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Str8 out of Philly robbed at gunpoint
01/30/2012 12:37 PM by John M
ROBBERY
1/28/12 2:24 a.m.
300 block of North 29th Street
A male reported he and his business, Str8 out of Philly, were robbed at gunpoint by two unknown males.
This is getting ridiculous. C’mon RPD, let’s get some extra police presence out in the neighborhood!
Last night we drove by the Market around 8 and saw three cop cars parked in the covered parking area, presumably just shooting the shit with each other. Even if it’s a dinner break, you guys need to be out there in the neighborhood. A visible police presence will make this kind of stuff less likely. Put your folks out doing loops around the neighborhood and looking for suspicious activity, not writing speeding tickets or waiting for calls to come in.
They were open at two am? This is too close to home. What the, hell is wrong with people?
2AM? I didn’t think they were supposed to be open that late. Alex, how do you know what the officers were doing? Maybe they were coordinating with each other to begin a sweep of the neighborhood. I see cop cars drive by my house every day and at all times of the day and night. I think the presence is there. But you have to remember, if someone wants to do an illegal act, they will do it.
I really don’t miss living near this BS. Sorry to hear the guys at STR8 got robbed. They are good people and don’t deserve this.
Starting to get a bit freaked out over all the C.H. area incidents. I hope this doesn’t scare that business out of the neighborhood. If so, a lot of guys around here are going to be sorely disappointed! We had side view windows stolen off our SUV while our neighbor’s police vehicle was parked directly across the street. What’s it going to take to stop these animals? Video surveillance is a great deterrent, but too costly for most small businesses.
Vigilante Patrols! Bring your own sack full of door knobs.
We have seen an increase in crime. You can split the neighborhood into whatever names you want and spout statistics from the past, but it’s still not typical to see so many events happening in the last two months. Everyone needs to be vigilant. I am always cautious about going out at dark – until I am fortunate enough to move to a safer area (sorry Church Hill urbanites, but I’m done).
Enjoy Henrico, Mars, ’cause this is some of what happens in a city (not just Church Hill). From the same crime briefing that contained the above incident (the only one in the East End):
Fan of the Fan: Attempted burglary on Main, assault on Cary
http://fanofthefan.com/2012/01/attempted-burglary-on-main-assault-on-cary/
Byrd Park: Assault on Parkwood
http://byrdpark.net/2012/01/30/assault-on-parkwood/
The robbers definitely took advantage of the fact that it’s tucked away behind Buff’s Corner. I live kind of catty-corner to SOoP and I’ve seen lights on in there early in the morning though they’re closed–maybe someone’s doing prep work or something. Glad nobody got hurt.
If they were open at 2am, the owner was probably trying to cash in on the Shockoe bar scene heading over after the clubs close.
Both Genos and Pats in Philly see some of their biggest crowds between 2 am and 3….after the clubs close. There are very few characters from the Shockoe clubs that I would want in my neighborhood.
Actually, I don’t think heir zoning allows them to be open after 10 weekdays and 11 on weekends…now, for good reason. I’ll check into it.
Best cheesesteak in town. Super nice owner. I, for one, am going to make sure he gets my business this week. Screw the haters.
Laura, are you really going to pile on a guy who just got robbed by giving him trouble with the city? C’mon now… are you trying to drive him out or something? Cut him some slack and go support his business instead or something.
chpn – your defeatist statement that this is just what happens in cities is awful. And you try to argue that the amount of crime here is okay just because crime happens other places too? It seems like so many people on here reserve more anger(at least in their comments) for those of us considering leaving for the burbs for our family’s safety, than they do anger for the criminals committing these acts. Well guess what, the people that are standing up saying this is unacceptable and will leave if it doesn’t change are the very people you should want here, but instead there is an attitude of good riddance to us and just write us off as yuppies who can’t handle city living. I would hate to see how awful crime would be if the only people remaining were the ones who are able to look the other way to violent assaults on innocent people.
Not defeatist but damn – what was Church Hill like when you moved up here that all of a sudden you’ve got to move? Where exactly did you think that you were coming to? Been up here long?
Bret, the anger from some comes from what they see as a potential ally quitting the fight. Ideally more folks like you would stay and help do your part to fight this crap. However, the realist in me realizes that this is not always possible or reasonable and I can’t say I blame folks who make that choice.
It’s frustrating cause this community so often seems on the verge of becoming something truly great but there’s still a criminal element popping up from time to time.
Today’s RTD has “Hanover in mourning: Community shaken by four recent killings” as its main headline. And that, of course, is horrible. Still, somehow, when that kind of thing happens in the burbs (and it does happen quite a bit), why is it that I don’t hear any kind of debate about: I guess I should leave for the inner city?
chpn – You are saying that because crime happened in the past in Churchill, it is acceptable and should be expected in the future. So the criminals aren’t the problem because they were here first, it is just my problem for moving here? People who violently assault innocent people do not get a grandfathered right to commit crime just because they were here doing it before me, I or any one else whether they have been here their entire lives or moved in yesterday should be outraged at the amount of crime, and the lack of police, political and community response to it.
Alex – I understand your concern. If it was just abandoned houses, drunks, crack heads pooping in my yard, petty theft, etc I’d probably stay forever and try to do my part to improve those issues. In fact most of that stuff doesn’t really bother me and is what I would consider to be the parts of “inner city living” that I can handle.
No Brett, I’m asking why the sudden outrage that you or whoever feels like they have to move out of the city. To this I am pointing out that it isn’t any worse than before.
You don’t have to move out of the city. There are areas in the city that do not have as many issues. I am not sure what chpn is talking about by posting a couple fan crimes. Their own homocide map speaks the truth: http://rvanews.com/richmond-homicides-in-10
There is a lot less violent crime in the fan and carytown. Sure, there is still crime, but it is less frequent and usually doesn’t end in death. I don’t blame anyone for wanting to move out of Church Hill. It is a nice place (historical and scenic), but still has a lot of really major issues.
chpn – for me I think it is just having a child, and to feel responsible for them. If it was just me I wouldn’t like the crime, but could probably deal just fine.
In one of the many shootings this year on my block we had a bullet strike our car. When my kid is getting int he car the bullet hole is exactly where her head is. I understand at 2 am the streets may not be safe, but this shooting happened at 5 PM on a nice sunday afternoon, we had every right and reason to have been outside at that moment and never would have thought twice about going outside then. Just really hit home for me that the danger isn’t just to me but to my kid. We’ve had I’d estimate 30+ rounds of gunfire exchanged on our block alone in less than 12 months, bullets travel far and for me no part of Churchhill is going to be far enough until someone can find a way to lower the crime to a manageable level. Plus that kidnapping double murder thing, obviously once the details came out it was a tragedy but not totally a random unpredictable crime, but when the first sketchy details were only “man woman murdered in church hill, 2 year old girl kidnapped” we got lots of worried calls from friends and family making sure it wasn’t us. And again, I spent several days thinking it easily could have been us. So I’m just done. I know the odds of being hurt or killed aren’t necessarily that awful in this community, but my perception and fear of crime is to the point that it makes me not enjoy where I live to the extent that i want to, and nothing short of a 180 degree change in the next couple months are going to calm those maybe somewhat irrational fears.
Bret, what did you expect when you moved to CH? You live in a challenging area of CH, where violent crime occurs more often than an are like St. John’s.
Yeah, Brett! I am so angry and filled with contempt for you for making personal decisions regarding the safety of your family that in no way affect me, a total stranger! How dare you consider the safety of your family and child and put that ahead of the needs of a community that clearly scorns you!
And, when you moved in, however long ago that was, you should have consulted your crystal ball, or at least a magic 8 ball and used that to decide if Church Hill was really right for you because no one can leave here ever!!! Bwah ha ha!
@Brett – dang, I get that: having a kid changes the equation for you. Hadn’t crossed my mind somehow, in this, though I’ve seen too many good neighbors move away when they have children.
I didn’t mean to read as so twitchy above, I just get very tired of people saying stuff along the lines of “oh shit, church hill has gotten so bad recently, I’ve got to move away” when I know that it’s no worse that it has been for a long time, and in many area there has been great improvements over the past 5 years or so. It’s frustrating.
Maybe if you are speaking about overall statistics, it’s no worse than in previous years. However, in the past 6 months I’ve had crimes committed closer to my home than in any of the 5 years that I have lived here. For us, the violence had always been many many blocks away – in places that might be considered Church Hill by the media but far away from what I consider to be “my neighborhood”. In the past year there have been many home robberies (3 on my block), mail theft (too many to count), armed robberies (2 across the street from my house), and murders within 4-5 blocks of my home. We never had any of this stuff going on before this past year. Not moving, but I am definitely taking a stand.
Bret, I understand your concerns about raising a child where you live. I don’t know if I would attempt it, so I give you credit for giving it a chance. I just hope recent events don’t push you away from CH. It’s generally a quiet neighborhood with isolated instances of crime. As CHPN pointed out, it’s improving.
If it makes you feel any better, my vehicle was the victim of a bb gun attack when I first moved to the neighborhood: http://chpn.net/news/2010/09/18/windows-shot-out-on-broad-26th-street_15450/
I just wanted to jump in – I’ve lived here for almost 8 years. I’ve seen two murders in front of my house (about three years apart) and witnessed my fair share of crime. However, I can definitely say we’ve really noticed that drug crime is way down, violent crime seems to be down, and in general CH just feels safer to me. The police are soooo much more responsive than they used to be, CAPS is doing a great job, etc.
My husband and I had a baby this past summer and I felt fine bringing him home to CH. If we stay in Richmond, we’ll stay in the neighborhood especially if all the great stuff keeps happening with the Chimborazo Model School (IB) initiative!