SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Oct. 14, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — Salt Lake City police provided some insight into their newly focused Ballpark neighborhood crime-fighting efforts Thursday, reporting a half-dozen arrests in less than two hours Wednesday afternoon under the recently unveiled “hot spots” approach to strategic law enforcement.
“As part of the Salt Lake City Police Department’s ongoing Revised Crime Control Plan, officers with the SLCPD’s Liberty Patrol Squad made six arrests while dedicating time proactively policing in their division’s ‘focus area,'” police said in a press release.
“The SLCPD continues to use the principles of ‘Stratified Policing’ to improve policing services, reduce crime and minimize the harm caused by offenders and maintain our positive relationship with our community.”
The plan utilizes a well-established and researched model of hot-spot or “focus area” policing, which increases police visibility at and around addresses where violent crime is concentrated, based on crime analysis, the release says.
“Focus-area policing can allow patrol officers to significantly impact violent crime and prioritize street-level deterrence,” the release states.
The patrol squad made multiple stops Wednesday near 1500 S. Major St., police said. The arrests were for a variety of reasons, ranging from active warrants to new criminal charges.
“These focus-area patrols let our officers meet with neighbors, hear their concerns and quickly develop solutions,” Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown said. “The work of our officers is an investment into our community.”
Below is a brief description of the cases provided by SLCPD:
Incident 1
This investigation started at 3:14 p.m., when officers attempted to speak to several people trespassing near 1700 S. Main St.
During the investigation, a 46-year-old man, later identified as Harry Sekona, took off from police on a bike. Sekona then jumped off his bike and continued to run from police.
Officers safely took Sekona into custody after a short foot chase. Officers booked Sekona into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of failure to stop at command of law enforcement, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Sekona had active warrants for distribution of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, speeding, and theft by receiving stolen property.
Incident 2
This investigation started at 3:19 p.m., when an officer stopped 22-year-old Austin Bottoms for walking in the middle of the road near Kensington Avenue and Major Street.
The officer booked Bottoms into the Salt Lake County Jail after confirming he had an active warrant for trespassing.
Incident 3
This investigation started at 3:59 p.m., when officers stopped a group of people trespassing in an alley located near 100 E. Cleveland Ave. During the investigation, officers spoke with 33-year-old Riley Brown and 28-year-old Levy Ruth.
Officers booked Brown into the Salt Lake County Jail after confirming he had active warrants for possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a controlled substance, failure to disclose identity, and intoxication.
Officers also booked Ruth into jail after confirming he had active warrants for possession or use of a controlled substance, and use or possession of drug paraphernalia.
Incident 4
This investigation started at 4:06 p.m. when officers stopped 34-year-old Vanessa Walker for illegally blocking the sidewalk near Wood Avenue and Major Street.
Officers booked Walker into the Salt Lake County Jail after confirming Walker had active warrants for retail theft, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of a controlled substance.
Incident 5
This investigation started at 4:29 p.m. when an officer saw two men fighting near 1300 S. Edison St. Through the investigation, officers learned a witness saw 24-year-old Shawn Shimkus steal items from a car.
Officers booked Shimkus into the Salt Lake County Jail on one count of theft and active warrants for criminal trespass, possession of drug paraphernalia, driving under the influence, criminal mischief, intoxication, possession of a controlled substance, and other traffic offenses.
Alleged motel shooter, accomplice arrested
Salt Lake City police officers made another, higher-profile arrest Wednesday involving violent crime in the Ballpark neighborhood.
Joseph Marquez, 60, the suspected triggerman in a Tuesday morning shooting at the Wasatch Inn, 1416 S. State St., was taken into custody for investigation of attempted murder, obstruction of justice, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a restricted person.
Police say Marquez is accused of shooting and critically wounding a man during an argument over a cigarette.
An alleged 71-year-old accomplice also has been arrested.
Chief Brown expressed gratitude Wednesday for the quick arrests and those worked behind the scenes to make them happen.
“An extraordinary amount of work goes into keeping our city safe,” Brown said. “Much of that work is out of public view. It includes our crime analysts, our victim advocates, our social workers and our detectives.
“I cannot stress enough, our patrol officers and specialty units, like our bike squads, are in our community every day working to proactively reduce crime. I am proud of their work and commitment to public safety. We would not be at this point in this investigation had it not been for the unrelenting work of our police officers and detectives who dropped everything to chase down the suspect in this case.”
Amy J. Hawkins, who chairs the Ballpark District Commission, says she’s thankful for the increased policing efforts but believes more will be required to turn crime around in the neighborhood.
Hawkins been tracking violent crime in the community and surrounding area for years, compiling detailed maps and media reports that chronicle 21 homicides in the area dating back to 2018.
Sixteen of those homicides have taken place within the past three years, with six recorded to date in 2022. A seventh homicide report is pending in the aftermath of Tuesday’s Wasatch Inn shooting that left the victim fighting for his life.
When asked about her reaction to the newly targeted policing efforts, the longtime community activist and assistant professor in biochemistry at the University of Utah’s School of Medicine noted a meeting she attended earlier in the day with Salt Lake City police officers and seven business owners concerned about safety.
Hawkins said the department’s No. 1 piece of advice for reducing Ballpark neighborhood crime was to support the police department’s efforts in hiring, recruitment and retention, “which goes along with what Chief Brown says about being down officers and being stretched thin.”
“I’d say this is exactly why public safety needs to be more than just good policing and needs to be explicitly incorporated into urban planning, specifically the Ballpark Station Area Plan,” she said.
Hawkins wrote about the plan, which soon will be considered by the Salt Lake City Council, in a guest op-ed piece that appeared Thursday in the Salt Lake Tribune. Rather than pass the ordinance in its current form, she’s urging the City Council to address specific remedies for fostering neighborhood safety, including “criterion for evaluating all building and planning proposals within the Ballpark neighborhood.”
“Let’s let good urban design and land-use choices work for our already stretched thin police department,” Hawkins told Gephardt Daily.
“I’m confident that the men and women of the Salt Lake Police Department know that the Ballpark neighborhood appreciates their hard work, particularly during this time of mandatory overtime shifts,” she said.
All three SLCPD patrol divisions have an identified focus area. In the three identified focus areas referenced below, officers worked with the department’s crime analysts to identify crime patterns and to increase police visibility at or near those locations to deter violent crimes.
● The Pioneer Patrol Division focus area border is from 200 North to South Temple and 700 West to 1000 West.
● The Central Patrol Division focus area border is from 200 South to 400 South and 200 West to South State Street.
● The Liberty Patrol Division focus area border is from 1300 South to 1500 South and 200 West to South State Street.
