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Home > Blogs > Dayton area crime > Archives > 2009 > February > 02
Monday, February 2, 2009
Massive gang bust gives police last laugh
I spent 75 minutes inside a Cincinnati Police Academy room listening to a police captain break down one of the most impressive gang busts in recent memory. The research was for a story that ran today about that investigation into Cincinnati’s Northside Taliband gang, which led to 50 arrests in November and a 95-count indictment.
I wanted to learn more about taking down gangs, and a few things became clear. First, police are taking gangs seriously. Second, police are gaining ground. Third, if you take away a few leaders, the gang structure crumbles.
These are all promising signs for the situation in Dayton.
The investigation into the Taliband (a name meant to mimic Taliban, but gang members for an unknown reason added a “D” to the end) took six months and used a variety of tools, from MySpace to UC grad students to business trend software.
Perhaps most impressive were the databases mapping gang membership and displaying what membership would look like if key leaders were off the street. Between two pages, one could easily see that members were less dangerous and, perhaps, even less likely to join a gang if the feared leaders were in custody.
Cincinnati police said other criminals were thanking them for busting the Taliband. A Northside community meeting gave the cops a standing ovation for their work, which was promising in Cincinnati, where police and the community have faced their share of problems.
Studying this investigation shows that police are gaining intelligence on where to look for members, how to look for them and how to convince grand juries to quickly hand out indictments.
So, what will Dayton do? The chief, Richard Biehl, came to Dayton from Cincinnati, so he kept an eye on the investigation’s progress. Representatives from Dayton were at the presentation at the police academy jotting notes and asking questions.
Dayton also has its share of gangs, and area agencies are clearly taking a harder look at them. The Dayton Daily News has also checked thoroughly into the problem, including a series on the Miami Valley gang issue.
If Montgomery County officials can use similar techniques as their Cincinnati counterparts, they should continue to make progress in identifying, investigating and arresting gang members.
TweetMother, daughter arrested on prostitution charges
DAYTON - Police have arrested a woman they believe offered her daughter up for sex.
Teresa Lynn Brock, 45, was arrested on Thursday, Jan. 29, at about 8:20 p.m. on 30 South Horton St. after vice detectives called her phone during an undercover prostitution sting, according to police.
During the conversation, Brock offered her 19-year-old daughter, Danielle K. Brock, for sexually-related services, according to police.
Undercover detectives later met up with Danielle K. Brock and, after a brief discussion, arrested her and her mother on prostitution charges.
Detectives also found heroin on Teresa Brock, according to police.
Teresa Brock is charged with promoting prostitution and drug possession. She is in jail on $50,000 bond. A background check found Teresa Brock has been arrested numerous times for soliciting and prostitution-related charges.
Danielle Brock has no arrest record prior to the incident and has since been released.
TweetWoman accused of having sex with 12-year-old boy
DAYTON - The Montgomery County Prosecutor’s office has approved a rape charge against a 55-year-old woman who allegedly had sex with a neighborhood 12-year-old boy on her birthday.
Gloria J. Murphy, 55, of 5440 Rawlings Drive, was arrested at 8 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 30, by Dayton police after the boy notified an adult he had sex with Murphy, according to police.
The encounter happened late Wednesday, Jan. 28 — Murphy’s birthday — and lasted into the early hours the next day, Patrick Welsh said.
Murphy did not force the boy to have sex, but since the he is younger than 13, it is considered rape, Welsh said.
Police are not releasing any more details to protect the child, Welsh said. Murphy is in jail on $25,000 bond and is expected to appear in court on Feb. 9 at 3:30 p.m.
A background check found Murphy has no previous arrests or criminal conviction in Montgomery County.
TweetHomicides up in January; find out where with our interactive map
DAYTON - Dayton ended January with six homicides, the most to start a year since at least 2002, according to police records.
The spike in homicides comes about two months after Dayton Police Chief Richard Biehl launched the city’s anti-gun violence initiative that targets gang violence in the city.
Biehl cautioned the program will take some time to implement, but his hopes are that targeting groups/gangs will bring down violent crimes in the city over time.
In order to keep track of homicides, we have compiled an interactive map and user-friendly database of murders committed across the Miami Valley in 2008 and those so far in 2009.
You can check to see if arrests have been made or what homicides have occurred in your neighborhood. We will update the homicide database as new information becomes available and arrests are made so, please, check back often.
If you have any comments, suggestions, information or even pictures of victims, please feel free to e-mail us at lsullivan@daytondailynews.com or knagel@daytondailynews.com.
TweetMan found dead in apartment identified
DAYTON — The body found in an apartment on Saturday afternoon, Jan. 31, is that of Joseph M. Schwartz, according to the Montgomery County Coroner’s office.
Schwartz, 23, was found by his parents at about 12:15 inside his apartment at 1426 John Glenn Road, Lt. Brian Johns said.
Investigators said they are treating his death as a possible drug overdose at this time. Schwartz had not been seen since Jan. 28, Johns said.
His parents went to the apartment because they hadn’t heard from him. They were able to slightly open the door, which was secured on the inside with a chain lock, according to police.
Johns said the parents saw their son on the couch and called out to him. When he didn’t respond, they contacted the landlord.
Schwartz had a history of drug use, according to police.
TweetMan walking into church robbed at gunpoint
DAYTON - Police are looking for a black man in his late 20s who robbed a man walking into Grace United Methodist Church early Sunday morning, Feb. 1.
Ricky Huddleston told police he was walking from his car in the church parking lot, 1001 Harvard Blvd., at about 6:40 a.m. when a man walked up and asked him for money to catch the bus, according to a police report.
When Huddleston said he didn’t have any money, the man pulled out a black handgun from his waistband and pointed it at Huddleston’s head, he told officers.
The man took Huddleston’s wallet and ran off, the report stated. The wallet had Huddleston’s driver’s license, Social Security card and undisclosed amount of cash inside, the report stated.
Huddleston, who works at the church, did not call police for more than an hour, saying he wanted to check with the church’s pastor before notifying officers, the report stated.
Officers searched the area, but found no one matching the suspect’s description. The gunman is described to be about 5-foot-8, 160 pounds. Anyone with information should call 333-COPS.
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