Stabbing Arrest in Buncombe County, Arden area, $750k bond

Buncombe County Sheriff’s Investigators have charged an Arden man in connection with a Monday morning incident where he stabbed his ex-girlfriend and her son in her south Buncombe apartment.

Investigators charged Kelvin Errol Smith, 43, of 313 Peacock Lane in Arden with 2 counts of Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Kidnapping, Felony Breaking and Entering and Violation of a Domestic Violence Protective Order.

Investigators say Smith waited outside his ex-girlfriends apartment a little after 8:00 am on Glenn Bridge Road and forced her back into the apartment when she came out. Smith assaulted the victim with a knife, and also assaulted her 18 year old son who arrived at the residence a short time later. The victim’s son was able to defend his mother from any further attack, but was also cut during the struggle with Smith.

Deputies arrived a short time later and Smith and the two victims were taken hospital for evaluation and treatment. Smith was released today at which time he was taken into custody. Smith is currently being held at the Buncombe County Detention Facility under a $750,000 bond.

Got Pills? Operation Pill Crusher in Asheville North Carolina, Buncombe County

On April 18, 2009 many people in Asheville North Carolina, Buncombe County and Western North Carolina will be coming together for Operation Pill Crusher. I was talking to a few people today about prescription pills, and how them make their way out of our medicine cabinets and go right into the school systems. Did you know that close to 70% of all drug related charges and arrests in the Buncombe County School System are prescription pills? That is wild people! Parents keep these pills in their medicine cabinets, in their kitchen closets and around the house somehow thinking that the kids will not wonder "what is it", "what does it do", and "what will it do to me". There have been many reports of "Skittles Bowls" at pill parties where everyone goes on a "pill search" in their home or the homes of their family or friends, gather as much medication as possible, go to the party, put it in one big bowl, and everyone at the party grabs 1, 2, 3 or more. Some never come back! I am scared for all of our children these days. Asheville; let us take a stand against things prescription drug abuse. Sometimes we do not take the time to pay attention until it hits our home. Well it is hitting our community, and your home may not be too far away. Please take a part in Operation Pill Crusher in Asheville and Bucombe County!

I read earlier that in one State, death by precription drugs passed deaths by car accidents. Many States report that the number of people abusing prescription drugs is more than people abusing alcohol. People, and even many addicts, sometimes consider it "Okay" to take a friends prescription drugs for pain or relaxation. Not only is this not safe or acceptable; it is very dangerous.

Asheville, this is our combined effort to make our community safer, cleaner, and maybe even save a few lives. Will you help???

You can drop off cough syrup with Codine, and any other type of narcotic, etc. Note: you are also permitted to also drop of any type of illegal street drugs for disposal and destruction. Bring the pills and drugs in bottles and bags for safe transport and destruction. The drugs will be crushed and then burnt, eliminating the potential abuse of them forever. They are not going to sit on some shelf, and then become "missing" soon thereafter. They are destroyed!

Please keep in mind that many times using medication that is prescribed to others is dangerous due to the fact that they may have a reverse or adverse affect on another individual. Well over 100,000 Americans die every year from adverse reactions to prescription drugs. Besides being permanently damaged, drug side effects are a leading cause of death in the U.S. The worst thing that can happen to you when you take a "legal" drug is not that it won’t work, but that you might die. Be Safe!

The Buncombe County Sheriff's Office in conjunction with the Drug Enforcement Administration, SBI, Asheville Police Department, Black Mountain Police Department, and Weaverville Police Department will be at the following Ingles Grocery Store locations on Saturday April 18, 2009 from 10 in the morning till 2 in the afternoon, to accept the voluntary disposal of old, unused and expired prescription medications:

Ingles Grocery Store on 29 Tunnel Road in Asheville

Ingles Grocery Store on 301 Long Shoals Road in Asheville

Ingles Grocery Store on 575 New Leicester Highway in Leicester

Ingles Grocery Store on 7 Leicester Highway (Patton Ave) in Asheville

Ingles Grocery Store on 915 Merrimon Avenue in Asheville

Ingles Grocery Store on 500 Highway 9 in Black Mountain

Ingles Grocery Store on 140 Weaver Blvd in Weaverville

For more information, please contact the Drug Enforcement Administration at 828-350-3440 or the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office at 828-255-5555

I have family that works for the FDA. Click Here to see one of their articles about the prescription drug problem.

Learn About Frauds & Scams in Our Community at Scam Jam 2009 - Register Now!

Join us for Scam Jam 2009! Scam Jams are programs designed to inform you about frauds and scams being conducted in your community. You’ll learn what to look and listen for, as well as who to contact with a complaint. Land-of-Sky Regional Council’s Ombudsman Program is partnering with North Carolina AARP to educate you about how to protect yourself.

This program will be held:
April 29th Arden Woods 103 Appalachian Boulevard Asheville, NC 28704 8:30 am – 12:30 pm

The program will include lectures from representatives from the following:
Attorney General’s Office
Better Business Bureau
Secretary of State Office
Buncombe County Sheriff’s Department
Social Security Commission

Registration is required due to limited seating. Arden Woods will be offering a light complimentary lunch. Contact Christina Giles (christina@landofsky.org) at 828-251-6622 or 1-800-727-0557 to register. The deadline for registration is Monday, April 27th.
For more information about the Scam Jam, contact Lee Ann Smith, Regional Ombudsman at 828-251-6622.

Buncombe County: Alexander Home Invasion - Information Sought $3500 Reward

The Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office is seeking information from the public on the Home Invasion and Assault of 96 year old Grace Freeman at 285 Jenkins Valley Road in Alexander on April 2, 2009. Ms. Freeman was severely assaulted in her home during the evening of April 2 and was found on Jenkins Valley Road at 8:50pm.The suspect is described as a white male in his 20’s.

If you have information about this crime, you are asked to call Asheville-Buncombe Crimestoppers at (828) 255-5050 or email tips@abcrimestoppers.org

There is a $3500 cash reward being offered for information leading to the arrest of the person(s) responsible for this crime.

Asheville witnesses apprehend, Asheville break-ins, Man shot in Asheville, APD arrests Georgia prison escapee

Witnesses apprehend hit-and-run suspect
ASHEVILLE - Police on April 2 arrested a man for hit-and-run, with assistance of civilian witnesses.

David Bryan Wood, birth date 10/28/1949, of Asheville, was driving in the area of 873 Merrimon Ave., at about 1:15 p.m., when he struck a man who was riding a scooter. Mr. Wood then drove away from the scene.
Two witnesses reportedly followed Mr. Wood and brought him back to the area to be arrested by police. The victim, a 40-year-old Asheville man, sustained non-life threatening injuries.
Mr. Wood was charged with DWI, Felony Hit-and-Run, and Driving While License Revoked.

APD charges man in multiple break-ins
ASHEVILLE - Asheville police have charged Michael Charles Carroll, birth date 9/1/1982, with multiple break-ins at area homes and businesses.
Mr. Carroll, of Asheville, is charged with seven counts of Larceny after Breaking & Entering; seven counts of Breaking & Entering; two counts of Obtaining Property by False Pretense; and one count of Injury to Real Property.
He is in the Buncombe County Detention Center under a $70,000 bond.

Man shot in hand at apartment complex
ASHEVILLE - On March 31, shortly before 2 p.m., Asheville police received a call that a man had been shot in the hand while standing behind the #29 building at Pisgah View Apartments.
The victim, 19, does not live at Pisgah View and told police that he doesn't know the suspect. He said the suspect was a black male with short hair, wearing dark jeans that appeared to be lighter colored in the front, and a black long-sleeved shirt. The victim was transported to Mission and treated for a non-life threatening injury. CID is investigating.

APD arrests, IDs Georgia prison escapee
ASHEVILLE – Asheville police have arrested and identified a man who escaped from a Georgia prison and who has a history of charges that include murder and drug trafficking.
Rodney Dejuan Allison, birth date 5/26/1975, is being held at the Buncombe County Detention Center on a $200,000 bond. He had been on the run from Georgia officials since escaping from prison in May 2008. He had been serving a 10-year sentence for trafficking.
Mr. Allison was identified through the work of detectives in the Criminal Investigations Division, following his arrest as “John Doe 899,” on March 22. On that date, Mr. Allison (whose name was not known at the time) was arrested and charged with assaulting a patrol officer during a drug bust at the Inn Town Motel on Tunnel Road.

He fought with the officers for several minutes before they were able to secure him and one officer sustained a hand injury in the fight.

During the booking process, Mr. Allison gave the name of "Randy Jones" and said he was from Charleston, S.C.

On March 23, he appeared before Judge Sharon T. Barrett and signed a Waiver of Counsel in the name of "Randy Jones."

On March 24, APD Det. Mike Downing was able to identify "Randy Jones," aka "John Doe 899,” as Rodney Dejuan Allison, a jail escapee from Georgia with a history of drugs and violence.
Asheville police on March 24 charged Mr. Allison with one count of Felony Obstruction of Justice and Fugitive from Justice (Georgia).

In addition to his murder and drugs charges, Mr. Allison’s record includes, but is not limited to, charges for Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon; Carrying a Concealed Weapon; Aggravated Assault; Aggravated Battery; and Violation of the Georgia Controlled Substance Act.

Home Safety Tips - Stop Crime at the House!

Home Safety Tips


1. Close & lock all doors; including cars and garages, whether you are home or not. Windows accessible from the exterior of the home should not be left open. This is just about the same as leaving your door wide open. (Extra Tip: Casement windows are the safest windows to use if you are building a home or replacing windows)

2. Have good lighting outside and inside your home. Many electrical companies have solar lighting that can brighten a 1/2 an acre or so.

3. Position lights to expose hiding places around shrubs, bushes, corners, garages and entrances

4. Be aware of how your residence appears from the outside. Example: drapes and shades

5. When leaving home, leave lights on inside your home - There are timer gadgets you can use to make your lights (tv, radio also) go on and off at certain times, showing consistent life in the residence.

6. Never leave a message on your answering machine stating you are not at home. "We are not available at the moment" or "we screen all of our calls" is acceptable.

8. Alarm warning window stickers and yard signs are good deterrents.

9. Leave more than one pair of shoes outside at the door

10. As much as possible, leave a vehicle in your driveway.

Crime Stopping Travel Tips

Travel Tips:

1. Check gas levels and general car maintenance prior to traveling. Preventive actions!

2. Always carry standard tools such as flashlights, first aid kits, tire changing tools and a spare tire. A batttery operated siren light device is good too.

3. If you become lost, seek help at busy, well lit businesses. A GPS is very affordable and can prevent this from ever happening. Turning down the wrong street, or into a "nice looking" community can sometimes be lead to trouble.

4. Notify friends & family of your travel plans and time & date of return. Use platforms such as Twitter where you can "Tweet" or "Text" your status, and concerned friends and family can follow you via the Internet or your phone. There are also Twitter application that you can use that will "Locate" you and pinpoint where you are when you submit an update.

5. Always have a cell phone handy, charged, and on. When an emergency happens, you do not have time to dig and find it, find a charger, and or turn it on. Also have a telephone book available in your car

6. Never pick up hitchhikers; if someone is stranded don't stop, get the approximate location (Example: Hwy 5, headed South, around mile marker 74), and call 911... or drive to the nearest police station for help

7. Get in the habit of locking the doors of your vehicle. Lock them once everyone is in, lock them when someone gets out for a minute, and lock them after they get back in. Forming habits such as these can prevent car-jackings, robbery, kidnapping, and more. If someone approaches your door and asks to open the door or get in... say "NO", leave, and call 911

Quick Crime Stopping Shopping Tips, please add on comments

Crime Stopping Tips:

1. Avoid dark or isolated areas
2. If suspicious looking people enter an elevator, step off
3. Always have car key/opener in hand before leaving the store, finger on alarm trigger
4. As you approach you car, visually check both sides of your car & underneath
5. Check the back & front seat for intruders; leave immediately if there is any concern
6. If a suspicious looking person is near your car, just keep walking
7. Report suspicious looking people to security guards. They want to help
8. As much as possible, keep yourself in the plain view of others

CPTED Design Recommendations

Natural Surveillance/Visual Connection

• Provide an opportunity for people engaged in normal
everyday activity to observe the space around them. Place
activities where individuals engage in those activities so they
become part of the natural surveillance system without
interruption to their activity.

• Provide a good “visual connection” between residential
and/or commercial units and public environments such as
streets, common areas, parks, sidewalks, parking areas and
alleys. Place actively used rooms such as kitchens,
living/family room and lobbies to allow for good viewing of
parking, streets and/or common areas. Managers, attendants
and security personnel should have extensive views of these
areas.

• Provide for the ability to see into a room or space prior to
entering.

• Take advantage of mixed use if it exists and provide good
“visual connection” between uses. This may enable natural
surveillance during the day and evening, (i.e., a commercial
zone that becomes vacant in the evening or a residential zone
that is uninhabited during the day).

Natural Access Control/Spatial Definition

• Provide clear well-lit paths from the street to the development
through all parking and landscape areas, and within the
development to building entries.

• Avoid indistinct walkways and entries where occupants and
guests may become “lost or disoriented” or must search for
the correct entry or unit.

• Provide adequate lighting, width of path, definition of path
and ability to see a destination.

• Provide obvious physical security techniques such as locks,
lights, walls, gates and security signs.

Three CPTED Strategies

Natural Surveillance
Surveillance is a design concept directed
primarily at keeping intruders under observation.
Therefore, the primary thrust of a surveillance strategy
is to facilitate observation and to accomplish the effect
of an increased perception of risk. Surveillance
strategies are typically classified as organized (e.g.,
police patrol) mechanical (e.g., lighting) and natural
(e.g., windows).

Natural Access Control
Access control strategies are typically classified as
organized (e.g., guards), mechanical (e.g., locks), and
natural (e.g., spatial definition). This lesson plan
outline will concentrate on the third strategy of
natural access control. The primary thrust of an
access control strategy is to deny access to a crime
target and to create a perception of risk in offenders.

Territorial Reinforcement
The concept of territoriality suggests that
physical design can contribute to a sense of
territoriality. That is, physical design can create or
extend a sphere of territorial influence so potential
offenders perceive that territorial influence. For
example: low walls, landscape and paving patterns to
clearly define the space around a unit entry as
belonging to (and the responsibility of ) the residents
of that unit.

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design

• Provide clear border definition of controlled space (e.g.,
fences, hedges, paving patterns and low walls). Avoid
unassigned space. As much as possible, all space should
become the clear responsibility of someone.

•Provide clearly marked transitional zones that indicate
movement from public to semiprivate to private space. For
example, the sidewalk represents public space and the main
path into a residential development is semiprivate, and a path
that branches to an individual unit(s) becomes semiprivate
and the interior of the unit becomes private space.

• Relocate gathering areas to locations that provide natural
surveillance and access control, as opposed to locations away
from the view of would-be offenders. For example, all play
areas should be located within the central common area of
the building with as many units as possible able to glance or
actively watch children at play.

• Place activities in locations where the natural surveillance of
these activities will increase the perception of safety for
legitimate users and risk for offenders. For example, well used
common areas (safe) may overlook a parking area
(unsafe) to provide additional security for the parking area.

• Place activities in locations to overcome vulnerability of these
activities with natural surveillance and access control of the
safe area. For instance, common toilet facilities and laundry
rooms should not be located in a remote corner of the site or
at the end of a long nameless hallway. Locate these facilities
(unsafe) adjacent to the entry or location where there is
normally high foot traffic (safe).

• Redesign or revamp space to increase the perception or reality
of natural surveillance.


The term CPTED is used to describe a series of
physical design characteristics that maximize
resident control of criminal behavior within a
residential community. A residential environment
designed under CPTED guidelines clearly defines all
areas as either public, semiprivate, or private. In so
doing, it determines who has the right to be in each
space, and allows residents to be confident in
responding to any questionable activity or persons
within their complex. The same design concepts
improve the ability of police to monitor activities
within the community. The proper design and effective
use of public and private space can lead to a reduction in
the incidence and fear of crime, reduction in calls for
police service and to an increase in the quality of life within a
community.

*Thank you to the LAPD for supplying this great information http://www.lapdonline.org/
Also see http://www.cpted-watch.com/