Homicides were down in Wilmington in 2018. Here's why.

Jan. 19--WILMINGTON -- After two years of spiking violence, 2018 brought a sharp drop in homicides within Wilmington. And police attribute that dip to cracking down on gangs, an improved economy, and maybe even Hurricane Florence.

Last year, police opened nine homicide investigations, down from 25 investigations in 2017 and 17 in 2016.

Those nine included one killing -- the fatal Memorial Day shooting of Fuquan Wright, 23 -- that New Hanover County District Attorney Ben David determined was justified, as Wright had attacked his shooter at the man's home. 2017's total also included three similar justifiable homicide cases.

Capt. Thomas Tilmon of the Wilmington Police Department attributed much of the drop to the department's busts last year of validated gang members.

"I would say that we're very familiar with the gang sets and the related members that are dangerous," he said. "There have been several very high-profile cases in the last year."

The victims

On March 12, Edward Alan Pearson, 58, became the first victim of 2018 when he was beaten to death trying to separate a fighting man and woman at a convenience store on Wrightsville Avenue. Exactly one month later and just across the street, Yolanda Bentley, 56, was stabbed to death at Hanover Landing Apartments.

19-year-old Tomar Bloodworth was shot May 8 on Chestnut Street, and died after his father drove him to the hospital.

The attack that ended in Wright's killing happened May 28 at a Martin Street home. Sources have told the StarNews that that shooting kicked of a spree of violence around town, including a non-fatal stabbing and the fatal shooting of Darrell Atkinson, 47, on North 11th Street on June 5. Atkinson had appeared to mock Wright on Facebook earlier that spring.

Reuben Irvin, 31, was shot to death on Harnett StreetJuly 30 in a nighttime attack that saw neighbors pouring out of their homes to assist and call police.

On Aug. 16, Quashon McRae, 25, was shot to death while riding his bike outside Houston Moore public housing complex. Another man would die at different public housing site four months later: Byron Funderburke, 31, shot to death Dec. 14.

The year's youngest victim was a 2-year-old boy, shot to death Aug. 7 on Andrews Reach Loop. Police say his mother, Alissa Frey, 34, killed the toddler then turned the gun on herself.

No arrests have been made in three of the murders: Atkinson, Irvin and Funderburke. But Tilmon said work is still happening on all of the investigations.

"Oftentimes, we may know who the suspect is, and sometimes we could be waiting on evidence to come back from the labs," he said. "To have just a stone cold who-done-it where we don't know what happened is extremely rare."

Gang crackdown

2018 was the first full year of a local permanent injunction against the Folk Nation 720 Gangster Disciples, allowing city and county law enforcement to arrest high-ranking gang members if they associate with each other.

Tilmon said locally, the major gangs are Folk Nation, allied with the Crips, and People Nation, allied with the Bloods. At least two of last year's homicide victims -- Irvin and McRae -- were validated gang members (in their case, the Bloods).

But Tilmon declined to say which of 2018's homicides, if any, are gang-related.

"I don't want to unnecessarily contaminate the potential juror pool," he said.

Among the major gang-related arrests this year was a June 14 cocaine bust in which three of eight people arrested were validated gang members, two gang members arrested this summer in connection with separate shootings, and the nine Bloods and Folk Nation members arrested after stepped up patrols, following a wave of gun violence in November.

Economy and the hurricane

Tilmon said, while cautioning that he's not a statistician, that locals having better financial security could also be a factor in the drop. As of November, the city's unemployment rate was at 3.6 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, down from 4.1 percent a year before.

Ten of the city's 25 homicides in 2017 were domestic violence-related, a type of crime that Tilmon said also declines as household economies improve.

"The biggest stressor that typically causes domestic disputes that can escalate to violence is finances," he said.

Between mid-August and December, Wilmington did not have any murders, something he conceded could stem from the one positive effect of Hurricane Florence striking in September: community togetherness. Homicide detectives with the department tell him that community pride is one of the top factors that makes their job easier, not far behind helpful witnesses and access to surveillance cameras.

"It was neighbors helping neighbors," Tilmon said. "You really got to see what I thought was the way I wish Wilmington was all the time."

With investigators still neck-deep in last year's open homicide investigations, Tilmon said he hopes the trend continues.

"I would think the ultimate goal of any police department is to be bored," he said.

"I hope and pray they stay that way."

Reporter Cammie Bellamy can be reached at Cammie.Bellamy@StarNewsOnline.com.

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