Crime and punishment: The search for a comprehensive answer to Chattanooga's gang problem

Chattanooga leaders are searching for new solutions to a problem that is more than a decade old and has many layers of complexity: gangs and violent crime.

“It’s cyclical,” local attorney Lee Davis said. “We see these young men in gangs who are carrying out these kind of crimes in the streets. It hits this sort of overflow, like it is now, and there are responses to it [from community members and leaders]. This is not a new issue. It’s been a problem for 15 or 16 years.”

The issues surrounding the situation are deep and entwined in other problems, such as a lack of money and education and, possibly, a flawed judicial system. 

There has been progress in recent years, starting with an acknowledgement that gangs are a problem in Chattanooga. 

And in past months, local leaders have banded together in a coordinated effort to curb gang violence. 

But such a complex problem that has been years in the making isn't likely to be easily and swiftly corrected. 

"A scourge on our county"
Last year, police recorded more than 25 homicides, more than half of which may be gang-related.

On Christmas morning, a fight broke out downtown near Club Fathom. Nine people were shot.

County Commissioner Joe Graham recently called for condemned houses that he said serve as a “crime den for crack houses and prostitution" to be torn down.

He also declared the need for tougher sentences for violent criminals.

Last month, Sheriff Jim Hammond sent out a statement to the media about gangs. He said leaders must take a “hard-line approach” to the problem.

“Gangs have become a scourge on our own county, and while the bulk of the problem lies within the city of Chattanooga, it is becoming a regional problem as gang members try to spread into the areas surrounding the city,” he said.

City and county leaders recently joined with members of federal law enforcement agencies and heads of the Chattanooga Police Department and Hamilton County Sheriff's Office to create the Chattanooga Area Gang Enforcement team, aimed at stifling gang activity.

At the beginning of this month, the officials with the Chattanooga Police Department conducted a two-day, citywide saturation in response to a string of robberies.

In addition to other arrests, traffic stops and checks, authorities arrested 10 people thought to be gang members and made contact with 34 others who they think have gang affiliations, police said.

Davis said it is hard to know exactly what makes the cycle of violence flair up. It’s complicated, he said.

But part of the root of the problem is that there is a young, growing population that isn't getting an education and have time to spare in a struggling economy, he said.

“What you are talking about is a population with limited opportunities and limited economic resources and easy access to crime and drugs,” Davis said.

Combating crime requires comprehensive reaction involving the educational system, faith-based institutions, law enforcement and community members, he said.

It may also require legislative changes, leaders said.

Repeat offenders
Local leaders and community members said that a frustrating part of the problem involves repeat offenders.

It’s a concern for Graham and his constituents, and it's partially a problem in the judicial system, he said. 

“Our sentences need to be upheld,” he said. “Bonds need to be high enough.”

The repeat offender issue is illustrated in the case of Chattanooga resident Jeremichael Nicholson. 

In 2009, authorities charged Nicholson, 21, with attempted murder and aggravated assault.

He only served time for aggravated assault—a Class C felony—after authorities dropped the attempted murder charge.

A judge sentenced Nicholson to six years. He was out of prison within 90 days. 

In January, Nicholson—along with another man, 25-year-old Christopher Upshaw—allegedly attempted to burglarize a home while armed with handguns.

When authorities arrived, one of the suspects fired at them, prompting an officer to shoot back and wound Upshaw, who also has a criminal background.

Before the recent burglary attempt, in recent years authorities charged Upshaw with simple marijuana possession, assault, theft, possession of crack, attempted forgery and a slew of driving violations, according to court documents.

Upshaw has also been previously convicted of assault, according to court records.

Authorities have now charged both men with aggravated burglary, criminal conspiracy to commit burglary, attempted murder, aggravated assault and criminal conspiracy to commit murder, according to a news release from the Chattanooga Police Department.

“As a police officer it feels like you are beating your head against the wall when you see them back on the street,” Sgt. Toby Hewitt, Fraternal Order of Police local chapter president, said.

When Nicholson was arrested most recently, he was on probation for the 2009 assault conviction.

Melissa McDonald, communications director with the Tennessee Board of Probation and Parole, said that after serving 90 days for assault, the court released Nicholson on probation.

"[The Board of Probation and Parole] had supervised this offender’s case for almost a year,” she said. “But based on the new charges against Mr. Nicholson, [the board] has filed a violation warrant with the court. It will be up to that court to decide whether to revoke his community supervision.”

Community supervision is either probation or parole, she also said. There’s a difference in probationers and parolees in how they came to the board, but they’re both on community supervision.

McDonald said that if Nicholson’s community supervision is revoked, he will most likely go to jail or prison to serve out the rest of his sentence.

“But I can’t say that for certain because it is up to the court that placed him on supervision in the first place,” she said.

Local court officials said they could not talk about Nicholson’s situation now because the case is pending.

The sentencing law 
To the average observer, part of the solution may seem simple—uphold stiff penalties, don’t let criminals back out on the street. 

But Cox and Davis said that judges must follow state sentencing laws, which require them to try to find alternatives to prison time, such as probation or community service, for anyone who commits Class C, D or E felonies, such as aggravated assault or voluntary man slaughter. 

Those crimes —C, D and E felonies—make up 75 percent of cases, Cox said.

“We can do a great deal against serious violent offenders, but there’s a whole group—75 percent of all crimes—that the court recommends alternative sentencing for,” Cox said. “That’s basically to leave room for the worst of the worst.”

According to the Tennessee Department of Corrections website, about 25 percent of people in the state penitentiary have been convicted of murder, homicide or accessory to murder.

About 15 percent are there for sex offenses, and another 15 are there for drug charges.

The sentencing structure also allows people convicted of these felonies to get out after serving about 30 percent of their sentences, Cox and Davis said.

The money 
The sentencing law is designed to help save money, Cox said. 

It costs thousands of dollars a year per person to house them in the state penitentiary. 

In fiscal year 2010-11, the average cost per day to house an inmate was $64.83.

It’s $93.74 a day for death row inmates, according to the Department of Corrections’ website.

At the beginning of this month, there were 85 people on death row being housed in Tennessee’s penitentiary.

As of Jan. 12, there were 19,674 adults incarcerated in the state’s institutions.

Using these numbers, it costs the state about $23,662 a year per person to house the inmates, not including death row inmates.

To house the nearly 20,000 inmates in Tennessee at that rate, it costs more than $465 million a year.

“It’s about money,” Cox said. “It costs money to send people to the penitentiary and put them in a bed at an institution. [The law] prevents all but only the worst of the worst from going to the penitentiary because there’s simply not enough money to build more penitentiaries.”

Legislative efforts 
In an effort to correct the problem, local leaders are working with legislators to create or change laws, leaders said.

“Our legislators are trying to get passed this year a group crimes bill,” Cox said. “It’s designed to attack gangs.”

Cox said that if that measure passes, it would mean that if three or more people commit a crime together, the offense level is automatically increased by one.

“You wouldn’t have to prove a particular affiliation with a gang, you just have to prove there were three people doing it,” he said.

Davis said that he thinks there should be a priority put on gun crimes and crimes of violence.

In some states, using a gun in the commission of a crime means mandatory imprisonment, he said.

Federal law already states that anyone with a felony conviction who is later caught with a handgun gets a mandatory five years in prison.

“Where you can get at the ultimate issue, in my thinking, is you’ve got to focus on the young felons who are possessing handguns,” Davis said. “There are plenty of laws on the books that could make that a priority.”

Davis said he wanted to be clear—this is not a Second Amendment issue. He isn’t talking about the right to own a gun, he said.

“We are talking about if someone is convicted of committing a violent felony—like a gang-related crime or a drug-related crime—and they use a weapon either in the promotion of the crime or to protect the proceeds of that crime, there should be serious and swift consequences," he said. "Whether that is accomplished through legislative will or through prosecutorial priorities or a combination of that and law enforcement—that’s the issue.”

City Council members approved a resolution Tuesday night supporting Senate bills 3004 and 3005 and House bills 2868 and 2869, which would give local and state law enforcement agencies more opportunity to incarcerate a greater number of criminal street gang members for longer periods of time, according to the council’s agenda.  

City leaders also voted to approve Mayor Ron Littlefield’s proposal for the city to enter into a $75,000 contract with the Ochs Center to perform a comprehensive gang assessment.

The community 
Leaders said that, in addition to legislative and law enforcement action, community members must step up and help address the problem. 

Hewitt said that the public would be “appalled and surprised” by the number of calls to police because they can’t control their own children, Hewitt said.

“Something has got to change,” he said. “Eventually, somebody has got to flip that mental switch. The parents at home, the people in the community have to say, ‘If I see Ms. So and So’s kid acting up, I’m not going to be afraid of these little punks, I’m actually going to call you out.’”

It takes education and making recreational activities available for young people, Davis said.

It requires a comprehensive approach that involves faith-based organizations and community members, Cox said.

There are some efforts already underway.

Leaders with the Bethlehem Center, a nonprofit community center in Alton Park founded by the United Methodist Church, are working to keep youths occupied with constructive, recreational and educational activities.

Local residents Alice Turner, Chanté Newcomb and Heather Wilson are working on a program called Rapsodic that helps young people get access to musical instruments, in hopes of helping children focus on music instead of crime.

Turner said that in addition to more recreational activities, such as music, for area youths, she thinks there needs to be a focus on education and rehabilitation. 

"I think that there needs to be a literacy program in prison and other detention programs," she said. "I think halfway houses need to be able to require that someone get their GED before they're released.  Prison is just lock-up, unfortunately; it's not a program to help the people who can be reformed get on their feet."

She also said that parents need to take responsibility. 

“Parents are hugely at fault,” she said. “Children who don’t know they can do other things—just don’t.”

The sheriff said he wants a “sensible and unbiased approach” in helping local youths become productive citizens.

He has initiated a law enforcement approach aimed at reaching at-risk, inner-city youth in second through fourth grades, aiming to get to children before they become involved in crime.

“I am committed to a no-nonsense, no lip service and no political rhetoric approach to peace and security for our officers and for all our citizens,” Hammond said in a statement. The good citizens of Hamilton County must take a strong stand against the gang problem—now.”

And a local nonprofit called Chattanooga Endeavors helps connect convicted felons find work after they get out of the penitentiary.  

“It’s a problem that needs to be addressed by the whole community, and I think we are moving in that direction now,” Cox said.