Cedar Rapids police addresses skyrocketing gun violence

The message from Cedar Rapids Police Chief Wayne Jerman on the spate of gun violence in Cedar Rapids this year is clear - it needs to cease.

Incidents of shots fired in Cedar Rapids have increased dramatically in the first four months of the year.

At a news conference on Tuesday, Jerman said the department has responded to 28 incidents in 2014. In 2013, there were only 11 such incidents.

Of the 28 incidents this year, three have resulted in arrests, police said. The latest instance of gun violence occurred Tuesday morning when a volley of shots were fired into a Cedar Rapids man's home.

'The uptick is something that greatly concerns me,” Jerman said at Tuesday's conference. 'The message is quite simple and I'll be blunt: The violence needs to stop.”

The shooting incidents have occurred throughout the city and have resulted in numerous deaths, including Ingrid Livingston; her mother, Linda Huber; LuElla Koopman; Quintrell Perkins and Sierrah Simmons. Livingston and Huber were killed by Livingston's estranged husband. Koopman was killed by her estranged husband, as well. Both men took their own lives after killing their wives.

Jerman said Tuesday that many of the shootings and shots fired incidents appear to be related and have possibly been committed by the same group of people.

'We believe that many, if not all, of these shootings are related,” Jerman said. 'But, we won't know for sure until these cases are solved and those responsible are identified, apprehended and brought to justice.”

The group of suspects is a dozen or more people who are 'in dispute” with one another, Jerman said.

One of the latest incidents occurred Tuesday morning. Earl Gilmore, 33, of 220 18th St. NE, said he woke up around 4:30 a.m. to the sound of gunfire. Gilmore said when the shots rang out, he called down to his brother, who was sleeping downstairs. After confirming his brother was safe, Gilmore called the police.

'It was hit about eight to nine times,” Gilmore said of his home.

Based on evidence collected at the scene - specifically, two different caliber casings - Gilmore said he believes two people shot into the home he has rented for nearly a year-and-a-half. Furthermore, Gilmore said he thinks he knows why his house was shot.

'Every shooting that goes on, there's something behind it,” he said.

Gilmore thinks the shooting was retaliation for the death of Clifton Sparks, who was died on Feb. 4 near Gilmore's home in the 1800 block of B Avenue. Sparks' death is being treated as a homicide and no arrests have been made. Gilmore said the 'talk on the street” is that he was involved in Sparks' death and he has received threats, including death threats on Facebook. Gilmore said he had nothing to do with Sparks' death.

'Cliff was my dude,” he said. 'He was cool with me. I had no problems with him. That's why I don't understand why people said I had something to do with that.”

With his lease up soon, Gilmore said he plans to find somewhere else to live.

'I don't feel safe in this house,” he said. 'I don't want to stay here. I don't think I want to stay here tonight.”

During Tuesday's news conference, Jerman outlined the various strategies that police department has employed to tackle to rise in gun violence. Those tactics include an increase in uniformed, foot and directed patrols, as well as an increase in plain clothes patrols. Officers have been brought in on overtime and deployed to areas that have seen an increase in violence and investigators working on less serious crimes have been shifted to open gun violence cases.

What the police department truly needs, Jerman said, is information from the public. He said his officers respond to shootings and are met with uncooperative witnesses and victims. Those officers then leave the scene with little information to go on.

'That, in turn, really hinders the investigation of the incident,” he said. 'Facts are needed. Information is needed ... Without accurate, factual information, we can't go forward with filing the charge.”

Jerman said the police department is closing in on some cases, but at a dead end in other cases. He said he couldn't provide any details about the open homicide investigation.

Tuesday's news conference was attended by numerous members of the law enforcement community, as well as city and neighborhood leaders. Linn County Attorney Jerry Vander Sanden and US attorney Kevin Tachau both voiced their support for the police department's efforts to curb gun violence.

'Our office intends to vigorously prosecute those who commit crimes with weapons and seek the toughest sentences and penalties possible,” Vander Sanden said. 'This is unacceptable and we will not rest until those responsible are held and brought to justice.”