Post by Deleted on Apr 18, 2014 9:10:39 GMT -5
Police ID Oneida St. homicide victim
Investigators focus on timeline of events
BY ROCCO LADUCA
rladuca@uticaod.com
UTICA – City police still are trying to trace the footsteps of this week’s homicide victim in the hours before he was shot to death in a car parked off Oneida Street.
More than 24 hours after 22year-old Darquell Carter was fatally shot behind 1515 Oneida St. shortly after 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, police continued to wonder what events might have prompted the deadly shooting.
As of Thursday afternoon, it still was unclear if Carter, of Gold Street, was engaged in some sort of conversation with the suspect before getting shot or if he was shot by an unseen assailant.
“We have several different theories of what happened here, so we’re trying to develop a timeline of the whereabouts of our victim prior to the incident,” police Chief Mark Williams said. “We’re also looking to find people that he knew and family members, and trying to gather as much information as we can from people who might have witnessed something.”
Police released Carter’s identity Thursday based on information provided by his family and the Onondaga County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Investigators returned to the neighborhood to again talk with some of the residents, hoping they might feel more comfortable speaking to police now that the intensity of the previous day’s chaos has calmed, Williams said.
“When you have an incident that has just happened fresh and all those people show up at the scene, the last thing people want to do is have police showing up at their door,” Williams said, referring to the tendency for shooters to return to the scene of the crime. “With all those eyes on them, I’m sure they don’t want to have people see them cooperating with police and put their own lives in danger.”
In the meantime, Utica police responded to more gunfire shortly before 10 a.m. Thursday on Lansing Street.
About four to five shots were fired in the area between First and Second streets, leaving police to probe for a possible connection to Wednesday’s homicide – the city’s second of the year.
A van at a residence was shot twice, but no injuries were reported.
When asked if the recent gunfire and homicide are linked, Williams replied, “I wouldn’t rule it out.”
“A lot more investigation work and, hopefully, cooperation is going to be needed before we piece that puzzle together,” Williams said.
Police were looking for a charcoal- colored Dodge Charger in relation to Thursday’s shots-fired call.
Follow@OD_LaDuca on Twitter or call him at 792-5037.
ONEIDA STREET HOMICIDE
Man shot, killed in parked car
Motive unclear in city’s second homicide this year
BY ROCCO LADUCA
rladuca@uticaod.com
UTICA – As soon as Cynthia Burgess heard the familiar “pop” of a gunshot Wednesday afternoon, she rushed to the window of her Oneida Street home to see what happened.
Burgess didn’t notice anything unusual, she said, but she already knew that sound was not a good sign.
“‘Here we go, we’re going to have a rough summer,’” 52-yearold Burgess said to herself before going back to cleaning a rear bedroom shortly after 12:30 p.m.
Moments later, Utica police rushed to 1551 Oneida St., where they discovered a young man apparently shot to death in the driver’s seat of a gold Chevrolet Impala parked behind the apartment house.
Police have not released the victim’s name pending positive identification by the Onondaga Medical Examiner’s Office, but the vehicle was the same car Burgess said she has encountered many times sharing the parking area.
Burgess recalled telling the young man who drove the vehicle to slow down pulling in so he didn’t scrape the bottom of his car. As far as why the victim might have been shot, Burgess and other neighbors did not offer a guess.
Utica police also were reluctant to speculate on the circumstances surrounding the shooting or whether any suspects have been identified. This is Utica’s second homicide of the year.
“I’ve got to let them gather as much initial information as they can,” Utica police Chief Mark Williams said of his investigators, who went doorto- door and marked items of evidence outside the car, including at least two bullet casings. “Right now we’re trying to find a possible motive, a reason why this happened.”
A man wearing a black hoodie was seen running from the area toward James Street after the shooting. Shortly after, area police agencies were alerted to keep a lookout for a 2004 Chevrolet tan pickup truck.
As crowds gathered along Oneida Street near Jewett Place, tensions flared among some bystanders until approaching police officers prompted the individuals to wander away. One woman, however, begged the police chief to tell her who had been killed.
“Can you just look at his tattoo?” the woman asked Williams, questioning whether the victim was a family member.
“I’m sorry I can’t, I would taint the crime scene,” Williams replied from behind yellow police tape. “It’s not my job to process the crime scene, and I don’t want to jeopardize the case.”
Then at about 2 p.m., a woman believed to be a relative of the victim was helped out of a house and taken away on a stretcher to be attended to by medical personnel.
As Burgess continued to peek on the scene from her window at 1600 Oneida St., she expressed fear for the future of her 14year-old daughter and the rest of the city’s youths.
“I don’t want my child walking down the street, then one day I look out the window and she’s lying in the street,” Burgess said. “I’m at a loss for words because this community is going down bad. I just hope it’s not a hopeless case, Utica lost to the wind.”
Utica OD e-edition
Summer is on it way and the natives are chillin.
Powered by TECNAVIA Copyright © 2014 Observer-Dispatch 04/18/2014
Investigators focus on timeline of events
BY ROCCO LADUCA
rladuca@uticaod.com
UTICA – City police still are trying to trace the footsteps of this week’s homicide victim in the hours before he was shot to death in a car parked off Oneida Street.
More than 24 hours after 22year-old Darquell Carter was fatally shot behind 1515 Oneida St. shortly after 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, police continued to wonder what events might have prompted the deadly shooting.
As of Thursday afternoon, it still was unclear if Carter, of Gold Street, was engaged in some sort of conversation with the suspect before getting shot or if he was shot by an unseen assailant.
“We have several different theories of what happened here, so we’re trying to develop a timeline of the whereabouts of our victim prior to the incident,” police Chief Mark Williams said. “We’re also looking to find people that he knew and family members, and trying to gather as much information as we can from people who might have witnessed something.”
Police released Carter’s identity Thursday based on information provided by his family and the Onondaga County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Investigators returned to the neighborhood to again talk with some of the residents, hoping they might feel more comfortable speaking to police now that the intensity of the previous day’s chaos has calmed, Williams said.
“When you have an incident that has just happened fresh and all those people show up at the scene, the last thing people want to do is have police showing up at their door,” Williams said, referring to the tendency for shooters to return to the scene of the crime. “With all those eyes on them, I’m sure they don’t want to have people see them cooperating with police and put their own lives in danger.”
In the meantime, Utica police responded to more gunfire shortly before 10 a.m. Thursday on Lansing Street.
About four to five shots were fired in the area between First and Second streets, leaving police to probe for a possible connection to Wednesday’s homicide – the city’s second of the year.
A van at a residence was shot twice, but no injuries were reported.
When asked if the recent gunfire and homicide are linked, Williams replied, “I wouldn’t rule it out.”
“A lot more investigation work and, hopefully, cooperation is going to be needed before we piece that puzzle together,” Williams said.
Police were looking for a charcoal- colored Dodge Charger in relation to Thursday’s shots-fired call.
Follow@OD_LaDuca on Twitter or call him at 792-5037.
ONEIDA STREET HOMICIDE
Man shot, killed in parked car
Motive unclear in city’s second homicide this year
BY ROCCO LADUCA
rladuca@uticaod.com
UTICA – As soon as Cynthia Burgess heard the familiar “pop” of a gunshot Wednesday afternoon, she rushed to the window of her Oneida Street home to see what happened.
Burgess didn’t notice anything unusual, she said, but she already knew that sound was not a good sign.
“‘Here we go, we’re going to have a rough summer,’” 52-yearold Burgess said to herself before going back to cleaning a rear bedroom shortly after 12:30 p.m.
Moments later, Utica police rushed to 1551 Oneida St., where they discovered a young man apparently shot to death in the driver’s seat of a gold Chevrolet Impala parked behind the apartment house.
Police have not released the victim’s name pending positive identification by the Onondaga Medical Examiner’s Office, but the vehicle was the same car Burgess said she has encountered many times sharing the parking area.
Burgess recalled telling the young man who drove the vehicle to slow down pulling in so he didn’t scrape the bottom of his car. As far as why the victim might have been shot, Burgess and other neighbors did not offer a guess.
Utica police also were reluctant to speculate on the circumstances surrounding the shooting or whether any suspects have been identified. This is Utica’s second homicide of the year.
“I’ve got to let them gather as much initial information as they can,” Utica police Chief Mark Williams said of his investigators, who went doorto- door and marked items of evidence outside the car, including at least two bullet casings. “Right now we’re trying to find a possible motive, a reason why this happened.”
A man wearing a black hoodie was seen running from the area toward James Street after the shooting. Shortly after, area police agencies were alerted to keep a lookout for a 2004 Chevrolet tan pickup truck.
As crowds gathered along Oneida Street near Jewett Place, tensions flared among some bystanders until approaching police officers prompted the individuals to wander away. One woman, however, begged the police chief to tell her who had been killed.
“Can you just look at his tattoo?” the woman asked Williams, questioning whether the victim was a family member.
“I’m sorry I can’t, I would taint the crime scene,” Williams replied from behind yellow police tape. “It’s not my job to process the crime scene, and I don’t want to jeopardize the case.”
Then at about 2 p.m., a woman believed to be a relative of the victim was helped out of a house and taken away on a stretcher to be attended to by medical personnel.
As Burgess continued to peek on the scene from her window at 1600 Oneida St., she expressed fear for the future of her 14year-old daughter and the rest of the city’s youths.
“I don’t want my child walking down the street, then one day I look out the window and she’s lying in the street,” Burgess said. “I’m at a loss for words because this community is going down bad. I just hope it’s not a hopeless case, Utica lost to the wind.”
Utica OD e-edition
Summer is on it way and the natives are chillin.
Powered by TECNAVIA Copyright © 2014 Observer-Dispatch 04/18/2014
