Police see a link in crime
Latinos likely are targets of spree
By: Rose Anna Laudicina, Staff Writer
Issue date: 4/15/08 Section: City
Investigators from the Chapel Hill and Carrboro police departments are working together to solve a string of robberies they believe are connected.
All of the victims are Latino, with one exception, and the descriptions of the suspects given by the victims share several close similarities, leading police to believe the same people are committing the crimes.
"We have had similar descriptions on many occasions," Carrboro police Capt. Joel Booker said.
"They have been described as black males each time, and the builds are similar; one is always described as being slightly larger than the other," he added.
Ten robberies have been reported in Carrboro this month. Latinos have been the victims of five of those robberies. A sixth victim was Burmese. Chapel Hill had three robberies a week ago, of which all the victims were Latinos.
Officials said they believe the fact that the victims are Latino is no coincidence.
Charlie Pardo, a Latino victim specialist for Chapel Hill police, said the reason this group is targeted is because of language barriers and the small probability that they will report the incident.
"Many times when I call a victim to follow up, they tell me that their friend got robbed also, but they didn't report it," he said.
"They can often think, 'What are the police going to do, my money is already gone?' or they feel that there isn't anyone who speaks Spanish that could help them."
Pardo said many members of the Latino community are targeted because they do not use banks and often carry around large amounts of cash.
Booker said the communication barrier between the Latino community and the police also is a reason why they are targets for this sort of crime.
"When they do report a crime, there can be a loss of communication," he said.
Booker stressed that both towns' police departments have officers and employees who speak Spanish to try to improve communication.
Durham has also seen a slew of robberies that seem to target the Latino community.
Stephen Oates, one of the men charged with the murder and robbery of Duke graduate student Abhijit Mahato, also has been charged with 15 robberies in Durham, several of which involved Latino victims.
Kammie Michael, the Durham Police Department's public information officer, said in an e-mail that it appears Latinos were targeted in some of the robbery cases.
Both Michael and Pardo said that police have responded by getting out into the communities where the robberies took place to provide education and information.
Michael said Durham police spoke to Latino residents throughout the community, particularly in the apartment complexes where several of the robberies occurred.
Pardo said he will attend a community meeting at Kingswood Apartments, where one of the robberies took place, on April 23 to give crime prevention tips in Spanish.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
All of the victims are Latino, with one exception, and the descriptions of the suspects given by the victims share several close similarities, leading police to believe the same people are committing the crimes.
"We have had similar descriptions on many occasions," Carrboro police Capt. Joel Booker said.
"They have been described as black males each time, and the builds are similar; one is always described as being slightly larger than the other," he added.
Ten robberies have been reported in Carrboro this month. Latinos have been the victims of five of those robberies. A sixth victim was Burmese. Chapel Hill had three robberies a week ago, of which all the victims were Latinos.
Officials said they believe the fact that the victims are Latino is no coincidence.
Charlie Pardo, a Latino victim specialist for Chapel Hill police, said the reason this group is targeted is because of language barriers and the small probability that they will report the incident.
"Many times when I call a victim to follow up, they tell me that their friend got robbed also, but they didn't report it," he said.
"They can often think, 'What are the police going to do, my money is already gone?' or they feel that there isn't anyone who speaks Spanish that could help them."
Pardo said many members of the Latino community are targeted because they do not use banks and often carry around large amounts of cash.
Booker said the communication barrier between the Latino community and the police also is a reason why they are targets for this sort of crime.
"When they do report a crime, there can be a loss of communication," he said.
Booker stressed that both towns' police departments have officers and employees who speak Spanish to try to improve communication.
Durham has also seen a slew of robberies that seem to target the Latino community.
Stephen Oates, one of the men charged with the murder and robbery of Duke graduate student Abhijit Mahato, also has been charged with 15 robberies in Durham, several of which involved Latino victims.
Kammie Michael, the Durham Police Department's public information officer, said in an e-mail that it appears Latinos were targeted in some of the robbery cases.
Both Michael and Pardo said that police have responded by getting out into the communities where the robberies took place to provide education and information.
Michael said Durham police spoke to Latino residents throughout the community, particularly in the apartment complexes where several of the robberies occurred.
Pardo said he will attend a community meeting at Kingswood Apartments, where one of the robberies took place, on April 23 to give crime prevention tips in Spanish.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
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