Crimes That Occur - Close to Home

A strange thing about Pittsburgh, is that although to some, it may appear to be a BIG place, but if you are from Pittsburgh (born and raised), it is a very small world and oftentimes growing up here, you are often affected tremendously by many of the crimes that you see taking place on the news here.

A local crime that I thought was very interesting involved Lamont Lewis, a 46 African American man that robbed a 77 year old Caucasian woman. Someone that I personally know committed a senseless crime that did not have to occur to an innocent person, a 77 year old woman trying to get home after a trip on a Greyhound Bus. When the news came on, my entire family was shocked – to say the least…

http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/14496320/detail.html
Be sure to check out the surveillance video in the link.

This crime was strange to me because, I personally know the young man that committed the crime.

Another crime that was close to home for me involved, Shelton Flowers, a cousin of mine that was murdered in the Waterfront Loews Theater. There was a lot of national news regarding this incident because the murder occurred after my cousin Shelton watched a movie by the famous rapper, 50 Cents. You may review the links for more information.

http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/5293303/detail.html

http://www.ezilon.com/information/article_13573.shtml

This was a very painful incident because this was his mother’s eldest son and the family agonized a great deal following the loss. At the time I was taking a journalism class at the University of Pittsburgh that was discussing all current events (including this one) and I felt it necessary to take a couple weeks off to deal with the situation and avoid the discussion and comments that were made in the class regarding the incident, since it was so close to home for me.

I truly believe that the things displayed by the media have a very strong affect on how individuals react and that after viewing and hearing about so many types of senseless crimes – so many times, some people actually believe that this type of behavior is acceptable.

Please see the photo in the below link and article titled, “Reality Mimics Media Violence.” I had to look closely at the photo so see if the guy lying on the floor was my cousin, but was relieved that it was a clip from the film, “Get Rich Quick or Die Trying.”

http://www.despardes.com/Entertainment/chanachoor/nov05/2.html

When crimes that appear in the news that involve people that you know, it also affects you a bit more since you now have to accept the fact that your friend, family member or loved one has committed or has been involved in a very serious ‘news-breaking’ crime. The outcome of the Waterfront Loews Theater crime can be reviewed by reviewing the below link.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06291/730996-100.stm

After I read the article, it became another painful memory of the sadness that occurred following the incident.

Although a person gets LIFE in jail for committing a crime, you can never get a LIFE back after a person has been killed…

I personally believe that many crimes are the result of joblessness, drug abuse, and deep-rooted behavioral health issues.