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(07/25/02 8:23pm)
Escalating prices at the pump seem to be the motive for the increasing amount of fuel and flee thefts at local gas stations. The increase in gas prices during the last few years results from a continuing energy crisis where the consumer demand for gasoline is surpassing the available resources of fuel.\nGas station owners find that these gas thefts happen more frequently during hectic business hours. Attendants find that they will see a car pull up to a pump island that is difficult for them to see. They are occupied with the customers at the counter so they can't keep their attention focused on the gas pumps. When the attendants look over to the pump island again, they find that the car has vanished and the gas pump is lying on the ground. \nThese thefts can range in price anywhere from $8-$30. Although the monetary theft is usually minimal, two to three thefts a month can add up to almost a hundred dollars in losses for gas station owners.\n"It is common for the station to get two to three calls a day concerning a gasoline theft," Sergeant Bill Parker of the Bloomington Police Department said.\nParker also finds that because the attendants usually get a vehicle description and license plate number it is fairly easy to catch the guilty parties. But without either of these, Parker said it "just becomes a matter of luck."\nOnce the perpetrators are caught the penalty depends on the gas station owner. A gas-and-go theft may range from paying the money due to more legal ramifications if the owner decides to press charges. In Indiana, gasoline theft is considered a Class D felony punishable with up to two years in prison.\nIn order to lessen these types of thefts, gas station owners have tried to implement preventative measures. Gas stations ask customers to prepay before they pump their gas. The stations are removing items on the counter that could obstruct the view of attendants. The attendants are also trying to be more attentive to the customers.\nAlthough gas thefts seem to be increasing in central Indiana and highway gas stations, according to local gas station owners, gas thefts do not seem to be much of a problem in Bloomington.\nIn fact, Clint Maggard, owner of Swifty Service Station located at 2200 W. Third St., boasts, "We don't have any drive-offs."\nJack Walker, owner of Walker's Amoco located at 3205 E. Third St., said his service station experiences the occasional drive-off two to three times a month, which seems to be typical for most local gas stations.\nAlthough most owners are not worried about gas thefts at the moment, they also recognize that gas prices are shooting up.\n"The way that gasoline prices are rising, the number of gas thefts are also going to increase," said Merv Pritchard, owner of Pritchard's Service Center at 601 E. 10th Street.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
At long last, the Serious Habitual Offender Comprehensive Action Program is underway in Monroe County. Local government officials announced last Friday that the program recently received a $56,969 start-up grant through the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute. \nThe institute made the award to reduce juvenile delinquency and increase the accountability of juvenile offenders, a spokesman said. It is the second such grant awarded to the program. \nIn April of 2000, the program received an award of $74,985 from the state. These funds were the catalyst to completion of the program's six year starting process here in Bloomington. \nThe program is a federal initiative designed by the Office of Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Officials say it has shown promising results all over the country -- including Illinois, Wisconsin and Florida. \nHabitual offender programs in Goshen and Kokomo have become well-established. The program is primarily intended to identify serious juvenile habitual offenders in the community and ensure supervision. The program also plans to pursue legislation that would establish a coordinated juvenile justice system focused on crime committed by habitual offenders. \nMonroe County Prosecutor Carl Salzmann initiated the local program in 1995. Bloomington at the time was facing a drastic rise in juvenile crime associated with gang activity. \n"We were seeing a lot of juvenile drug use and gang activity that we have never seen before prior to 1992-93," Salzmann said. "The signs were evident. Graffiti was everywhere. Colors were everywhere. You could go down on Kirkwood, if you knew what to look for, you could see it was there."\nOne of the statistics that Chief Probation Officer Linda Brady found startling was the 19 burglary juvenile offenses committed in 1995. And as recently as 1999, Brady said, there were 13 adult convictions of juvenile offenders.\nThese troubling statistics are what Salzmann said encouraged him to run for County Prosecutor. \n"It felt like we were missing the boat," Salzmann said. "So it seemed to me like it (the program) was exactly what we needed. Something to address the problem, not stick our heads in the sand anymore, and really go right after it". \nThe most essential aspect of establishing such a program was community collaboration, Salzmann said. To make the program work, several local agencies have had to come together.\nThe services already available to service workers are relatively slow-paced, Salzmann said. The individual caseworker does not have the resources readily available to know the complete picture of a juvenile habitual offender's situation. \nSo, Salzmann said, the child continues to commit offenses without proper consequences or without receiving the appropriate services. Under the program, a juvenile case worker can access a secure database with all the information available on that youth offender.\nAnd the program identifies serious habitual juvenile offenders through a point system based on crimes committed.\n"We developed our own point system," said Christina McAffee, juvenile division supervisor for Community Corrections. "For particular adjudications, felonies or misdemeanors, kids are given a certain number of points." \nMcAffee said 10 points or more qualifies an offender for admittance into the program.\nThe court system identifies a juvenile offender as a youth under the age of 18. But the juvenile court system typically deals with offenders in junior high. And the majority of the serious offenders in the program will be in the junior high to high school age group, McAffee said.\nThrough preliminary research, the program has identified approximately 40 juvenile offenders in Monroe County who would qualify for the program. Of the 40, McAffee said, about 15 would qualify as serious habitual offenders. \nAnother 10 in this initial group are considered near-serious offenders because their point status is at 5 or above, McAffee said. The remaining 10 are high-risk juveniles because "they have been described as difficult for officers to manage," according to the SHOCAP preliminary report. \n"A (serious habitual offender) isn't a label that we just put on a kid, it is something a child would unfortunately earn through their negative behavior," Brady said. "They have earned their way to this status so they are on a heightened level of awareness. \n"So we are really going to hold their feet to the fire to keep them on the straight and narrow. We find that is the best way to deal with it, through immediate response." \nBrady said that supervision includes probation, electronic monitoring and a curfew. Even missing a day of school for an enrolled youth would result in an immediate, stern response.\n"A lot of research will tell you that 8 percent of the kids commit 90 percent of the offenses," McAffee said. "It's that 8 percent that we really want to target." \nMcAffee and others said they hope to prevent the juveniles in the program from becoming career criminals. They also spoke of preserving the safety of the greater community.\nAgencies involved\nSHOCAP brings together a coalition of youth and law-enforcement agencies that include:\n• Monroe County Probation Department.\n• Monroe County Community School Corp.\n• Bloomington Police Department.\n• Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce.\n• Richland-Bean Blossom School Corp.\n• Monroe County Wraparound Services.\n• Ellettsville Police Department.\n• Center for Behavioral Health.\n• Indiana University Police Department.\n• Monroe County Community Corrections.\n• Monroe County Prosecutor's Office.\n• Indiana State Police.\n• Monroe County Sheriff's Department.\n• Monroe County Office of Family and Children.\n• Monroe Circuit Court.\n• Youth Services Bureau.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
In an effort between Bloomington police, the Indiana State Police and the Drug Enforcement Administration, six suspects have been arrested during the last few weeks in connection with drug-related charges, inlcuding sales and possession of methamphetamine.\nThe arrests were made in connection with a six-month investigation conducted by the BPD, according to Captain Joe Qualters. The arrests occurred in tandem with about 100 arrests across the nation in a two-year effort dubbed Operation Mountain Express. \n"Although these individuals have been under suspicion for years, local officials have only been able to infiltrate the organization in the last six months," said Jeff Kehr, a Monroe County prosecutor. \nThis ring has also been connected with suspects delivering large quantities of methamphetamine from Northern Indiana. Nationwide, the sting has netted $16 million in cash and 181 pounds of methamphetamine.\n"The investigation has been conducted in South Bend, Indianapolis and the Monroe County Area," Qualters said. \nQualters said the police confiscated several items during the investigation. They found five pounds of methamphetamine valued at more than $80,000 and $35,000 in cash. They also found a pound of marijuana, shotguns and handguns. \nThe police are also seizing personal property that includes furniture, large-screen televisions and a motorcycle obtained with illegal funds, Qualters said.\nKehr said the prosecutor's office has already filed charges against Roy D. Reynolds, 38, for conspiracy to deal methamphetamine and conspiracy to deal cocaine. Donald D. Reynolds, 30, has been charged with conspiracy to deal methamphetamine. Tamara D. North, 28, has been charged with aiding and dealing in methamphetamine. Angela D. Shaevitz, 22, has been charged with maintaining a common nuisance, vehicle theft and possession of cocaine, Kehr said. Two more people have been arrested, Qualters said, but they have not been charged by the prosecutor's office.\nRecently, the IU Police Department has become more actively involved in prosecuting narcotics cases. According to the Cleary Report, which represents crime on the IU Bloomington campus, drug arrests rose from 208 in 1998 to 409 in 2000. \nIUPD officer David Hannum said he has had several narcotics-related cases in the last few months.\n"Most of these cases involve marijuana, ecstasy, cocaine, opium and mushrooms," Hannum said.\nHe said he has heard about heroine and methamphetamine on campus, but has not yet made a case. \nWith the support of IU and more active investigations, the IUPD should be able to make the cases involving narcotics, Hannum said.\nEric Williams, the Public Information Officer for the Drug Enforcement Agency, said the meth problem here is not worse than any other state. \nThe incidents concerning meth are becoming more apparent because meth is more widely used.\n"Meth is becoming a more popular drug because it is easily made and the return on the investment is great," Williams said. \nAs part of the Operation Mountain Express crackdown, investigators made arrests in Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Houston, Phoenix, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. \nThe Office of National Drug Control Policy released a profile for Indiana in December 2001. \n"The growing number of methamphetamine lab seizures indicates an increasing drug problem in Indiana that may, one day, rival powdered cocaine issues, which the state currently faces," according to the ONDCP report. \n"Methamphetamine production is increasing, especially in rural areas," according to the Indiana Drug Threat Assessment conducted by the National Drug Intelligence Center. \n"Although the state police have discovered laboratories in Angola and Elkhart in Northern Indiana, most methamphetamine laboratories seized have been in rural farming areas south of I-70 and west of I-65, particularly along the corridor from Evansville to Bloomington," according to the Assessment.\nEven though the popularity of the drug is increasing, state police are making more arrests to keep the problem under control.\nThe Indiana State Police have raided more than 400 labs throughout the state this year, compared with six in 1995 according to AP reports. \nAlthough the charges against the six individuals here were made based on state law, federal charges may still be brought against them, Qualters said. These arrests are only a portion of an ongoing investigation that officials expect will produce more arrests, he said.\nThe Associated Press contributed to this report.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
Last Tuesday at 6:52 p.m. Thomas D. Reynolds, 38, and Jennifer R. Linhart, 24, of South Bend turned themselves in to Bloomington police, Monroe County Prosecutor Jeff Kehr said. Reynolds was charged with dealing methamphetamine and conspiracy to deal methamphetamine, both of which are Class A felonies. Linhart was charged with conspiracy to deal methamphetamine, according to the Bloomington Police Department. \nReynolds and his brother Donald, 30, also from South Bend, are the leaders of a local methamphetamine drug ring, Kehr said. \nThis drug organization was the major source for transporting methamphetamine from South Bend to Bloomington, Captain Joe Qualters of the BPD said. \nThe Drug Enforcement Agency and the BPD, in a six-month-long cooperative investigation, have arrested 10 suspects, including the Reynolds brothers and Linhart, Kehr said. \n"The investigation used a variety of sources, including controlled buys and confidential informants," Qualters said. \nBloomington police have confiscated five pounds of methamphetamine worth more than $80,000, $35,000 in cash and one pound of marijuana, he said.\nAlthough marijuana has been associated with this organization, the main focus of the investigation is methamphetamine. \n"Because meth is sold in smaller quantities for more money, the breakdown of sales and quantity (of the drug) make meth more of a problem for law enforcement purposes," Qualters said. \nTom Reynolds bonded out with $50,000 surety, which is a type of collateral to ensure he does not flee, and paid $6,000 cash, according to court officials at Judge Randy Bridge's office.\nKehr said an initial hearing has not been set for Tom Reynolds, but hearings have been set for both Donald Reynolds and Jennifer Linhart.\nThe remaining eight of the arrested suspects have had their initial hearings, and all entered an initial plea of not guilty, Kehr said. Federal charges have not been filed.\nThis is still an ongoing investigation, and police are anticipating more arrests. \n"This organization is a large network," Kehr said. "We still know of other people still out there. We will find them." \nEric Williams, the public information officer for the DEA, explained that the dealing and use of meth is becoming more widespread.\n"Meth is becoming a more popular drug because it is easily made, and the return on investment is great," Williams said.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
Ross Greathouse, a 21-year-old IU student, was found dead at 7400 N. Shilo Road Tuesday morning, Monroe County Coroner David Toumey said. Greathouse was pronounced dead at 9:37 a.m. \nCapt. Steven Chambers of the Monroe County Sheriff's Department told The Herald Times that Greathouse had consumed 1 gram of cocaine and a sixth of a gram of heroin. Toumey confirmed that drugs were involved. \n"I saw no evidence of foul play," Toumey said. \nOfficer David Hannum of the IUPD is currently working on a series of drug investigations as a part of the department's efforts to actively prosecute narcotics cases. He did not work on this case but admits that he has had several narcotics cases in the last few months. \n"I know heroin and cocaine are around (campus) and being sold," Hannum said. \nWhile people can use alcohol repeatedly and survive, more dangerous drugs can be deadly, said Dee Owens, director of IU's Alcohol Drug Information Center. \n"It can be a deadly game to play," Owens said. "It just makes me sick to hear (that a student has overdosed). It just shouldn't happen. I just hope that some good comes from what we can learn from this." \nGreathouse, originally from North Vernon, Ind., was a senior majoring in geography and specializing in geographic information science. \nTwo professors who taught him this semester took the day off and said Greathouse was well-liked in the Department of Geography. \n"This comes as a shock to all of us," Department of Geography Chair Dan Knudsen said. "He was a relatively quiet, likeable, good student"
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
Indiana State Police, Monroe County sheriffs and Bloomington and IU police officers will be in and around Bloomington for Final Four celebrations Saturday night. The IU residence halls will also increase their staff for the weekend to assist the needs of students. \nOfficials said they are well-prepared as they expect an exciting, smooth-running weekend.\n"Overall, 100 or more officers will be on duty this weekend," said Sheriff Stephen Sharp of the Monroe County Sheriff Department. \nMonroe County sheriffs will have approximately 12 officers on duty this weekend to support IU and Bloomington police, Sharp said. Officers will focus their efforts on outlying areas of the city but also have a tactical team ready to deal with specific situations as they arise. \n"We have extra people working in the jail, and there are also extra people working in the prosecutor's office," Sharp said.\nLt. Michael Saltzman of the Indiana State Police's Bloomington office said the Indiana State Police will also have 12 officers in Bloomington Saturday. \n"These officers will mainly be a support unit for both the Indiana University Police Department and the Bloomington Police Department," Saltzman said. "They will aid other local law enforcement with crowd control and directing traffic as needed."\nThe IUPD plans to have 50 uniformed officers at various places on campus, including the residence halls. Officers and cadets are on stand-by this weekend so they can be called in on short notice. \n"Our main goal is not to start arresting people," IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger said. "Our primary responsibility is to keep IU property from being damaged and keep people from being hurt."\nLike many other law enforcement agencies in Bloomington, the IUPD is accustomed to dealing with large crowds on the IU campus. Students have gathered on campus for a number of reasons ranging from political protests in the '70s, Little 500 riots and most recently the Bobby Knight riots in 2000. \n"This weekend's plans are relatively the same for any prospect of a large gathering of students. These gatherings happen so frequently that plans here have been in place for quite a while," Minger said. "However, we will deal with each incident on its merit." \nResidence halls will also see staff increases this weekend. \n"All residence hall staff are on duty this weekend," IU Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Richard McKaig said. \nEven staff members who would have usually gone home for Easter weekend are staying in town. Administrators said they want to make sure staff members are available to address student issues and assure students' safety. \nThe BPD will have a total of 60 officers on duty Saturday, Cpt. Mike Diekhoff said. Officers are trained to handle riots, he said. Police plan to monitor the city, addressing specific situations as they arise. Officers will be observing traffic and shutting down streets where large crowds are gathering, Diekhoff said. In addition to their normal attire, officers will be wearing helmets for protection. However, officers are prepared to put on full riot gear if necessary. \nOfficers are expecting the same activity as last Saturday. Hundreds of people gathered in crowds on Kirkwood Avenue eventually ending in Showalter Fountain. \n"It's mostly students, and the public's enthusiastic and happy about how well the team is doing," Saltzman said. "There haven't been any serious problems. Everything has been running quite smoothly." \nDespite the large crowds, there were not many incidents, Diekhoff said. Bloomington police recorded two arrests last weekend. Students were climbing trees, jumping into crowds and setting small fires. Damage to IU property was held to a minimum, Minger said. \nBloomington police are taking more precautions this weekend because they are expecting larger crowds. But they don't expect these crowds to be more violent, Diekhoff said. \nOfficials encourage students and residents to celebrate safely. \nHoosiers head coach Mike Davis conveyed the team's expectation of fans in Bloomington.\n"We have class fans at Indiana University," he said, "and we certainly want them to handle themselves in a class manner when they celebrate our success"
(04/08/02 6:30am)
Two landscapers found a tear gas canister Friday afternoon that is thought to have been dispensed at Kirkwood and Indiana Avenues last Tuesday. \nThe canister, which still contained chemicals, was found under a pile of leaves at the Monroe County Historical Society Museum, located at 202 E. Sixth St., Friday afternoon. Police still don't know how the canister managed to get four blocks from its original location.\n"They were just here tidying up," said Kari Price, director of the Monroe County Historical Society Museum. "They found a little more than they expected." \nRachael Crouch, 22, and Becky Bastin, 37, of Outdoor Improvements of Bloomington, were cleaning the yard for an event that was held at the museum this past weekend. At about 2:45 p.m., Crouch picked up the canister, thinking it was a thermos, and tossed it onto a tarp. She and Bastin began to move the tarp to another location when they were exposed to the chemical.\n"The bottom kind of fell out and the dust got all over us," Bastin said.\nCrouch and Bastin immediately ran into the building with their eyes watering and burning. They doused their faces in the water fountain and called the police.\n"I had never been exposed to tear gas, and I thought it was a stronger chemical," Crouch said. "I had no clue." \nAn EMS vehicle arrived on the scene with the police. Richard Petermichal, from the Bloomington Fire Department, said the ambulance personnel checked on the women and gave them a few instructions. The women said the effects of the tear gas lasted 35 minutes.\nAlthough they experienced exposure to the gas, it could have been worse. \n"It was not a live grenade when they picked it up. It had already been discharged, and they got the remaining residue," Indiana State Police Sgt. Rick Wright said. \nThe canister discovered Friday looked similar to the nine red CS tear gas canisters used by the state police Tuesday morning, Wright said. But he doesn't know how the canister was found four blocks west and one block north of where the gas was dispersed. The state police are checking to confirm that the canister is theirs, Wright said. \nBefore leaving the museum, Wright conducted an inspection of the grounds and confirmed that there weren't any other canisters or dangerous materials remaining on the lawn.
(02/19/02 5:24am)
Bloomington Police have arrested a suspect associated with a Bloomington burglary and an armed robbery in Ellettsville. \nJoshua R. Vestal, 19, was arrested yesterday in association with an armed burglary at the Heatherwood Trailer Park, Captain Joseph Qualters of the Bloomington Police Department said. On Wednesday, Feb. 13, Vestal and Jacob D. Maddox, 20, held one male, his girlfriend and her 8-year-old daughter at gunpoint in their Bloomington residence at 3500 Heatherwood Lane. As the two suspects were inspecting the residence, the three escaped out a back window and made their way to a neighbor's house where they called the police, Qualters said. \nWhen the police arrived, they noticed a maroon, four-door Chevy leaving Heatherwood. They found no one at the home but spoke to the residents. The residents were not forthcoming about what was taken from the apartment, Qualters said. Upon questioning by the BPD, Vestal admitted that he stole two marijuana plants.\nThe next day, Maddox and David J. Shaevitz, 20, entered the Bigfoot at 504 W. Temperance St. in Ellettsville, said Officer Alva Bohall of the Ellettsville Police Department.\n"The suspects took approximately $300 in cash and a couple cartons of Newport Cigarettes," Bohall said. \nMaddox ordered the clerk to stay on the floor for 10 minutes. Maddox, Shaevitz and a third subject got into a car and fled the scene. \nAfter the subjects left, the clerk reached for the phone under the counter and called the police. \nShaevitz turned himself in to the Ellettsville police and both were arrested on Friday, Monroe County Jail officials said. Shaevitz was charged for robbery with a firearm. Maddox was also charged for robbery with a firearm, and additionally with criminal recklessness and possession of marijuana. Both are still being held at the Monroe County Jail on $40,000 bond.\nOn Sunday, the Bloomington police were given a lead by the Heatherwood resident, who described one of the suspects. The police went to Vestal's residence, knowing that he was connected with Maddox. The maroon Chevy was parked at his residence and he matched the description given to the police, Qualters said.\nVestal admitted to police his involvement in the Heatherwood burglary after being taken to the BPD. He was arrested and initially charged with burglary, a class B felony; confinement, a class B felony. and intimidation, a class C felony.
(02/08/02 4:09am)
This week 650 American soldiers, including 160 Special Forces, landed in the Philippines to cooperate in a mission dubbed "Balikatan" or "shoulder to shoulder" according to The Associated Press. The purpose of their deployment was to advise Filipino troops in their conflict with the Abu Sayyaf, an organization with connections to al Qaeda terrorists.\nThe opinions of Filipinos both locally and abroad are varied; the majority are supportive of renewed American military presence in the Philippines. \nIn a survey conducted last week in the Philippines, 86 percent of Filipinos approve of the presence of U.S. troops, said Naty Dumaual, a member of the Barangay Club of Indianapolis. \nHowever, it seems that there have also been protests from Filipino citizens such as young college students fearing that these military exercises are only the beginning of a more lengthy American agenda.\nThese fears are rooted in a historical fear of imperialism, said Bernardita Reyes Churchill, a history professor at the University of the Philippines in Quezon City. \n"The news in Manila is opposed to American troops in the Philippines because we've had such unpleasant experiences with the American military in the Philippines," Churchill said. "They are concerned about this becoming another Vietnam. They are worried American troops will stay longer in the Philippines." \nMany Filipinos, including Gen. Rudolfo Biazon, former chief of Philippine armed forces, are questioning the purpose of the U.S. Military return to the islands, according to AP reports. The Filipino Constitution forbids combat troops in the Philippines and specifies that Americans are only to be advisors, according to the AP. \nThe Philippine Supreme Court Tuesday asked President Macapagal Arroyo's administration to answer a petition by two lawyers who sought to stop the exercises, arguing that a bilateral Visiting Forces Agreement does not allow American troops to train and fire guns in a combat area, the AP reported. \nChurchill said she can see both sides of the argument. The government has a legitimate concern in seeking aid in its conflict with the Abu Sayyaf, she said.\n"This problem has been going on for the last two years, but Philippine efforts have not worked so far. We can't do it alone," Churchill said. \nIndiana Filipinos are supportive of U.S. troops in the Philippines for many reasons. \nEleanor Ware, an IU staff member, agrees with Churchill. \n"The Philippines can use as much help as they can get, but the bottom line is that the Filipinos should still show that they know the ins and outs of the problem," Ware said. "The problem (of Muslim terrorists) has been going on for hundreds of years, and we have not been successful in eradicating the issue." \nAmerican troops also enrich the morale of Filipino citizens and troops. \n"I approve of U.S. troops in the Philippines," Dumaual said. \nIn the past, the U.S. military presence at Clark's Air Force base gave Filipino troops confidence in fighting insurgents, she said.
(01/29/02 5:55am)
Drug use is a multifaceted problem for the Bloomington Police Department, said Capt. Joe Qualters. \nAlthough the University's problems are about the same as any large university, Qualters attributes some drug problems in Bloomington to it being a university town. The BPD categorizes some drugs as being a part of "college drug culture," Detective Wendy Pritchard-Kelly of BPD Narcotics said. "Alcohol and marijuana are by far the most common drugs used in college environments in so far as use and abuse," said Tom Cox, executive director of Amethyst House. \nCollege communities face various drug problems for many reasons. The liberal environment of college lends itself to experimentation, Cox said. \nBloomington has experienced an increase in crack and powder cocaine, Qualters said. Police have found that the violence associated with crack has brought its use to the forefront of the drug issue. \nHeroin use is also increasing, Qualters said. Police are finding that most problems related to this drug are caused by people taking the drug who do not understand or are not accustomed to its potency. \nA recent local investigation into methamphetamine has brought this drug into the spotlight. The police have recently made 11 arrests concerning a methamphetamine drug ring. \nMost of the drugs in Bloomington come from outside the city, Pritchard-Kelly said. Marijuana and methamphetamine are being transported from South Bend. A large influx of crack cocaine is coming from Detroit and a large supply of heroin is coming from Indianapolis, Qualters said. \nBloomington has been combatting these problems for years.\n"There is a pretty comprehensive structure in place" Craig Brenner, special projects coordinator for Community and Family Services for Bloomington, said. \nTo combat illicit drug use, the BPD has increased the number of officers working in the narcotics division. The police have also begun Neighborhood Watch groups in the Bloomington community. \nThe Monroe County Community Schools Corporation, in a cooperative effort with the BPD, has begun the LifeSkills training program which focuses on the social and psychological factors that promote drug abuse, according to the MCCSC Web site. \nMonroe County CARES provides funding for local law enforcement, prevention and education programs and treatment facilities. \n"We need to treat drug abuse as a health care issue and not in terms of strategies, like 'just say no,' that don't work," Brenner said.
(01/18/02 4:45am)
Bloomington Police are still looking for two suspects who took five diamond rings from Victor Settle Jewelry Store, 109 S. Walnut, on Tuesday according to Capt. Joe Qualters. \nQualters described one suspect as a white male about 5-foot-7, 160 pounds, in his thirties with dark brown hair and pale skin and wearing a brown jacket. The second suspect, Qualters said, is a black male, 6-foot tall with a large build also in his thirties with a receding and hairline wearing a black leather jacket. \nQualters described the series of events as unsuspicious. The suspects entered the store and gave the clerk a false name asking to pick up some jewelry. While the clerk was in the back, one suspect reached over the counter to see if the cases were locked. When the clerk returned the suspects gave the clerk another false name. \n While the clerk was in the back the suspect reached into the counter grabbed a display tray and slipped it under his coat which was lying on the counter. The two suspects left the store without any indication that they had committed the theft. Immediately after the suspects left, the clerk noticed the rings missing and called the BPD. The police have not made any arrests yet, but they are still investigating. \nQualters hopes that the descriptions and photos distributed to the media will help lead to the identification of the suspects.\nVictor Settle Jewelers is one of several enduring family owned businesses in Bloomington\'s downtown. The store opened in 1958. Victor and Marie Settle, the store's owners, were hesitant to speak to the press because the case is currently under investigation. \nThis is the second such incident in a period of a year for the Settle's. The jewelry store was robbed Jan. 5, 2001. Brishon Bond, 27 and Charles Wade Brown, 23 held store customers and the two owners at gunpoint with 9 mm semiautomatic handguns. The police arrived shortly after an employee tripped the silent alarm. The two men were apprehended.\nSergeant Rick Helms of the BPD claims that Settle Jewelers is no more susceptible to crime than any other downtown location. \n \"Downtown is a busy part of town," Halms said. "People are going in and out (of stores) quickly without being noticed." \n Talisha Coppock, executive director of the Commission for Bloomington Downtown, has been working with downtown businesses for the last ten years. She says that these robberies are unusual for downtown businesses. \n\"Downtown is a safe place to be," Coppock said.