Coffey: Mall ‘not violent'

Towne Center is safe despite e-mail, sheriff says

Friday, March 5, 2010

Charles County Sheriff Rex W. Coffey said Thursday the Waldorf mall is safe despite suffering from a reputation for violence, adding his voice to a conversation intensified last week by an e-mail that raised concerns about crime at the shopping center.

"The mall's got an image problem," said Coffey (D). "It's not a violent place to shop. … I wouldn't let my family go there if there was some danger."

The e-mail, which was widely circulated among county residents, was written by a woman whose son was robbed beside the movie theater near the St. Charles Towne Center on Feb. 20. The author said two other robberies happened the same day in the area and blamed an increased gang presence at the mall for the crime activity.

"Again, please pass this along to anyone you know who lives in southern Maryland or who frequents the Waldorf area for shopping. Police have stepped up their presence in Waldorf as a whole, but that's still a lot of territory for extra officers to patrol," the e-mail stated.

Around the time the message went out, Coffey and his command staff didn't see a spike in crime at the mall; shoplifting incidents made up most of center's crime.

Sheriff's officers reported that between Nov. 24 and Feb. 24, there were nine robberies in the area of St. Charles Towne Center. According to Coffey, many of the robberies involve teens targeting other young people to steal clothes, iPods and cell phones.

Still, he said that he thinks even one crime is too many.

"I take personal responsibility for the crime. I'm rattling people's chains like you wouldn't believe," Coffey said, adding that the sheriff's office has a goal for the shopping center. "We want to go 30 days and not see any serious crime at the mall. And then when we do that, we'll shoot for 60 days."

When patrol officers have down time, they often provide added police presence in the mall area, Coffey said. The agency also conducts undercover surveillance operations to improve safety at the shopping center.

Coffey said he also reviews crime statistics with his commanders at weekly meetings and looks for trends. They then plan operations to address the patterns they notice in the county, the sheriff said, adding that serious crime in the county declined by about 13 percent in 2009 and seems to be continuing its dip this year.

Police have documented loose-knit groups of young people who identify themselves as gang members in the county, Coffey said. However, overall, the local gangs don't come with the stabbings and drive-by shootings associated with such groups that many envision.

"We don't have that in Charles County," Coffey said.

Sheriff's officers do keep an eye on groups of teens who are hanging out together at the mall and often talk to them to let them know that they are being monitored.

Coffey also pointed out his initiatives to prevent crime around the mall and among young people. Last year, he started a campaign to educate teens about the stiff penalties against robbery by creating informative posters and speaking in high schools. And in June, he led an effort to improve visibility at the park-and-ride lot on Smallwood Drive by trimming and clearing out plants.

"It's a Herculean challenge," he said of preventing incidents near the mall. "But we're about fighting crime."

Coffey also said that police have been able to make arrests in many of the recent robberies near the shopping center, including two Feb. 26 incidents.

In one case, a 14-year-old boy was assaulted and robbed of his wallet while urinating behind the movie theater at 11115 Mall Circle at about 10:45 p.m., according to a press release. When the teen told police about his assailants, a sheriff's officer matched the description to someone from an earlier interaction. Police later arrested Dario Harley Smith, 19, of Waldorf and charged him with the robbery.

In the second incident, a 16-year-old victim got involved in an argument with a group inside the McDonald's at 11025 Mall Circle around 10:50 p.m. When the teen left, the group of people confronted him, implied they had a weapon and demanded the victim's tennis shoes, police reported.

Police broadcast a lookout for four people in a dark-colored Jeep, and two hours later, a sheriff's officer spotted a vehicle matching that description near a gas station on Berry Road. Sheriff's officers found a loaded handgun, numerous bags of marijuana and crack cocaine and the victim's tennis shoes in the Jeep, police reported.

They arrested Jacori Rashaad Graham, 19, of La Plata, Anthony Lamont Cooper, 20, of Lanham, Amber S. Muse, 18, of Clinton and David Earl Howington Jr., 17, of Landover, who was charged as an adult. The four people were charged with armed robbery, carrying a concealed deadly weapon and possession of drugs with intent to distribute.

Coffey added that he hopes people protect themselves from being victimized by sticking to well-lit locations and walking in groups. He said people should avoid walking to the backs and sides of buildings and keep their keys in hand while going to their cars.

"All we need is to be vigilant and at all times to remember that the scum of the earth is among us," he said.

brodgers@somdnews.com

View Coffey's full comments here.