| Hunting Hills Homeowners Association |
| HUNTING HILLS HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION SPECIAL SAFETY MEETING Tuesday, May 12, 2009 |
HUNTING HILLS SAFETY MEETING
MAY 12, 2009
The following are not official Minutes but a summary of what I thought was most important. The meeting
was held @ HHCC to discuss recent criminal activity in the neighborhood. The HH Homeowners
Association President, Brian Carroll, introduced speakers from the Roanoke County Police & FBI. He
then turned the meeting over to Lt Chuck Mason of the Roanoke County Detective Division.
Lt Mason gave an overview of events regarding the case of an attempted kidnapping. On March 26th a
resident in the HH Hunt Camp Road area reported a suspicious black Lincoln w/ 2 men in it. This car & 2
men had been there for hours 2 different days & were not thought to be HH residents. A police officer
came by to check on this & since nothing illegal was happening, the officer sent the men on their way.
On April 6th, there was an attempted home entry at a home in the Cotton Hill Trail area. The woman
homeowner opened her front door slightly to a neatly dressed young black man who said he was taking
a survey for the Red Cross. This puzzled the woman & she mentioned her husband had association w/
the Red Cross & at that moment another man stepped up & tried to force entry into her home. She
slammed the door & screamed. Fortunately a neighbor witnessed these 2 men running away from her
house to meet up with a car & driver & the neighbor was able to provide police w/ vital information. The
police pulled over the car. These suspects were the same people asked to leave the Hunt Camp Road
area in late March. The suspects were jailed but later released on bond. But what the police found in
their car … rope, duct tape, tire iron, laptop etc. cranked up the investigation as it now appeared to
have been conspiracy to commit kidnapping for ransom. For that reason, the FBI was asked to assist.
The evidence was brought before a federal grand jury & the suspects were again arrested ( including a
4th suspect tied to the incident) & being held w/o bond at this time. They believe they have everyone.
Responses to some questions asked at the meeting: Why is HH targeted? Neighborhoods perceived to
be affluent are always targeted for obvious reasons. What were the laptops being used for? The
laptops have been examined & no evidence that there was hacking into residents computers but rather
the suspects were searching public records for who might have financial resources. Are these
suspects part of organized crime? There is no evidence that these suspects have any larger national
association. In fact they are thought to be “amateurs”. Who are these suspects? Two are legal aliens,
here for 9 or 10 years, no previous records.
There is going to be a bond hearing for these suspects Thursday morning before Judge Turk. This
hearing is open to the public.
Another incident in HH was described. A resident of Flintlock Circle said he answered his doorbell at
night thinking it was his neighbor but he was met by a masked black man with a gun pointing at him. The
resident slammed the door instantly, locked it, dropped to the ground, and dialed 911 on his cell. A car
thought to have the suspect in it sped off. The police arrived very quickly but there have been no
arrests yet. This incident does not appear to have any connection with the attempted kidnapping
described above.
Other incidents of cars broken into along Black Bear & tools stolen from a storage building were
discussed.
The police have increased patrolling and encourage residents to report any suspicious vehicles or
behavior. He also suggested a neighborhood watch group, perhaps an email alert if something happens,
phone tree to keep neighbors informed, perhaps an update for residents on the Homeowner’s
Association website ( listed below). Recent crime statistics were presented & compared to this time last
year with the intent of actually calming some of the fear of the audience ( but unfortunately I didn’t
record the statistics).
Officer Orange our Community Policing Officer, then discussed home safety tips. I’ve scanned his flyer
below. His # is 777-8651.
Defense attorney, Richard Lawrence, then spoke & revealed what he has learned from defending similar
suspects over the years. Security systems are a good deterrent. Robbers love sliding glass doors. Use
a metal bar in the track. Barking dogs discourage robbers. If you are a woman at home a lot…get a
deadbolt not only for your outside door but for your bedroom door. Keep a cell phone on your
nightstand. If you hear something, do not leave your dead-bolted room….call 911. If you are really
worried & know how to use a firearm and an intruder is determined enough to break into dead bolted
bedroom…that criminal is serious…use your weapon. Who breaks into people’s homes? It is not usually
the maid, delivery person, or service person who has been in your home….but someone who overhears
them discussing your new plasma TV or that you have lots of jewelry ...something Mr. Lawrence referred
to as “bar talk”.
The HH Homeowners Association has a website with helpful information & a link to Police crime
reporting.
http://www.huntinghillshomeowner.org/index.html
Sally Lemmer
MAY 12, 2009
The following are not official Minutes but a summary of what I thought was most important. The meeting
was held @ HHCC to discuss recent criminal activity in the neighborhood. The HH Homeowners
Association President, Brian Carroll, introduced speakers from the Roanoke County Police & FBI. He
then turned the meeting over to Lt Chuck Mason of the Roanoke County Detective Division.
Lt Mason gave an overview of events regarding the case of an attempted kidnapping. On March 26th a
resident in the HH Hunt Camp Road area reported a suspicious black Lincoln w/ 2 men in it. This car & 2
men had been there for hours 2 different days & were not thought to be HH residents. A police officer
came by to check on this & since nothing illegal was happening, the officer sent the men on their way.
On April 6th, there was an attempted home entry at a home in the Cotton Hill Trail area. The woman
homeowner opened her front door slightly to a neatly dressed young black man who said he was taking
a survey for the Red Cross. This puzzled the woman & she mentioned her husband had association w/
the Red Cross & at that moment another man stepped up & tried to force entry into her home. She
slammed the door & screamed. Fortunately a neighbor witnessed these 2 men running away from her
house to meet up with a car & driver & the neighbor was able to provide police w/ vital information. The
police pulled over the car. These suspects were the same people asked to leave the Hunt Camp Road
area in late March. The suspects were jailed but later released on bond. But what the police found in
their car … rope, duct tape, tire iron, laptop etc. cranked up the investigation as it now appeared to
have been conspiracy to commit kidnapping for ransom. For that reason, the FBI was asked to assist.
The evidence was brought before a federal grand jury & the suspects were again arrested ( including a
4th suspect tied to the incident) & being held w/o bond at this time. They believe they have everyone.
Responses to some questions asked at the meeting: Why is HH targeted? Neighborhoods perceived to
be affluent are always targeted for obvious reasons. What were the laptops being used for? The
laptops have been examined & no evidence that there was hacking into residents computers but rather
the suspects were searching public records for who might have financial resources. Are these
suspects part of organized crime? There is no evidence that these suspects have any larger national
association. In fact they are thought to be “amateurs”. Who are these suspects? Two are legal aliens,
here for 9 or 10 years, no previous records.
There is going to be a bond hearing for these suspects Thursday morning before Judge Turk. This
hearing is open to the public.
Another incident in HH was described. A resident of Flintlock Circle said he answered his doorbell at
night thinking it was his neighbor but he was met by a masked black man with a gun pointing at him. The
resident slammed the door instantly, locked it, dropped to the ground, and dialed 911 on his cell. A car
thought to have the suspect in it sped off. The police arrived very quickly but there have been no
arrests yet. This incident does not appear to have any connection with the attempted kidnapping
described above.
Other incidents of cars broken into along Black Bear & tools stolen from a storage building were
discussed.
The police have increased patrolling and encourage residents to report any suspicious vehicles or
behavior. He also suggested a neighborhood watch group, perhaps an email alert if something happens,
phone tree to keep neighbors informed, perhaps an update for residents on the Homeowner’s
Association website ( listed below). Recent crime statistics were presented & compared to this time last
year with the intent of actually calming some of the fear of the audience ( but unfortunately I didn’t
record the statistics).
Officer Orange our Community Policing Officer, then discussed home safety tips. I’ve scanned his flyer
below. His # is 777-8651.
Defense attorney, Richard Lawrence, then spoke & revealed what he has learned from defending similar
suspects over the years. Security systems are a good deterrent. Robbers love sliding glass doors. Use
a metal bar in the track. Barking dogs discourage robbers. If you are a woman at home a lot…get a
deadbolt not only for your outside door but for your bedroom door. Keep a cell phone on your
nightstand. If you hear something, do not leave your dead-bolted room….call 911. If you are really
worried & know how to use a firearm and an intruder is determined enough to break into dead bolted
bedroom…that criminal is serious…use your weapon. Who breaks into people’s homes? It is not usually
the maid, delivery person, or service person who has been in your home….but someone who overhears
them discussing your new plasma TV or that you have lots of jewelry ...something Mr. Lawrence referred
to as “bar talk”.
The HH Homeowners Association has a website with helpful information & a link to Police crime
reporting.
http://www.huntinghillshomeowner.org/index.html
Sally Lemmer
