By Kevin Aldridge
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Dion Fannon of Evanston, who knew shooting victim Michael Royles, walks by memorial graffiti on Perkins Lounge on Tuesday. (Craig Ruttle photo)

Sharon Muyaya stood tall in a hallway at the Evanston Recreation Center on Tuesday and spoke defiantly about the gun violence that has ripped her neighborhood apart over the past three days.

"Evanston is not going to be known as a place where gang violence is tolerated," Muyaya said. "We will not let that be the title of our community."

Muyaya, president of the Evanston Community Council, and other neighborhood activists have spent the last three years trying to shed Evanston's image as a violent and troubled community.

Through federally funded programs, community outreach projects and a police crackdown on drug activity along Montgomery Road, most residents had begun to feel as if the neighborhood had gotten a handle on crime.

But three shootings in three days - one of them fatal - have again cast a shadow over the predominantly African-American neighborhood of 7,928.

Saturday, 25-year-old Michael Royles was shot to death in front of Perkins Lounge at Montgomery Road and Clarion Avenue. Royles, who lived on Clarion Avenue, was shot in the head when he opened the bar door to check on a commotion outside.

Another man was shot several times Monday night at the same street corner. Neil Donley, 35, of Amelia, told police that he was shot and robbed by a man while waiting outside an apartment building for a friend. His injuries were not life-threatening. On Tuesday, a man was shot in the leg on Oesper Avenue.

A group of Evanston business owners and residents met with police Tuesday at the Evanston Recreation Center. Like community leaders elsewhere, they agreed finding solutions for stemming the violence isn't easy.

Edward Perkins, owner of Perkins Lounge, said ending the problem starts with addressing the parents of youths who are committing crimes.

"Some of the parents today are young mothers who don't have fathers in the home," he said. "They don't really know where the kids are themselves."

Perkins Lounge has been an Evanston mainstay since 1958 and was one of the first black-owned businesses on that stretch of Montgomery Road. During the 1960s and '70s, the bar was a popular hangout for members of the Cincinnati Royals, the city's former NBA franchise.

At the request of police, Perkins had been closing his bar early on occasion to assist with crime-fighting efforts. He even helped nab 15 suspects during a 2002 drug sweep of the neighborhood.

Perkins, 75, said his business has been hurt by the violence and open-air drug activity that takes place on the corner. Graffiti paying tribute to Royles - "R.I.P Mike" and "I Love You Mike" - has been spray-painted on the exterior of the bar. Beside those messages is a much more disturbing one: "Crack Lane for Life."

Drew Asimus, president of the Evanston Business Association, said police must look for new ways to deal with the problem.

Asimus, who has run a construction business on Montgomery and Clarion since 1987, said police must to do more undercover drug buys and surveillance in the area. Foot patrols and driving by in cruisers might disperse criminals for a short time, but they always return, he said.

Asimus said crack dealers could be found at the corner leaning on cars as early as 7:30 a.m.

"All of these guys out here aren't just thugs," Muyaya said. "Some of them are constantly strategizing on how to protect their turf and do their business. The police need to come up with a better strategy, too."

Drug dealers getting robbed

District 2's Violent Crime Squad spends a lot of time doing undercover drug work on Clarion and throughout Evanston, said Sgt. Brian Ibold. "We'll just keep hitting it hard," he said.

Capt. Michael Cureton, commander of District 2, said residents' concerns aren't falling on deaf ears. "You have to be craftier and craftier to catch (criminals)," Cureton said. "But this is a problem that cannot be solved with only arrests."

Cureton said the crime problem in Cincinnati is being complicated by an emerging dynamic: Drug dealers getting robbed by other criminals. Cureton said this complicates the investigation of shootings and assaults because drug dealers aren't likely to cooperate.

Muyaya said there is also an ongoing feud between rival groups from Evanston and Madisonville. Such rivalries span the city, she said.

The Rev. Peterson Mingo, pastor of Christ Temple Baptist Church, organized a charity basketball game between police and some youths from Madisonville and Evanston.

"We've got some wannabe gang-bangers and drug dealers in Evanston," Mingo said. "But most of the young people are trying to get their lives together and are focused on more positive things."

Mingo said there really hadn't been any "big violent incidents" in Evanston over the past year, largely, he thinks, because of outreach efforts. Evanston had one homicide in 2003 during a year in which there were 75 citywide.

"The neighborhood is on an upswing," Muyaya said. "We are going to continue to improve our community, fight crime and make it a better place to live. We are not going to be known as violent."

Crime reports in Evanston

	2001	2002	2003 *
Calls for service	7,516	8,023	7,827
Serious crimes	570	631	640
Murder	1	2	1
Rape	11	3	9
Robbery	45	59	40
Aggravated assault	37	39	39
Burglary	166	138	160
Larceny	195	250	238
Auto theft	115	140	153
* (Jan. through Nov. 2003)

Jane Prendergast contributed to this report. Email kaldridge@enquirer.com