Residents seek end to violence

WALTERBORO — Colleton County residents, a people shaken by seven homicides in six months, are searching for ways to reduce violent crimes.

"I've lived in very urban areas, but I never felt like I had to have an alarm system in my home until I moved to Colleton County," Janette Moyer, a nine-year resident, said during a community rally Thursday. "But I'm not going to let the criminals run me out of my house."

Moyer, the county's United Way CEO, lives in a neighborhood where drug deals and drive-bys occur. Moyer lives two blocks from the home of Adela "Nell" Pinckney, who was killed by a shotgun blast that went into her bedroom while she slept with her 11-year-old son.

About 50 residents, elected officials, members of the police force and clergy met at the Saints Center Ministries in Walterboro to discuss possible solutions to the recent increase in violent crimes at the "Call for Peace" rally, organized by the Rev. Leon Maxwell.

Maxwell, a Trinity AME Church pastor in Round-O, said he wants community members to be aware they can talk to law enforcement anonymously without concerns of retaliation, and by doing so increase community involvement to help solve crimes. The community also plans to implement a Neighborhood Watch program.

"When one hurts, we all feel the pain, so we were driven to do this today," Maxwell said.

Law enforcement attributes much of the crime to a recent increase in gang activity, as well as to younger generations being unsupervised and getting into trouble. "I just think people are so fast to retaliate and instead of communicating to work their problems out, they retaliate with guns," Walterboro Police Chief Otis Rhodes said.

Rhodes said he wishes people would be more aware and more involved within their communities so everyone could have pride in them. Moyer said that despite the crime, she thinks the county is a great place to live and to raise a family.

"It's time to act instead of react," Moyer said of paying attention to the community and reporting crimes. "We have now come to a point where we can make a lot of wonderful, significant changes in our community, but in order to do that we have to break the silence."