Eighteen violent criminals attend GPAC call-in
By Joey Pitchford
Published in News on September 28, 2016 9:57 AM
There will come a time for many people when they must make a choice that will determine the course of their lives and the lives of their loved ones.
For the 18 violent criminals who attended Tuesday night's Goldsboro Partners Against Crime call-in, that time is now.
The meeting served as a final notification that, should the offenders continue their criminal activity, they would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and designated specifically for federal prison.
On the other hand, it was also an opportunity for the offenders to gain access to resources which can help them get their lives back together. Goldsboro Police Department Capt. Theresa Chiero said that these resources include anything from help with school to job training and simply filling out applications.
The two messages presented a stark decision; accept help and work hard to change, or ignore the warnings and inevitably face either long-term prison sentences or death on the streets.
The stern message was delivered by a law enforcement panel made up of representatives from the Goldsboro Police Department, Mount Olive Police Department, the district attorney's office, probation and parole officers, Wayne County Crime Stoppers and a panel member representing the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives, and the FBI.
The message was simple; we are here to make sure that violent criminals like you do not harm the citizens of Goldsboro, and we are ready and willing to lock you up if you do so. Each panel member explained their part in the criminal justice process, and urged the offenders to remove themselves from the cycle of drugs and violence that they had fallen into.
Members of the community also stepped forward to speak to the offenders. Jose Ochoa, who spoke at the last GPAC meeting in June, returned to talk about the nearly 20 years he spent in prison. A former gang member, Ochoa said that he never understood that there was a better way to live until he had already done his time.
He pleaded with the offenders to consider what is at stake for them.
"You're playing with your own lives," he said. "I don't want my kid to be a victim of murder. I don't want my kid to murder nobody."
The group then watched a video comparing the choices of four men who had been notified in the same manner that they were. One of the men committed another offense and was sent to federal prison, while one was killed after hanging around his old friends and two went on to change their ways and become productive members of society. The presentation asked the offenders a question: You can end up in a cell, a coffin or in your community. Which one will you choose?
After the panel left, two more community members stepped up to speak. Allison Pridgen worked as the hearing officer for Wayne County Public Schools. She said that problems like the one the offenders face could have started as early as elementary school.
Ms. Pridgen said that violent crime among Goldsboro's youth has affected her greatly.
"I've dealt with every single one of them," she said. "Every single one."
The last community member to speak was Craig Doubt Jr., whose son Craig Doubt III was killed eight years ago in an act of violence. Fighting back tears, Doubt spoke about the endless pain the loss of his son has caused him, and implored the offenders not to make their parents bury them.
"The sound of hell is locking your son's casket. It's an allen wrench, and you turn it and you know you'll never see him again," he said, his voice rising to a shout. "I have to live just so you all know he was here."
Doubt walked out of the room after his speech. The gathered audience soon heard his anguished yell reverberate up the staircase as he left.