Marquez and Centerville form neighborhood watch groups

Tonya Foster explains the way unused cell phones can be helpful for the elderly. Leon County Sheriff Gerry Wakefieldand Chief Deputy Brent Walker led the meeting. Paul’s Photos Prompted by the recent attacks on elderly women in Centerville and Marquez, both towns have formed “Neighborhood Crime Watch” groups.

The two communities have held similar meetings where Leon County Sheriff Gerry Wakefield and Chief Deputy Brent Walker have given direction on organizing and maintaining a “Neighborhood Crime Watch” group.

According to Marquez Mayor Kim Smith, Sheriff Wakefield and Chief Deputy Walker visited a group of concerned citizens in October and advised them on the best way to get organized and to be effective. About 25 people attended the meeting and another is scheduled for November 16 at 6:30 p.m.

Smith appointed Tommy Koontz, a former Houston police officer, to coordinate the effort. The strategy is to have volunteers to patrol the Marquez area, at different times of the day, whatever is convenient for the volunteer.

The attacker seems to have a pattern of striking approximately every two weeks. With this in mind on Sunday morning, Smith and her husband, John, started their patrol at about 1:00 a.m. and drove around town and down Highway 7 until about 5:45 a.m. The object is to look for anything suspicious or out of the ordinary.

Smith said “We need anyone who is willing to help. Any hour or half hour of patrol is okay. Some can only work in the daytime but that works too. The more eyes the better. We want this to continue even after the rapist is captured. It will be helpful to prevent robberies and other crimes.”

Centerville’s first meeting was held at Home Sweet Home Healthcare on Monday evening, November 9, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. and was organized by James Ellison of Centerville. Wakefield and Walker again recommended ways to set up a successful watch group. Approximately 30 people attended the meeting and the next one is scheduled for November 23. At that time officers will be elected and the group will begin the patrol schedule.

Deputy Walker told the crowd, “We need you to be the eyes for the Sheriff’s Department. Go out in pairs and do not stop anyone.”

Tonya Foster, Domestic Violence Victims Advocate, addressed the group and explained that her office is collecting unused cell phones and giving them to elderly persons. This would provide a victim with a way to call for help if an assailant were to cut phone lines. Foster is asking anyone with an old or unused cell phone to bring them to the Sheriff’s office.

On November 2, Falls County Sheriff Ben Kirk announced that DNA gathered from the October 10th assault in Marlin matches that of the attacks in Leon, Lavaca and Bell Counties.

“Area residents are urged to be especially observant and take precautions to secure their homes. They should consider leaving additional lighting on at night and make certain that their homes, garages and vehicles are securely locked,” Kirk said.