Muggings near King Street

Dog Walker · July 23, 2011, 10:00:02 AM

The following message was passed to me second-hand. I have no assurances of the accuracy of what is reported. If you know of similar incidents in the area, post them here.

There is a nice entertainment district developing in the King St. and Post Street areas. Incidents such as this one could damage that development.

"This happened Tuesday night at Walker's wine bar. There were many people across the street at Park Place and the Rogue, so this guy is pretty brazen and crazy to rob someone with witnesses all around. He was a black man, at least 5'11 or 6 feet tall, somewhere around 190-200 lbs, long dreadlocks, wearing a black shirt (on his head to shield his face, but the victim could see the whites of his eyes), sneakers, red shorts. He ran in the alley behind a man's home on Post Street, ran down College Street (according to the witnesses) and then disappeared in the alley somewhere. The victimâ€™s boyfriend ran after him but didnâ€™t catch him. Apparently the guy was watching the female victim and her friend from across the street, probably at that gas station/quickie mart place because he waited for the boyfriend who was with then to go inside. It was terrifying. The man who lives across the street says there's been a bunch of hoodlums lately doing these crimes, robberies, etc. The victim honestly thought he was going to kill her. It was scary. He was grunting and mumbled something when he lunged at them. There is a detective on the case who is going to look at various videos, etc. They found at least one video. There may be more.

Just a side note, they apparently steal your credit card, go to a gas station (by McDuff over there, or at least that's where they were) and fill up their crackhead friends' cars with gas for $20 and then take the cash and go buy crack or drugs, etc. They were at a gas station nearby very soon after all this using all her credit cards and attempted to use her debit card at an ATM (smile for the camera, dumbass).

So just be careful around there. I went to replace all my things the next day and ran into a woman at Ulta who said she and her friend were body slammed, knocked to the ground by a black man in Riverside who proceeded to punch her in the head until she gave up her purse and he ran. Unbelievable ...

I haven't slept in two days. It's very frightening and unbelievably scary knowing they have all my credit cards, license, phone numbers, text messages, business info, etc. Be careful!

MusicMan · July 23, 2011, 12:15:26 PM

If there is anything good going on anywhere in Riverside-Avondale then the cops will stay far far away. Having lived here for 6 years I can count on one hand the number of times I have seen a patrolman: any kind be it on foot, bicycle, motorcycle, whatever: patroling the vibrant areas in the evening. Five Points, Riverside Market Square, Park and King and Shoppes of Avondale, you NEVER EVER SEE POLICE THERE IN THE EVENING WHEN THEIR
PRESENCE WOULD BE A DETERENT TO THIS TYPE OF CRIME. Two cops on bikes could cover that entire area from 7 pm til 2 am. But it will probably take a serious violent crime for the police to do anything. You can be sure, they will not prevent crime, but they might respond to it after it is too late. That is the unfortunate truth.

The other sad truth is that those merchants could easily afford a rent a cop (or two) but that would cut into their profits............

AmyLynne · July 23, 2011, 02:51:15 PM

Supposedly there are cops in the area that ride around on bikes...but I personally have never seen them either...and I have lived here for 16 years!!

Dog Walker · July 23, 2011, 03:50:54 PM

The bicycle guys ride around during the day, not at night. They are in the old Riverside area fairly frequently. They are also riding in the alleys where you wouldn't see them.

JSO is spread pretty thin on the ground. Zone 4 boundaries are I-10 to the St. John's Rivers; to the county lines with Clay and Baker counties. Riverside/Avondale actually has a low crime rate and they probably tend to concentrate their manpower in more crime active areas of the Zone.

That said, there certainly needs to be more security both JSO and private in our late night entertainment zones that are seeming to attract predators.

There was another purse snatching on King Street the night before the incident reported above.

acme54321 · July 23, 2011, 03:58:08 PM

The area between Kickbacks and Bold City around King St is by far the sketchiest area of any of he historic districts in town (including Springfield).

Garden guy · July 23, 2011, 04:20:17 PM

This issue could be a great opportunity for maybe some local volunteers from a few of the clubs to look out for the patrons...Lauren at the Metro would have kicked his ass..

Jimmy · July 23, 2011, 04:21:32 PM

Quote from: acme54321 on July 23, 2011, 03:58:08 PM
The area between Kickbacks and Bold City around King St is by far the sketchiest area of any of he historic districts in town (including Springfield).

I don't know. I've heard tell of some pretty bad goings on in the environs of the BP at 8th and Liberty in Springfield.

cayohueso · July 24, 2011, 06:23:18 AM

Yep...Lackawanna.

L.P. Hovercraft · July 27, 2011, 10:02:16 AM

Driving past Carmine's Pizza this morning on my way to work, I noticed a JSO cruiser and crime scene investigation van in the parking lot. Looks like one of their windows was smashed in last night--either mindless vandalism or burglary. Anyone got the scoop on what happened?

JeffreyS · July 27, 2011, 10:05:33 AM

Has anyone tried Carmine's would love to hear a review.

RiversideLoki · July 27, 2011, 10:13:07 AM

Quote from: JeffreyS on July 27, 2011, 10:05:33 AM
Has anyone tried Carmine's would love to hear a review.

Someone probably took the statement "they put crack in their pizza" literally and tried to rob the place for rocks. That pizza is so good. Their Chicago style deep dish is probably the best thing you'll ever put in your mouth.

Tacachale · July 27, 2011, 10:15:19 AM

^Word up. We just tried it for the first time 2 weeks ago and it is flat stellar. Good beer selection too.

Jimmy · July 27, 2011, 10:20:41 AM

Quote from: JeffreyS on July 27, 2011, 10:05:33 AM
Has anyone tried Carmine's would love to hear a review.

Carmine's is incredible. Their Chicago-style reminds me of actual pizza from Chicago. And their gold rush wings are divine. There's a longish thread on it: http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,11221.60.html

Jaxson · July 27, 2011, 10:21:45 AM

I agree with Garden Guy about Lauren. That chica does not play the radio!

As for overall safety in the King Street area, I hope that we put it all in perspective. The worst that could happen from this situation is for people to abandon the King Street area and leave it to the thugs. That would suck. Instead, we need to keep up the foot traffic as the crowds are the best cure for all of that thuggery. I remember sleeping in my car in New York City and felt very safe as the Greenwich Village area was still vibrant at 2am...

BridgeTroll · July 27, 2011, 10:40:48 AM

Perhaps a bike patrol by ordinary citizens?