Residents Seek Solution to Crime Problem

Dr. Donald Cadle was making dinner in his home on the Pithlachascotee River Aug. 19 when he heard what sounded like glass breaking. His wife Cindy thought it sounded like a loud “pop.”

When the couple went into the living room, they found a hole in the plaster of the wall. When Cindy let one of the couple’s dogs out of the River Road home later, she noticed a hole in one of the door’s glass pane. There were also holes in the screen and protective grate.

“From the size and roundness, it was evident that a bullet had penetrated through our doors and lodged into the wall,” Cadle wrote in email to the New Port Richey City Council Aug. 22.
   
From the alignment of the holes, Cadle, a dentist whose office is on Main Street, feels the bullet was fired from high-powered gun on the opposite side of the river. There were no boats on the Cotee that night.

“We feel fortunate that no one was injured or killed and that there was not more property damage than there was, the bullet just missing two pieces of antique furniture,” he wrote. “However, we feel less safe than we ever have since owning the house for more than 25 years.”

Cadle contacted New Port Richey police, who confirmed the bullet went through the door and lodged in the wall. But he didn’t stop there.

On Sept. 4, he went to the city council with his wife and about a dozen other residents with concerns about crimes in their neighborhood.

They also offered ideas to help curb crime. These included forming a neighborhood watch and requesting increased police patrol and communication. The rallying cry was that residents wanted to “take back” the city. 

City residents have been buzzing about crime for a while and pushing city leaders to do something to curb it.

Most of the people at the Sept. 4 meeting live on River Road or nearby. River Road has a mix of expensive, riverfront homes, more modest properties and apartments.

“I know we keep hearing that New Port Richey is getting safer and better with police protection, but from our perspective it is declining,” said Cindy Cadle, reading her husband’s email to the council Wednesday night.  “I do not know what to suggest, but certainly something needs to improve."  

Neighbors spoke of transient folks knocking in residential doors and asking for money. They spoke of break-ins and late night parties in city parks. One mentioned her floating dock went missing.

Carol Kinnard, a commercial Realtor and neighbor of Cadle, stressed the need for better communication from police about crime in the neighborhood. She told the council that there had been a home invasion there last week. She would like to see improved access to crime reports in the area.

She expressed that businesses in the city are thinking about an “exit strategy.”

“They want to get out because of the crime,” she said.

Craig Carmichael, a resident and businessman who is passionate about sharing ideas to improve New Port Richey, went through a list of problem areas.

The Gene Sarazen Pavilion on the Main Street bridge is a hangout for vagrants, he pointed out. There are people who party at Sims Park after dark. He’s found used condoms and needles along Grand Boulevard, where the Cotee River Walk is located.

“I’m ready to go, too,” he said “But I like where I live. I’d like to stay.”

City Council members didn’t offer a concrete game plan for dealing with the crime problem, but they expressed sympathy for the residents and stressed that they want to find solutions.

The council passed a nuisance abatement ordinance months ago that gives officials a tool to crack down on landlords whose properties are frequently used in crimes and hired a special magistrate to enforce it Sept. 4.

Councilwoman Judy DeBella Thomas, who has been the victim of home break-ins, said the crime issue in New Port Richey made her “angry.” 

“There are elements in this city that I don’t want to see here,” she said.

Councilman Jeff Starkey, who campaigned on public safety issues in his bid for a council seat, recalled how there are now prostitutes at the gas station he used to buy candy from as a kid. He expressed that the council needs to "mobilize and do something concrete" about crime. 

There are times he has been grilling, and "I'm nervous to leave my kids on the playground for 30 seconds," he said.