5 die in roving crime spree in Georgia
By BILL TORPY, CAMERON MCWHIRTER
Cox News Service
Monday, October 03, 2005

TIFTON, Ga. - Five people were shot or bludgeoned to death with
baseball bats and six more were injured in a series of home invasions
in South Georgia.

The attacks occurred early Friday morning within a four-hour period at
four separate mobile home parks. The crimes follow a pattern increasing
in this area of South Georgia where assailants - mostly
African-American - have targeted Hispanic immigrant workers for
robbery because they are known to carry cash and are often afraid to
report the crimes. The number of attacks and the viciousness have been
increasing, police say.

Even though the attacks have been going on for months, few if any
arrests have yet been made.

"This is a horrendous crime; they just crashed into the residences and
began hitting and shooting," said Vernon Keenan, director of the
Georgia Bureau of Investigation. "There's been a series of home
invasions of Hispanics. Much of it goes unreported to the police."

Keenan said Friday's attacks seem to have been carried out by the same
two men. Authorities were still trying to untangle details about the
attacks and reconcile descriptions given to them by survivors.

GBI spokesman John Bankhead said the first attack occurred at Skeeter's
Trailer Park within the Tifton city limits. Two men were killed there
and three were badly injured, including one who may not survive,
Bankhead said.

The second attack occurred at a trailer park in unincorporated Tift
County. One man was killed and another critically injured, he said.

The third attack took place in a trailer park in Tifton, where two men
were killed and another was injured. Bankhead said that case went
unreported until daylight when a passer-by saw victims lying in the
front yard.

The fourth attack took place in Colquitt County, about 25 miles to the
southwest. A man was shot in the head and his wife was beaten.

"We don't suspect [the victims were involved with] drugs; we're just
thinking it was a robbery for money," said Capt. Hal Suber of the
Colquitt Sheriff's Department. "We've had several black-on-Hispanic
robberies in Colquitt and Cook and Tift counties."

Suber said Colquitt County has had five such robbery/home invasions in
the past month.

"We have a large population of Hispanics and they are being targeted,"
Suber said. "They deal mainly in cash and often have several hundred
dollars on them."

The motive of Friday's attacks appeared similar to those in the past,
he said, except "nobody had gotten seriously hurt until last night."

Kimberly Martinez, who lives near Skeeter's Trailer Park where three
men were killed, said robberies are routine, and complains police
haven't been of much assistance.

"They know there's a crime problem here [but] they aren't doing
anything about it," she said. "People are fearing for their lives
here."

Several residents at the run-down trailer park agreed with her but
would not give their names.

Luz Marti, a Tifton resident who heads a Hispanic organization here,
said the attacks have expanded to middle-class neighborhoods.

Earlier this month, members of a robbing crew pushed their way into the
home of a Hispanic father of three who lives near her.

"They wanted his money, he didn't have enough so they hit him in the
head" with a gun, Marti said. "That concerns me because they are not
just operating in the trailer parks. They are looking at all Hispanics.
They are lumping us all in together."

Dana Hughes, who teaches English to Hispanic children in Tifton, said
word of the killings became known Friday morning and spread through the
school. Rumors were rampant, she said.

"Nobody knows what happened, but they are scared," she said.

Bill Butler, chief of police in Adel, about 25 miles due south of
Tifton, said his city has seen five home invasions since Aug 26.

All the crimes fit the same scenario - black assailants and Hispanic
victims. But he said some of the crimes have had up to six robbers.

"I have a feeling they are not the same people" committing all the
robberies, Butler said. "It's not hard in a small community to know
who's cashing checks."

Butler said area police departments are trying to hire more Hispanic
officers and build up trust in the communities where the attacks are
occurring.

He believes there are many more robberies and attacks that go
unreported because victims lack trust in the authorities.

"The victims are afraid to come to the police, partly because they are
here illegally, and, often, in their country, the police are not their
friends," he said.

The immigrants make tempting targets.

"They know the victims are vulnerable; they are illegal immigrants"
Butler said. "They save their money to wire it home. That's why they
are in America. These people keep several hundred dollars with them. If
you rob three or four in one night, you can make several hundred
dollars."


Bill Torpy and Cameron McWhirter write for The Atlanta
Journal-Constituton. E-mails: