TAKING AIM AT GUNS, DRUGS

More Violence as City Federal Officials Work Toward Stiffer Sentences for
Criminals

Hours after a gunman shot four rivals Thursday in what police say was an
act of retaliation in an ongoing drug feud, city and federal officials
vowed to help Hartford by cracking down on those who traffic in guns and drugs.

It was the second time this week that gunfire shattered the predawn quiet
of Hartford's North End. A few hours after the shootings, Mayor Eddie A.
Perez and city and federal officials gathered two blocks away and announced
Project Safe Neighborhoods at a previously scheduled press conference.

The anti-crime initiative will lead to tougher jail sentences for those who
have a long record of drug-related convictions, officials said.

While overall crime in the North End, like the rest of the city, has
dropped so far this year, the rate for homicides, shootings and other
gun-related offenses has skyrocketed.

Early Thursday morning, police responded to the shooting at the corner of
Albany Avenue and Bedford Street. Police found four victims nursing various
wounds, none of them fatal. Meanwhile, an officer in the area spotted the
suspected shooter running down Albany Avenue after trying to ditch a
handgun under a parked car, police said.

Officer Gus Rodriguez, parked in a cruiser by an apartment building that
had been damaged in a fire Wednesday afternoon, heard the sound of gunfire
about 2:30 a.m. and drove quickly to the shooting scene a block away,
police said.

Rodriguez spotted 22-year-old Kevin Leslie jogging down the street and then
stopping to place an object under a car, police said. As Leslie then
continued walking down the street, Rodriguez took him into custody and
retrieved the gun, police said.

The four shooting victims - identified as Jason Reddick, 22, of Hartford;
Carlos Cameron, 19, of Bloomfield; Rashawn Adams, 22, of Hartford; and
Leonard Green, 21, of Hartford - were taken to city hospitals for
treatment. Reddick, who was shot in the stomach, and Cameron, who was shot
in the chest, were believed to have the most serious injuries, police said.

Leslie was charged with carrying a pistol without a permit and criminal
possession of a firearm. He was being held Thursday night in lieu of $1
million bail.

Leslie, who has a long record of drug arrests and convictions, had not been
charged in connection with the shootings by Thursday night, while police
tested the confiscated handgun to see if it matched the bullets that struck
the victims, police said.

The shooting happened two nights after another city man was shot in the
head and later taken to the hospital after he drove himself home, police
said. That victim was also expected to recover, but police said the recent
shootings appear to be part of an escalating feud over the local drug trade
that has drug dealers growing more brazen as the weather warms up.

So far this year, there have been 12 homicides, which puts the homicide
rate well ahead of where it was last year at this time, when officials grew
so alarmed at the level of gun violence that they called in state police
and other law enforcement agencies to help patrol the streets.

This year, Hartford police do not plan to seek similar assistance, said
Chief Bruce P. Marquis, who nonetheless praised Perez and other officials
for spearheading the new multi-agency initiative against guns and drugs.

Marquis said he plans to break up the turf wars with concentrated raids and
sweeps aimed at removing drug dealers from problem corners. But many city
officers say the department is now so understaffed that it will be hard to
keep a handle on the problem on their own - a situation not lost on the
criminals.

"Everyone in the neighborhoods knows the constraints we're operating
under," said one officer who declined to be identified. "The criminals
aren't stupid. They know they can take advantage of us right now when we're
short staffed."

Marquis said he hopes the new initiative will lead to tougher jail terms
for people like Leslie, who has a long record of offenses related to the
drug trade.

John A. Danaher, the U.S. Attorney for Connecticut, said federal
prosecutors and law enforcement agents will work closely with local police
on the crackdown.

Besides the get-tough measures, the new initiative will also seek funding
for programs designed to address the root causes of crime, including
efforts to help people find jobs after getting out of prison, Perez said.

The announcements, made from the front steps of Liberty Christian Center at
the corner of Albany Avenue and Vine Street, drew words of praise and
criticism from residents who stopped to listen.

"I've been living here for a long time and it just keeps getting worse,"
said Myrtha Davis, who moved to the North End 21 years ago. "I think this
will be good if they can follow through, but that's a big if."