CAHOKIA, Ill. (KMOX) – A first of its kind operation aimed to bring law and order to what could be the region’s most dangerous neighborhood.
Parkfield Terrace, near Cahokia, was called “literally, a cesspool of thugs” by police last month, when a running gun battle left a man dead, dumped at an emergency room, and a home full of children riddled with bullet holes.
Dozens of law enforcers swept every home, looking for wanted criminals.
“A lot of people scattered, retreated into their homes,” State’s Attorney Brendan Kelly said of the scene when officers rolled in.
“Get rid of ‘em,” Sam Tate Jr. said, watching neighbor after neighbor get hauled away. The 40-year resident can point to each drug house, and point out which neighbors have been shot and how many times.
Youth, he said, are the troublemakers.
“You see the kids who are going to school, and then you see, I’ll call them little thugs,” just walking down the street.”
While criminals cause the trouble, Kelly said that the operation was organized with peaceful residents in mind.
“People that are here in the community, living in the neighborhood, outside, playing with their kids,” he said. “They can know that we’re here to help them also, not just to kick doors down and make arrests.”
Just an hour in, eight people had been arrested.
All were given the same court date, in early July at a local middle school, and some even saw a judge immediately.
The operation also had resources mobilized to deal with junked cars, high grass, stray animals and other “quality of life” issues.
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