As homicides continue to drop across Chicago ( a decrease of 22 percent over the same time last year ) , the North Side has seen a sudden spike in killings, according to the Chicago Tribune. The Police Department's Belmont Area has had 14 homicides so far this year, compared with three for the same period last year. However, because nothing—such as gang violence—connects the killings, officials cannot use police patrols, a tactic credited with reducing homicides across the city.
The Calumet Area on the South Side leads the city so far this year, reporting 19 homicides compared with 26 for the same time last year. For all of last year, the area had 126 murders, tying for first in the city.
Over the last year and a half, Chicago police have been reducing murders by putting cameras and officers where crime is most likely to occur. Unfortunately, those techniques do not work with killings like the North Side murders because they primarily occur indoors, making them hard to prevent.
Among the fatalities in the North Side is Richard Markley, 45, a Lyric Opera singer found stabbed in his Lincoln Square apartment on Feb. 27. Police said there was no sign of forced entry at the home. Moreover, police spokesman Pat Camden recently reaffirmed that there has been no connection found between Markley's killing and the 2004 murders of Lakeview residents Brad Winters and Kevin Clewer. Last week, there was a memorial service to mark the one-year anniversary of Clewer's passing.
Another North Side victim is Haroon Paryani, 61, a cab driver who was allegedly run over three times with his own taxi on Feb. 2. The suspect, Michael Jackson, 37, pled not guilty last week to charges of first-degree murder and aggravated vehicular hijacking.
Belmont Area Homicides - 2005
1. Timothy McClellan, age 34, Jan. 8
2. Tyrone Bonner, 24, Jan. 8
3. Robert Peppers, 24, Jan. 8
4. Herman Oates, 41, Jan. 10
5. Anthony Beard, 19, Jan. 12
6. Eugene Walker*, 24, Jan. 13
7. Alejandro Bermeo, 16, Jan. 21
8. Melissa Dorner, 21, Jan. 24
9. Bogdan Kisiel, 42, Jan. 25
10. Haroon Paryani, 61, Feb. 2
11. Coryel Stephens, 22, Feb. 11
12. Richard Markley, 45, Feb. 27
13. Michael Lefkow, 64, Feb. 28
14. Donna Humphrey, 89, Feb. 28
*Walker was shot on Jan. 8.
Percent Change in Homicides from 2004
1. Wentworth -59 percent
2. Calumet -27 percent
3. Belmont +367 percent
4. Harrison -69 percent
5. Grand Central +7 percent