. My whole life has been turned upside down. I'm afraid to go out and be in crowds. I'm afraid I'll be next.”

        The anguish is even more bitter, if possible, for families still waiting for their loved ones' killers to be caught.

        Curlee Jackson-Bobbs' son, Jermaine, 19, was shot in front of her South Fairmount house Sept. 30. The gunshots drowned out her TV and by the time she ran to the front door, her son was struggling toward her. She vaguely remembers a car screeching off into the darkness.

        “He said they were outside in a red car and that was it,” Ms. Jackson-Bobbs, 44, mumbled through her tears. “He died inside my house, on the living room of the floor.”

        She has no idea why her son was brutally slain; he had no enemies, she said. He had a minor drug abuse conviction in 2000 for possessing a small amount of marijuana. The day he died, he had been playing video games at a friend's house all day, his mother said.

        Mr. Jackson left behind a four-month-old daughter.

        “We are angry, frustrated, sad,” Ms. Jackson-Bobbs said with a sigh. “You don't know when it could be you. You never think it will be you. What I would say to the young people is, "Use your head. What you do in the dark comes to light.'”
       

Neighbors fight back

        Nine of the homicides were in Over-the-Rhine, the neighborhood also most affected by shootings. Avondale had six homicides. The rest of the homicides were spread across the city from Mount Airy to Westwood to Madisonville to Hyde Park.

        As the violence rose this summer, the police department launched the Violent Crimes Task Force, which has made 2,156 arrests to date and seized scores of drugs, 82 firearms and $61,374 in cash. City Council also recently approved putting 30 additional cops on the streets next year.

        Frustrated and angry residents got involved, too, as ministers took to the streets in Over-the-Rhine to urge calm.

        “Drugs and guns,” said the Rev. Aaron Greenlea, president of the Cincinnati Baptist Ministers Conference. “Most of these shootings are over drugs. If there's any kind of confrontation, it winds up in a shooting. They are eliminating themselves.”

        Most of the shooters and victims are between the ages of 15 and 35 — a generation the Rev. Mr. Greenlea said he believes already is lost.

        “The crux of our problem is we have young men on the street with no skills and no jobs,” the Rev. Mr. Greenlea said. “These guys know they can push drugs but we have to offer them another alternative.”

        In the meantime, some neighbors are trying to combat violence.

        West End residents formed a block watch with police after several shootings erupted. The West End Community Council wants the city to post “No Loitering” signs on street corners to halt the presence of criminals.

        Dale Mallory, council president, said, “It's gotten way of out hand. “Some corners have criminals who are armed and dangerous. But how do we approach it? We need to talk to the police to find out what we can do so we don't get shot and killed ourselves.”

        The rise in violence this year has others who live and work in Cincinnati afraid the city is heading into a dark period that won't turn around for years.

        "If the the bank robberies and violence don't slow down, the long-term effect on Cincinnati is going to be drastic,” said Charles Clingman, president of the Walnut Hills Community Council.

        “People don't move or come into the city while violent crime is up. We are at a crucial point now to see if we can keep downtown Cincinnati a viable entertainment district.”

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