CHARLESTON, W.Va. — There have been seven murders in Charleston throughout 2015 with arrests made in all seven cases, according to the Charleston Police Department.
There were eight homicides in total, one of which was a “justifiable homicide” in a self-defense case, according to Chief of Detectives Lt. Steve Cooper.
Police Chief Brent Webster said the department has “an incredible record of solving these cases,” crediting the work from detectives, patrol officers and community members who are willing to speak out.
“There’s a belief ‘don’t talk to the police’ and in every one of these cases, people are talking to the police. They are willing to come forward, give statements because I think most people don’t want problems in their neighborhood,” he said.
On average, as many as 6 to 8 murders take place in Charleston each year, Webster said. In 2014, seven murder cases also resulted in arrests.
“The common theme is really always drugs,” he noted.
The latest homicide was on Saturday when a man died and a teenage girl was hurt inside a Mathews Avenue home on the city’s West Side — making it the third shooting death in Charleston in the past week.
The last murder of 2015 happened Dec. 31 when J’shaad Jones, 18, of Charleston, was killed near Central Avenue. He was found behind the Kickback Lounge and later died at CAMC General. Marlon Labron Rush, 36, was arrested the same day and charged with first degree murder. Jones was wanted on a malicious wounding charge for a Dec. 13 shooting on Bream Street.
Another shooting death took place just days before on 7th Avenue where Bryan Rogers, 29, of Ripley, was shot to death over $3,000 worth of heroin. Police arrested Tremaine Jackson, 23, of Charleston a few days after the incident. He was charged with first degree murder and domestic battery.
Webster said getting the bad guys off the streets is always their goal for protecting the community.
“We’re not going to prevent everything and we’re not going to prevent a lot quite frankly, but you do want to be responsive and you want to move quickly to solve these and try to get some understanding,” he said.
Being able to provide the victim’s families’ with answers is something Webster said they strive to do. He said it helps that they don’t see too many random killing acts.
“We have had random murders before and those are troubling, but usually, in these cases, we’re able to at least explain what happened,” he said.
Webster said some of the department’s goals for the new year include more community engagement, to prevent more violent crime due to drugs and to introduce new body cameras police will wear on duty.