Fresh Loaf

From an AJC story about an uptick in burglaries near Tech’s campus:

More police will hit the streets to help combat a spike in crime targeting Georgia Tech students, officials said.

Georgia Tech and Atlanta Police have scheduled a press conference for 3 p.m. today to announce the steps they are taking to stop the crime spike.

Funny, when a bartender was murdered in January at his place of work on Memorial Drive — following a string of burglaries and robberies in the area — I don’t remember a press conference being called by police. (Only after detectives caught one of the bartender’s killers did the Atlanta Police Department hold a press conference.) Nor was there the promise of more patrol officers working the street.

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Jonathan Redding, who along with three other gunmen is suspected of killing Standard bartender John Henderson, was indicted today for Henderson’s murder, the AJC reports.

Redding, who is 17 and remains jailed without bond, is believed to be a member of the Mechanicsville street gang 30 Deep.

According to the AJC story:

Police are asking the public to help identify the three other suspected gang members who participated in the Standard shooting and other crimes, said Yvette Brown, a spokeswoman for the Fulton County district attorney’s office. The only description available is for three teenage males.

A $50,000 reward is being offered for info leading to the arrests of the three suspects.

Redding is not believed to have fired the fatal shot at Henderson, 27, during a January armed robbery of the popular Memorial Drive restaurant and bar. But under state law, Redding doesn’t have to have directly killed Henderson to be guilty of his murder.

According to Georgia’s felony murder statute, a defendant is guilty of murder as long as the homicide occured during the commission of another felony (in this case, armed robbery). Felony murder carries a mandatory life sentence.

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Holla!

From the Atlanta Police Department:

The Atlanta Police Department Special Enforcement Section with the assistance of other APD Units served a warrant yesterday in Southwest Atlanta. As a result of the warrant several people were arrested and numerous items were seized. Among the items were 4 firearms, 3 flat panel televisions, ammunition, bolt cutters, 1 purse, 2 designer shirts and 10 pair of designer blue jeans. A news conference will be held today at 10:00am on the 2nd floor of City Hall East to provide further details.

If you recall, Fox 5 reported a suspected link between some of the “blue-jean bandit” robberies and the 30 Deep Gang. Jonathan Redding, the teen who was arrested in connection with the John Henderson murder, was suspected to be a 30 Deep member.

UPDATE: The AJC’s Mike Morris has more details:

Two adults and three juveniles, ranging in age from 14 to 25, were arrested, and police said four of the suspects are known members of the “30 Deep” gang that was recently connected to the Jan. 7 killing of Grant Park bartender John Henderson.

However, police said Friday that they had not been able to connect any of those arrested Thursday night to Henderson’s slaying.

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Fox 5 reports the Mechanicsville-based 30 Deep street gang linked to the murder of Grant Park bartender John Henderson might also be responsible for some of the so-called “blue-jean bandit” robberies targeting local boutiques since 2007.

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Jonathan Redding

Two days after the shooting death of Standard bartender John Henderson, one of the teen suspects in that crime was also involved in an attempted home invasion, Atlanta police say — but he and his fellow perps picked the wrong home to invade.

The owners of the Southwest Atlanta home opened fire with an AK-47 and a gun battle ensued in which 17-year-old Jonathan Redding was wounded in the shoulder and his 9mm Smith & Wesson was shot from his hand.

It’s Redding’s handgun, as well as blood he left at the scene of the second robbery, that eventually led police to link him to Henderson’s Jan. 7 murder, as well as the Dec. 21 armed mugging of another Standard bartender, Robin McMillan.

Police arrested Redding in Mechanicsville on April 10 after a DNA match made him a suspect in the home invasion, but they had to wait for ballistic tests to confirm that his Smith & Wesson had also been fired in the Standard the night of Henderson’s killing.

Redding remained in custody, but wasn’t charged with murder until Thursday, when McMillan ID’d the teen as one of the men who’d robbed him at gunpoint, says Lt. Keith Meadows, who heads Atlanta’s homicide division.

“We needed to show that Redding was in possession of the firearm before, during and after the killing in order to remove reasonable doubt” of his involvement, Meadows explains.
(more…)

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CL staffers Scott Henry and Alejandro Leal covered the Atlanta Police Department’s John Henderson press conference on our Twitter feed.

Atlantans Together Against Crime’s Kyle Keyser also Twittered the press conference.

Atlanta Police say ballistics and DNA evidence led them to charge 17-year-old Jonathan Redding with Henderson’s murder.

CL’s servers are acting wonky, so check here AND our Twitter feed for updates as they become available.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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"Cap'n" Ken Womack

Last summer, when several homes on her Ormewood Park street were hit by burglars – some more than once – Donna Williamson decided she wasn’t going to wait her turn to get robbed.

She posted a meeting notice for anyone interested in finding ways to deal with the crime wave. Then, a few days prior to the July 2 meeting, a woman was abducted from the nearby East Atlanta Village at gunpoint and forced to withdraw money from an ATM before being released. For Williamson, that was the last straw.

“I said at the meeting I didn’t want people to simply sit there and moan and bitch about what someone else should do about the problem,” she recalls. “We need to do it for ourselves.”

The result was Safe Atlanta For Everyone, a group of about 50 East Atlanta and Ormewood residents who walk their nearby streets to keep an eye out for suspicious cars and hand out occasional flyers listing safety tips.

If SAFE sounds reminiscent of a neighborhood watch from a bygone era when neighbors actually bothered to learn each other’s names, that’s intentional. But technology has brought improvements. These neighbors also Twitter and blog and use an arsenal of virtual tools to keep each other informed – often in real time – of the latest crimes and suspicious behavior in their community. Instead of waiting for the criminals to come to them, they post mugshots online, swap “be on the lookout” notices by e-mail and even track the whereabouts of shady characters so folks down the block can see them coming.

(more…)

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Earlier this month, John Henderson was killed during an early-morning robbery at The Standard Food and Spirits on Memorial Drive. Today and tonight, more than 60 Atlanta restaurants are participating in a “dine-out” benefit to raise funds for the reward that would lead to the arrest of individuals involved in his slaying.

For a full list of participating restuarants — and a map their locations — check out Atlantans Together Against Crime’s website.

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Did anyone else catch the AJC’s astonishing Q&A with Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington yesterday?

Mayor Franklin and Police Chief Richard Pennington at a 2007 public meeting to discuss crime.

If so, you would you know Pennington doesn’t think there’s a problem with crime in Atlanta. He thinks there’s a problem with the PERCEPTION of crime in Atlanta.

Q: What do you attribute [the public outcry] to?

A: These community groups work closely together. When they hear about one crime, they e-mail their neighbors and then you get a barrage of e-mails. I think they just respond to what they hear. And a lot of times, perception to them is reality.

Did you catch that Atlanta? Stop e-mailing your friends and neighbors about crime and everything will be fine. The murders of Adair Freeman and John Henderson can’t scare you if you don’t know about them.

Atlantans Together Against Crime and Cutbacks is rallying in Little Five Points from 5 to 7 p.m. tonight. The group was founded hours after Henderson was gunned down at the Standard.

I was planning to attend, but now that Pennington’s explained to me that the real problem is my attitude, I may just stay home and watch Ellen.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Jamarcus Usher, on his MySpace page

Late Wednesday night, two bar patrons leaving East Atlanta’s Graveyard Tavern were approached by 29-year-old Jamarcus Usher. After the couple climbed into their vehicle, Usher reached for his waistband. Fearing that Usher was a threat, one of the bar patrons knocked him to the ground back a few feet with the door of his pickup truck, then shot and killed him after Usher raised his weapon.

Eerily, Usher’s MySpace page lists his occupation as “staying alive.”

Another bit of strangeness: Usher died in almost the exact spot where, eight years ago, another robbery suspect was shot and killed.

It’s not yet clear if this week’s shooting has anything to do with the climate of fear that has descended on Atlanta following a recent spate of violent crime, including the shooting death of John Henderson. Henderson, a bartender at the Standard in nearby Grant Park, was killed Jan. 7 by armed robbers who broke into the Memorial Drive restaurant.

It seems to me that Atlanta — and East Atlanta Village in particular — has been through this before.

(more…)

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Like many locals, I was shocked and, frankly, a little pissed off when I read in the AJC over the weekend that Atlanta police had unexpectedly changed nearly every important detail that had previously been reported about last week’s late-night armed robbery at the Standard and the shooting death of bartender John Henderson.

John Henderson

If Henderson hadn’t been killed “execution-style,” as the initial AJC headline blared, then why say he had been? Was his female co-worker hiding in a cabinet during the shooting, as WSB-TV had reported, or not? Sometimes, in order to trip up or mislead the criminals, the cops don’t tell everything they know about a crime, but it didn’t make sense that the public narrative of the event could have been so far off.

After talking to Lt. Keith Meadows, commander of the Atlanta Police Department homicide unit, I’ve reached the conclusion that the press snafu over the Henderson murder was brought about by a combination of vague, inconclusive information offered by the police and a competitive news environment in which reporters race to make their stories as definitive as possible — often before all the facts are nailed down.

In other words, what we’ve got here is a failure to communicate.

Meadows conceded that detectives were initially mistaken about how Henderson was killed. (Readers should be warned that some of what follows is fairly graphic.)

(more…)

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Mayor Franklin continues to remind everyone that she has a thin skin. This time, it comes in the form of open letter released minutes ago and addressed to Sgt. Scott Kreher, president of the Atlanta police union, who had publicly scoffed at her proposal to raise taxes to hire more cops.

“Can the mayor be any more full of hot air on that one?” Kreher was quoted as saying in today’s AJC.

Kreher dismissed Franklin’s proposal to add 400 officers to the APD by the end of the year as so much empty political rhetoric. Even if the city had the money, Kreher told the newspaper, the mayor knows it would take longer than that to recruit, train and certify so many new officers.

Here are some excerpts from Shirley’s fairly lengthy reply:

I have your public comments and I faithfully appreciate the frustration you must feel as you advocate for the officers and the International Brotherhood of Police Officers members in recent weeks. In spite of the divisive comments you have made about me I believe we share a common goal, which is a safe city. I think we both recognize the essential role our police officers contribute to achieving this goal.

(more…)

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With violent crime on every intowner’s mind right now, Council member Carla Smith hopes the lure of easy money will start loosening lips. As of this writing, the reward being offered for information leading to the capture of the thugs who killed Standard bartender John Henderson already tops $10,000.

John Henderson

“People should know they can make a lot more money turning in their buddies anonymously than they could ever get knocking over a restaurant or stealing flat-screen TVs,” says Smith, whose district includes the Standard, as well as the sites of several other recent murders — in addition to numerous victims of a flat-screen theft ring.

The reward program is being administered by the Atlanta Police Foundation, which has a high-profile marketing campaign designed to appeal to squealers and stoolies. You’ve probably seen the billboards exhorting folks to “Turn in criminals — From your cell to ours.” That’s the work of the APF, which sponsors the Crime Stoppers website and the 404-577-TIPS line. Smith says people whose tips prove legit get paid in cash, no questions asked. Donations can be made online.

While the APF is handling the reward money in the Henderson murder, the Grant Park Neighborhood Association has set up a memorial fund to collect donations for his family. About $6,800 has been collected so far. Donations to the memorial fund are also being accepted online.

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Rubi Cuautle, at a vigil for slain bartender John Henderson

1. Vigil for murdered Atlanta bartender (Posts about the huge crowd that attended the vigil and the memorial fund set up for victim John Henderson speak to the community’s mobilization after the tragedy.)

2. Don’t Panic: Why is Israel bombing Gaza? (Violence in the Middle East — second in popularity only to violence at home.)

3. Intowners claim crime has become more brazen (Ironically, this post about a perceived uptick in crime was published a few hours before news broke of Henderson’s death.)

4. Lisa Borders’ home burglarized (City Council prez loses flat-screen to thieves — hours after attending a speech in which the mayor claimed crime was down)

5. ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta’ star going to Ga. Supreme Court (In lighter — but still sociologically disturbing — news, Sheree argues her divorce alimony to the state’s highest court.)

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An interview with Ashley Elder, the bartender who was closing up the Standard Food & Spirits alongside John Henderson the night he was killed, aired on Fox 5 this weekend.

In the interview, Elder recounted the Jan. 7 attack. She told Fox 5 that she and Henderson were about to leave the popular Memorial Drive bar and restaurant when a group of gunmen broke in. She said she was in the office and Henderson was behind the bar when the gunmen shattered the Standard’s glass door.

Elder said she begged the robbers not to kill her, stating her grandmother had just died and her mother wouldn’t be able to bear the loss. She also said Henderson, who joined her in the office after being shot in the leg, was conscious and alert — until the gunmen, upon leaving, fired several rounds through the office’s closed door.

Elder’s interview was aired the same day the AJC ran a story stating that most of the details police originally released about the crime were incorrect.

A reward for info identifying the gunmen has topped $10,000.

UPDATE: Just learned that Elder also talked to WSB-TV Channel 2 the day before.

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The AJC reports today that Atlanta police have corrected numerous details that were released in the hours after John Henderson, a bartender at the Standard Food and Spirits, was killed Jan. 7.

The most “startling” correction about Henderson’s death? According to the AJC, “His killers might not have meant to kill him.”

Nor was he killed execution-style, as the Atlanta Police Department initially claimed. In fact, the entire narrative of the incident inside the popular Memorial Drive bar and restaurant was way off.

The story goes on to say:

After robbing the bartenders of the business’s money, the [four or five] robbers closed the office door and fired several shots through the door before they left.

[Atlanta homicide detective Anthony] Gentile would not confirm that one of warning shots was the fatal bullet to Henderson’s head — he was shot three times, not four as originally reported by police — but the detective acknowledged that Henderson’s death could have been unintentional.

There are also several details that have been erroneously reported by police, Gentile acknowledged:

• The female bartender never hid in a cabinet for safety.

• One of the robbers never told the others not to shoot the woman.

• The robbers never told the bartenders to lie face-down on the floor.

• The wounds to Henderson did not come while one of the robbers stood over him, shooting him once in each leg and twice in the head.

Gentile said he doesn’t have a good explanation for the misinformation that was given to the media by the Atlanta Police Department, aside from saying that much information was being tossed around in the initial hours after the killing.

Though the new details might make the crime seem slightly less vicious, the gunmen wouldn’t be less culpable — even if they didn’t mean to kill Henderson. Under Georgia law, if a person is killed while a suspect is committing a felony (armed robbery, for example), that’s “felony murder.” The charge carries a mandatory life sentence.

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A Jan. 7 killing and armed robbery at the Standard Food and Spirits sparked community outcry — and questions over who’s to blame for a rise in Atlanta crime.

“The idea that we have a city where this kind of violence can happen is completely unacceptable. … What we have seen is cuts [in police hours] made [by Mayor Shirley Franklin] without consultation and collaboration.”

— Atlanta Councilmember Mary Norwood, who attended a Thursday morning vigil for victim John Henderson, in a Jan. 8 AJC article.

“I proposed a modest tax increase [in early 2008] dedicated to public safety and the Council chose to roll back taxes in spite of our warnings. … [Norwood] has never sought to discuss the budget recommendations with me and I find her remarks today to be ludicrous and irresponsible.”

— Franklin’s response to Norwood, in a Jan. 8 press release.

“i would be happy to pay more taxes for a safer community. but our family can and will leave if the city doesn’t address this problem.”

— Adam Bartolett, in a post on the Atlantans Together Against Crime and Cutbacks’ Facebook page.

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John Henderson

The reward for information leading to the arrest of the suspects who murdered John Henderson, a bartender at Standard Food and Spirits, has doubled.

The AJC reports that the $5,000 reward originally offered by Atlanta Crime Stoppers, a program of the Atlanta Police Foundation, now totals more than $10,000. Much more information is available at the Grant Park Neighborhood Association’s page on the fundraising efforts.

The paper also reports that police are investigating whether the guns fired in the Wednesday morning crime may have also been used in recent robberies.

Police ask anyone with information about the robbery and homicide at The Standard to please call Crime Stoppers Atlanta at 404-577-8477. You can also visit the website.

If you’d like to make a contribution to the John Henderson Memorial Fund, visit the Grant Park Neighborhood Association and follow the links to donate via credit card. Checks and money orders can also be sent to the Grant Park Neighborhood Association, P. O. Box 89235, Atlanta, GA 30312. Designate “John Henderson Memorial Fund” on the donation.

(Photo courtesy of the Grant Park Neighborhood Association)

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Atlanta’s “Crime Stoppers” program is offering a $5,000 reward for info that leads to the identification of the four gunman responsible for the murder of John Henderson. Henderson was gunned down execution style early Wednesday inside the Standard Food & Spirits on Memorial Drive in north Grant Park.

The gunman had thrown a brick through the front door and ordered Henderson and a female bartender into the Standard’s office. After handing over money to the gunman, Henderson was shot four times — for no apparent reason. The woman, who slipped away to hide in a cabinet, was not harmed.

According to a Crime Stoppers press release:

Due to the heinous nature of the crime, the reward pool is being increased.  In most cases the maximum reward amount is $2,000.

“Whenever there is a heinous crime of this nature, citizens naturally want to do their part to help,” says Dave Wilkinson, CEO of the Atlanta Police Foundation. “Crime Stoppers allows them to have a voice.  Citizens can either phone in information anonymously or donate to the reward pool.”

Chief Richard Pennington is asking for the public’s help.  “We are following all possible leads at this time, but believe there are citizens out there that can help us identify these suspects.  By calling Crime Stoppers citizens can get that information to us without fear of reprisal”, stated Pennington.

If you are interested in donating to the reward pool, go to www.atlantapolicefoundation.org or www.crimestoppersatlanta.org. To give a tip, call 404-577-TIPS(8477) or log onto www.crimestoppersatlanta.org.

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Grayson Daughters produced an excellent video of this morning’s vigil for John Henderson, the Standard Food and Spirits bartender who was murdered early Wednesday morning during a robbery at the Memorial Drive restaurant.

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As mentioned in Joeff Davis’ earlier post about this morning’s vigil at the Standard, local residents Kyle Keyser and Tessa Horehled have started an advocacy group for Atlantans to connect and stay informed about crimes and other issues affecting the community.

The group, called Atlantans Together Against Crime and Cutbacks, is in its beginning stages. (Residents can share stories and information about crimes with other members on the group’s Facebook page.)

Keyser writes:

The Facebook forum will be for sharing accounts of violent crime that effect those within our community, as well as posting updates on news, protests, and other tools to help bring awareness to this issue. The mailing list below will be used to share information on gatherings, protests, and lobbying efforts to fight cutbacks. You will not be inundated with email and will only notify you of big events (estimated at a few emails a month).

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Rubi Cuautle, at a vigil for John Henderson

Tears, laughs, prayers, cigarettes and calls for organizing against crime were the orders of business this morning at a vigil in front of the Standard Food & Spirits — where, one day earlier, 27-year-old bartender John Henderson was murdered during an armed robbery.

Police estimated that more than 200 people, including Henderson’s friends and supporters, gathered to celebrate his life and discuss the tragedy at the popular bar and restaurant on Memorial Drive, near historic Oakland Cemetery in north Grant Park. Community residents circulated sign-up sheets and fliers for community action groups. Local filmmaker Kyle Keyser — himself a victim of a crime eerily similar to the one that took Henderson’s life — handed out a flier for a new group he’s forming, called Atlantans Together Against Crime and Cutbacks. Keyser said he decided to form the group last night, after hearing about Henderson’s death.

According to the AJC, Henderson and a female bartender were closing up the Standard at about 4 a.m., when four armed men threw a brick through the glass door and ordered them into the bar’s office. Henderson was shot four times execution-style — twice in the head and once in each leg. He later died at Grady Memorial Hospital.

Brandon Barr, a regular at the Standard, stared off into space under the Standard sign as he recalled his memories of Henderson. “He was a great guy,” Barr said, “and I came here to pay my respects.” Rubi Cuautle choked back tears and called for a boycott “of establishments that do not provide adequate security for their employees.” Kelly Dugan held a candle as she accepted deep hugs from well-wishers. “John was one of my really good friends,” she said.

More photos from the vigil at our Sideshow Atlanta Blog

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Management and employees of Standard Food and Spirits have established a memorial fund for John Henderson, the 27-year-old bartender who was murdered at the restaurant after a robbery early Wednesday morning.

“We are offering what help we can financially and emotionally to his family,” Chris Johnson, owner and general manager of Standard Food and Spirits, said in a press release from the city. “John was very outgoing and very lively and supportive. Our hearts go out to his parents, extended family and his many friends. It’s unfortunate that someone would take another life in such a senseless crime.”

Tomorrow from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., Southeast Atlanta residents will hold a vigil for Henderson at The Standard. Management and staff are also planning a memorial service at the restaurant in the near future.

To contribute funds to the John Henderson Memorial Fund, visit the Grant Park Neighborhood Association website and follow the link to make a donation via credit card. Checks and money orders, noted as “John Henderson Memorial Fund,” can be mailed to the Grant Park Neighborhood Association, PO Box 89235, Atlanta, GA 30312.

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UPDATE: Standard Food and Spirits’ management request the event be a vigil, not a protest, and that participants do not bring signs or placards. Participants are encouraged to bring candles to light as a tribute to the victim. The post below has been edited to reflect the Standard’s request.

Southeast Atlanta residents shaken by the this morning’s murder of a bartender at Standard Food and Spirits will hold a 7 a.m. vigil tomorrow at the Memorial Drive restaurant.

Rally participants are encouraged to bring candles to light.

For driving directions to The Standard, visit here. To find the nearest public transit that serves the restaurant, visit here.

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