Police battle neighborhood feud : Second large fight reported on Hollywood Boulevard

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Lee Hermiston • Iowa City Press-Citizen • May 14, 2009

A feud between two groups apparently set on solving a neighborhood dispute with violence continued with a brawl Tuesday outside a southeast Iowa City home.

It was the second time this week that police have been called to the home on Hollywood Boulevard for a large fight.

Iowa City police responded at 5:48 p.m. Tuesday to 2304 Hollywood Blvd. after several callers reported as many as 20 people fighting in the street. Officers were able to detain six people, all juvenile boys — ages 12 to 15, and charge them with rioting.

Another juvenile, Damien Deonte Gilchrist, 15, of 2100 Miami Drive, was charged Tuesday for his involvement in a large brawl Sunday. Police say Gilchrist forced his way into the residence at 2304 Hollywood Blvd. wielding a baseball bat with the intention of assaulting someone in the home.

Gilchrist has been charged with assault causing injury, rioting and second-degree burglary, a class C felony.

It is the policy of the Press-Citizen to only identify juveniles charged with felonies.

Iowa City Police Chief Sam Hargadine said his officers are continuing to identify those involved in the fights and make arrests.

« The list of arrestees keeps getting longer and longer, » Hargadine said.

People who witnessed the fight said a group walked up to 2304 Hollywood Blvd. and began screaming taunts at the residents. The residents responded by exiting the house and fighting with the group.

On Mother’s Day, officers from Iowa City and other agencies responded to the same address after receiving a report of a large fight potentially involving 60 people, some of which were allegedly armed with bats, guns and knives. At least three people were injured in the fight and so far one person, Samuel Lee Lockett III has been charged for his involvement in the fight.

Iowa City Police Sgt. Troy Kelsay said officers took a report of another related confrontation Sunday night on Coneflower Court. Kelsay said all three fights appear to involve the same groups.

« It’s almost a family feud, » Kelsay said. « There are a couple of families or core groups of people with friends and associations that are really right now involved in a dispute. It seems to be their intent to resolve it with violence. »

Iowa City police say three fights are linked

By LEE HERMISTON • Iowa City Press-Citizen • May 14, 2009

Iowa City, Ia. — Iowa City police have been called to three related fights in a week. Police went to 2304 Hollywood Blvd. at 5:48 p.m. Tuesday after several callers reported as many as 20 people fighting in the street. Officers were able to detain six people, all juveniles, and charge them with rioting. It is the policy of the Press-Citizen not to identify juveniles charged with crimes that are not felonies.

People who witnessed the fight said a group walked up to the home and began screaming taunts at the residents. The residents responded by coming out of the house and fighting with the group, witnesses said.

On Sunday, officers responded to the same address after receiving a report of a large fight involving up to 60 people armed with bats, guns and knives.

At least three people were injured, and two people, Samuel Lee Lockett III and Damien Deonte Gilchrist, 15, of 2100 Miami Drive, have been charged. Gilchrist was charged with assault causing injury, rioting and second-degree burglary, a felony.

Iowa City Police Sgt. Troy Kelsay said officers took a report of another related confrontation on Coneflower Court Sunday night. Kelsay said all three fights appear to involve the same groups.

« It’s almost a family feud, » Kelsay said.

Kelsay said that whenever there is concentrated housing, such as in this neighborhood where the fights are occurring, there are problems.

Kelsay said officers are maintaining as much of a presence as possible in the neighborhood.

Iowa City police are worried the dispute may spill over to City High School graduation later this month, Kelsay said. Two students linked to the Hollywood Boulevard brawl were involved in a fight Wednesday at City High, he said. « (The school fight) was directly related to events out there, » he said.

Fight central near Hollywood Boulevard

BY REGINA ZILBERMINTS | MAY 14, 2009

One Iowa City woman has pulled her children from school and said she is leaving the city following a series of riots outside her home.

Iowa City police responded to a fight Wednesday at City High, 1900 Morningside Drive, which they say is related to a slew of massive fights in the area. Two juveniles were arrested at the scene, authorities said.

The incident was the fourth related confrontation since Sunday involving a series of events police say are unprecedented.

“It’s spiraling out of control,” said Iowa City police Sgt. Troy Kelsay. “We haven’t dealt with this on this scale. This has blown up very quickly.”

The confrontations apparently started Sunday following an altercation over a neighborhood football game, Kelsay said.

That evening, officers responded to the 2300 block of Hollywood Boulevard for a report of a fight involving 50 to 60 people, police said. Several people fled the area before officers could detain them. Police arrested Samuel Lockett, 21, address unknown, on Monday in connection with the brawl.

According to police reports, Lockett was one of 10 to 15 people who confronted residents and guests at a Hollywood Boulevard residence. He was allegedly wielding a baseball bat, which he was hitting on the ground, and yelled at residents in an attempt to provoke a physical confrontation.

Lockett allegedly confronted a 15-year-old female resident and struck her in the face with his hand. She suffered scratches on her face and chest as a result.

Police received a report Tuesday about a related incident Sunday on Coneflower Court.

Just before 6 p.m. Tuesday, officers were again called to the Hollywood Boulevard home. As many as 20 people were reportedly fighting in the street, and officers charged six juveniles with rioting and one with assault.

Witnesses said the group walked into the yard, where they began yelling and screaming taunts. When the home’s residents left the house, a fight broke out, authorities said.

Witnesses reported guns and knives have been involved, but police have only confirmed combatants used baseball bats and 2-by-4s.

“This has got to stop — if my kids can’t be safe at home, where are they safe?” said Necey Patterson, the owner of the Hollywood Boulevard residence, a one-story, green house with walls adorned with her children’s academic awards and sports medals.

Patterson said her kids — a 16-year-old son and 15-year-old daughter who were both injured in the confrontations — would not return to City High.

“I can replace my stuff,” she said about the damage done to her home. “But I can’t replace my kids.”

Kelsay said police were increasing patrols in the area. If the cars assigned to southeastern Iowa City are not actively responding to calls, they will patrol streets in that neighborhood. Police are also assigning extra patrols specifically for after-school hours.

“You would be hard-pressed to spend more than 15 minutes in the area without seeing a patrol car,” Kelsay said. “It’s a very deliberate effort to maintain a visible presence.”

There is no indication this is a result of gang activity, police said.

Authorities and residents agree it’s not only juveniles involved in the fighting. Though it started among high-school students, parents and other adults became involved in the altercations. Both sides of the fight are at fault, Kelsay said.

Police expect more related incidents in the coming days and more charges to come, he said.
“The whole thing is just so foreign to me,” he said. “A group of 50. Kids and parents. It’s ridiculous.”

Iowa City neighborhood anxious after riots

May 13. 2009

By Carla Keppler

Residents on the 2300 block of Hollywood Boulevard are anxious, and rightfully so, police and neighborhood leaders say.

The neighborhood has seen three riots this week — widely reported street fights involving dozens of people using baseball bats, boards, knives, chains and fists.

It’s quite a change from what one long-term resident remembers of the area.

“The most we’ve had is speeders up and down the street,” a woman, who asked to remain unnamed, told The Gazette on Wednesday. The residents, she said, now keep their “eyes and ears peeled and one hand on the phone.”

The woman, “grandmother-aged,” has lived on Hollywood Boulevard for 25 years. She said she watched nervously from her kitchen window Sunday as a moblike group stood across the street, yelling and taunting neighbors to come out and fight.

“The street was covered with people,” she said.

Iowa City Police Sgt. Troy Kelsay remembers behavior similar to this week’s in the neighborhood in the past, but not to this extent and not as disturbing. This time, he said, parents are participating in the fighting.

Kelsay reported at least one “portion of a family” will face charges.

“It’d be easier to explain it as kids lacking maturity and good decision-making,” Kelsay said. “But these adults are lacking them as well, and kids are modeling that behavior.”

The Sunday night fight left three with minor injuries and two males charged in what police have coined the Mother’s Day Brawl.

But that wasn’t the end of it.

The groups gathered again Tuesday evening, taunting and fighting residents at 2304 Hollywood Blvd. This time, six juveniles were charged with rioting and one with assault.

Also Tuesday night, police received a report of a second brawl at 19 Coneflower Ct.

The three incidents remain under investigation and additional charges are on the way.

Deb Wretman, principal at South East Junior High, 2501 Bradford Dr., said she has talked one-on-one to students reportedly involved in the brawls. She links the fighting to peer pressure and a fear of losing face in front of friends. Others suggest poor parenting.

Chris Harms, head of the Grant Wood Neighborhood Association, said crime has increased steadily in the neighborhood. Vandalism and theft are becoming serious, she said. Residents fear the situation will escalate and are planning a meeting to discuss possible solutions. Meanwhile, officers have increased patrols in the area.

“It’s not over yet,” Kelsay said. “But if you go in your house, draw the drapes and close the door, you’re surrendering.”

Residents agree.

“People who live here are sick of it,” the woman from Hollywood Boulevard said. “We don’t want it, and it needs to leave. We’re not going to put up with it.”

Arrest made in Iowa City street brawl

Associated Press

May 12, 2009

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Iowa City police have arrested a man in a brawl that left at least three people injured.

Sgt. Troy Kelsay says Samuel Lockett III was an instigator in the fight Sunday night on the southeast side of the city.

Police responded to a report of a fight involving up to 60 people, with some possibly armed with guns, knives and baseball bats.

Kelsay says Lockett, who had a bat, was one of a dozen people who confronted some people at a house. Kelsay says Lockett hit a teenager in the face with his hand, and threatened to return with a gun.

Lockett fled as police arrived but was arrested later on unrelated charges. Kelsay says he was charged on Monday with rioting, harassment and assault causing bodily injuries.

Fights Continue to Plague Iowa City Neighborhood

May 13, 2009

IOWA CITY – Tuesday’s fight involving as many as 20 people is the latest in a series of fights plaguing a SE Iowa City neighborhood.

On Sunday night, police responded to a fight involving up to 60 people with baseball bats, knives and guns in the 2300 block of Hollywood Blvd. At least three people were injured. So far, two people have been charged in connection to that incident.

Samuel Lockett III, 21, is charged with first degree harassment, assault causing injury, and rioting. Police say he confronted people, hitting a baseball bat against the ground and yelling. Lockett also allegedly hit a female victim in the face and scratched her.

Damien Deonte Gilchrist, 15, has been charged with 2nd degree Burglary, Riot, and Assault causing injury. He allegedly forced his way inside a residence to assault one of the people there.

On Tuesday evening, police were again called to the 2300 block of Hollywood Blvd after several callers reported as many as twenty people fighting in the street. Witnesses told police that the group had walked into a yard on Hollywood Blvd. where they began yelling and screaming taunts at the people inside. Those people came outside and a physical fight broke out.

Second large fight reported on Hollywood Boulevard

Iowa City Press-Citizen •

May 13, 2009

A feud between two groups apparently set on solving a neighborhood dispute with violence continued with a brawl outside of a southeast Iowa City home Tuesday.

It was the second time this week that police have been called to the home on Hollywood Boulevard for a large fight.

Iowa City Police responded to 2304 Hollywood Boulevard at 5:48 p.m. after several callers reported as many as 20 people fighting in the street. Officers were able to detain six people, all juveniles, and charge them with rioting.

It is the policy of the Press-Citizen not to identify juveniles charged with a crime lower than a felony.

Iowa City Police Chief Sam Hargadine said his officers are continuing to identify those involved in the fights and make arrests.

“The list of arrestees keepings getting longer and longer,” Hargadine said.

People who witnessed the fight said a group walked up to 2304 Hollywood Boulevard and began screaming taunts at the residents. The residents responded by exiting the house and fighting with the group.

On Mother’s Day, officers from Iowa City and other agencies responded to the same address after receiving a report of a large fight potentially involving 60 people, some of which were allegedly armed with bats, guns and knives. At least three people were injured in the fight and two people, Samuel Lee Lockett III and Damien Deonte Gilchrist, 15, of 2100 Miami Dr., have been charged for their involvement in the fight. Police say the 15-year-old forced his way into the residence at 2304 Hollywood Blvd. wielding a baseball bat with the intention of assaulting someone in the home.

Gilchrist has been charged with assault causing injury, rioting and second-degree burglary, a class C felony.

Iowa City Police Sgt. Troy Kelsay said officers took a report of another related confrontation on Coneflower Court Sunday night. Kelsay said all three fights appear to involve the same groups.

“It’s almost a family feud,” Kelsay said. “There are a couple of families or core groups of people with friends and associations that are really right now involved in a dispute. It seems to be their intent to resolve it with violence.”

Large fight in Iowa City injures three

May 11. 2009 8:34AM

By Carla Keppler
The Gazette

A group of approximately 60 adults and juveniles were involved in fight on Hollywood Boulevard Sunday night, leaving at least three injured.

Iowa City Police responded to the 2300 block of Hollywood Boulevard at 8:49 p.m. Sunday after receiving reports of a large fight involving guns, knives and baseball bats.

When officers arrived on scene, they found 50 to 60 adults and juveniles fighting in the street. Police said the subjects fled the scene before officers could detain them.

Baseball bats were used in the fight, Iowa City Police said, but there was not confirmation regarding the knives or guns.

Three reported minor injuries.

No arrests have been made and the incident remains under investigation.

Report of large fight in Iowa City sends police scrambling

Monday, May 11, 2009

By Darwin Danielson

A report of a large fight that might include weapons sent police officers in Iowa City and other area communities scrambling last night. Sergeant Troy Kelsay of the Iowa City police department says the call came in just before nine o’clock for a neighborhood on the southeast side of the city.

Kelsay says the call came in and said there were possibly baseball bats, guns and knives involved. He says Iowa City sent all its available officers to the area and other area police departments heard the call and also sent officers. Kelsay says officers arrive to find 50 or 60 people involved in a fight. He says everyone then started to scramble and finding out exactly what happened is tough.

Kelsay says some of the people have to have first hand knowledge of what happened, but none of them wanted to share the information with police and on the contrary were confrontational with officers. Kelsay says no guns or knives were discovered and three people reported minor injuries. Kelsay believes the issue isn’t solved.

Kelsay says he expects as the year progresses and the weather warms that police will get calls to the same area for more calls. He says whatever triggered this event is likely to trigger another problem. Kelsay says there are groups of people in the neighborhood that don’t get along. He stops short of calling them « gangs, » but says there’s something that’s causing them to not get along over issues in the neighborhood.

Kelsay says: « I’m not sure what it is as far as is it today’s culture with violence being out there? Or is it people who are just not socially normed the same as I was? I don’t know. But people are quick to, it seems like increasingly so, quick to resort to violence to resolve their differences and increasingly so, weapons become part of that. »

Kelsay says he doesn’t anticipate any charges coming out of the incident at this point.

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~ par Alain Bertho sur 14 Mai 2009.

Publié dans émeutes, riots