CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Violent crimes have been a constant stain on the Deep Rock Circle community in southwest Charlotte. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department told WCNC Charlotte this neighborhood is a priority when it comes to combating criminal activity.
Sonya McIntyre lives in this neighborhood and said it is going to take everyone stepping up to clean it up; that means police, community management and the people who live here.
“You know how you have a sign that says beware of dog? That beware is for my shepherd and my pit bull and that is a sign that says beware I’m a lawful gun owner and I’m trained to use one," McIntyre said, pointing toward her target practice.
You don’t have to know McIntyre to know she is a good shot. A paper target taped on her door, with several bullet holes does that.
McIntyre has lived in the Deep Rock Circle neighborhood for about a year and said she is fed up with the violent crime in her community.
“I knew that it was a condition that I was not going to live in and it’s not a condition that I’m paying to live in and any other tenant that is out here should either,” she said.
From murders to robberies, it’s crime that has sometimes sent bullets flying through the neighborhood.
“When I first moved here the crime rate was a lot and it had elevated a lot,” Rosaline Bailey, one of the residents, said.
“It was literally taken over by two elements,” McIntyre said. "There were drug activities and also a lot of activities from people who did not even live here and they would come onto the property."
McIntyre said she is not afraid to call the police and the property management to voice her concerns. She wants more of her neighbors to feel empowered to speak up when they see something wrong.
“It takes the community, yes I mean the residents," McIntyre said. "They can not sit back and think the police are going to do everything. Some things do require good neighbors."
She adds that it is also the management's job to make sure they have and accept the right tenants to live there and that people are following the policies in place.
Meanwhile, CMPD says it stepped up patrols, installed cameras, and added a sky tower. CMPD said the police tower is broken right now but it will be back soon.
“They started doing more patrolling and visually you would see more patrolling and then it turns into a part that when I made a call to the police, they were on it,” McIntyre said.
This week police made several arrests in robbery cases targeting Hispanic people. CMPD said the suspects were also involved in a lot of criminal activity in this neighborhood.
“They’ll drive around and they’ll wait to see someone hanging out in the parking lot, coming home from work late, usually, people that are alone not in groups but in certain cases they were in groups and they would rob them of their belongings,” Sgt. Brian Scharf of the armed robbery unit said.
CMPD said it is working with local management to find short and long-term strategies to make the area safer for its residents. One tactic is teaming up to get rid of tenants who are involved in criminal activities
Residents said the efforts are paying off.
“I feel safer," Bailey said. "I feel like it is becoming the community that they built it for, to be a better place and living environment for people trying to get far."
As for the target practice on McIntyre’s door, she said it stays up as a reminder.
“I’ve had wonderful reactions in that no one comes to bother me and I don’t bother anyone,” McIntyre said.
Contact Jesse Pierre at jpierrepet@wcnc.com or follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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