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Alleged New Year's Day shooter, Flint pastors plan news conference on violence
By Kristin Longley | klongley1@mlive.com
January 03, 2013 at 12:38 PM, updated January 03, 2013 at 12:39 PM
FLINT, MI -- A Flint pastor is planning a 1 p.m. news conference with a Flint teen who allegedly shot and killed another teen on New Year's Day in hopes of drawing attention to how the community can help address violence in the city.
Pastor Robert McCathern of Joy Tabernacle Church said the teen came to him Wednesday and told him he accidentally shot the victim and wants to turn himself in to police.
Flint police had not called Tuesday's shooting a homicide.
McCathern said the teen wants to cooperate with the investigation and will turn himself over to police following the news conference.
He described the teen as a "good kid who is tremendously remorseful."
"The first murder was not really a murder but an accident," McCathern said. "This man is compelled to tell other young men not to be violent."
McCathern said he and other pastors want to show how the faith community can intervene when it comes to violence in Flint.
"Part of what we’re doing is demonstrating how the church will get involved this year and help," he said.
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Source: http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2013/01/flint_pastors_to_hold_press_co.html |
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Thu Jan 03, 2013 2:15 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Teen says he accidentally shot, killed his friend
Posted: Jan 03, 2013 4:07 PM EST Updated: Jan 03, 2013 7:02 PM EST
By Lori Dougovito - bio | email
FLINT (WJRT) -
(01/03/13) - A Flint teenager has turned himself in, saying he accidentally shot and killed his best friend on New Year's Day.
The victim's mother identified him as 15-year-old Gianni Herron. He was found shot in the basement of a home in the 1700 block of North Chevrolet, on the city's northwest side.
We are not identifying the alleged shooter, because he is 16 and not charged.
He confessed during a news conference, called by Flint pastors, Thursday afternoon.
His family members and police were there too.
"We had his name and the detectives had been looking for him," says Police Chief Alvern Lock.
Lock and detectives watched from the back of the room inside the Joy Tabernacle Church. It's just a few blocks away from where the shooting happened.
"If this brings about that change then OK," Lock says.
He says he was contacted by a pastor and told the teen wanted to go public before turning himself in.
"If it gets the community involved with us then I'm for it," Lock says.
"If you do something there are consequences, but if you do something right the consequences are that much brighter," says the teen's attorney Glenn Cotton.
Pastor Robert McCathern says the press conference was called to shed light on violence and how the church will stay involved in 2013.
"To help young people to be able to bring resolution either accidents or perpetrations of violence," says McCathern.
The teen's mother, Sabrina Bartee, says her son and Herron were playing with guns in the basement of a relative's home.
"Playing with guns when they shouldn't of," says Bartee.
"It happened in my house," says the teen's aunt Cassandra Weaver. "We are all are sorry for what happened."
Family members say they do not know how the guns made it into the home.
"If I told you how simple it was to for him to get this gun or the guns that were involved in this things you'd be shocked," says Cotton.
Cotton says the gun and ammunition was purchased for less than $40.
The teen himself, through tears, said it was an accident. "I just want to say that everybody should turn in their guns," he says.
"He understands it was a stupid choice, but the thing that tugs at his heart is his best friend," says Cotton.
Pastors spoke with Herron's mother after the press conference and then she spoke to the media.
"If it's an accident, it's an accident," says his mother Angela McClendon. "But it's been days and I have not even been able to identify if this is my child."
Flint Police later confirmed Herron is the victim.
The alleged shooter will be held at the county's juvenile facility. Police will meet with prosecutors and prosecutors will determine if charges will be issued. |
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Thu Jan 03, 2013 8:39 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Rrev. McCathern has allegedly been fighting violence for over 3 years. Grants and other donations seem to have done little to quell the violence amonst those in his own church. One thing for sure is the good pastor has no troulble holding press conferences at every opportunity.
Family of one victim in Sunday's triple homicide speak out against violence
By Laura Angus | Flint Journal
on November 17, 2009 at 4:12 PM, updated November 18, 2009 at 8:40 AM
Ryan Garza | Flint JournalPastor R. Sherman McCathern holds Shurelle Bridges (center), 19, as he has difficulty breathing while talking to a reporter about his mother, Jalila Munria Carter who was shot and killed with two others early Sunday morning in Flint, as his grandmother Carolyn Carter, 52, of Flint, and grandfather William Caldwell (right), 56 comfort him at Joy Tabernacle Church in Flint
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FLINT, Michigan — Jalila T. M. Carter, 35, who was among three shot to death as they sat in a van around 4:30 a.m. Sunday, is remembered by her seven children for doing everything she could to help others.
She is also remembered by cousins and parents for her dedication to those children.
“She was a strong woman,” said her son Shurelle Bridges Jr., 19, as he fought back tears. “She was an independent woman.”
Her best friend, Quintina Smith, 35, was also killed in the shooting, said her family. Police have yet to officially release the names of Sunday’s victims, and the third person killed in the van has yet to be identified.
Carter’s younger four children, Montana Jr., 15, Enique, 11, Jalila, 8, and Laron, 5, will also bury their father, Montana T. Gooch, 36, on Wednesday, who died before her shooting, said Rev. Sherman McCathern of the Joy Tabernacle Church. The families are members of the church, said McCathern.
“Words cannot express the pain I’m in,” said Carter’s mother, Carolyn Carter, 52, of Flint, who called the slayings “so senseless.”
Jalila Carter’s children said they don’t want their mother’s death to be in vain, said Shurelle’s twin brother, Shuvelle Bridges.
“I think it’s just silly, you can take someone’s life and don’t think of the consequences,” said Shuvelle.
The family is working to get their anti-violence message out, and Shurelle is dancing in an event honoring the lives of those lost to violence from 7-9 p.m. Saturday at the Urban League of Flint, 5005 Cloverlawn Drive.
Other relatives of Jalila Carter said she raised her children to respect adults and “do whatever needs to be done,” said her father William B. Caldwell, Jr., 57.
“She didn’t take no stuff from nobody,” said her son, Dericko Carter, 17.
Carter’s cousins, Lolita and Shalina Allen, called her a warm and beautiful person who was dedicated to her family.
“That’s what she lived for, for them,” said Shalina Allen, 38.
Comments:
bruno t
In any city in the world there is a nightlife segment of the population. Some people choose to indulge in that lifestyle and others don't. That is that persons choice to do so. I choose not to. Unless I am commuting to or from work, or some sort of emergency, there is no reason for me to be on the streets a 4am. At the very least, this sort of lifestyle gives law enforcement a reason the be suspicious about a persons motive for being out at that hour. I dare not say the worst of what could happen! I am not saying in any way that the the people who were killed were wrong for being out at that hour. That was their choice. But what I am saying is that this city is very dangerous just during the daylight hours. I mean I could get killed walking my doggie, if I were in the right place for the crime to occur, for the criminal, and the wrong time for me. Placing myself in any situation that would "up the stakes" on the possibility of me being hurt or killed is not something that is logic for me. Sure, no innocent individual deserved to be killed, no matter the time or place they were at. But the fact is, is that there are people out there that are sociopaths and they don't live buy the same rules as the rest of society. I'm not telling anyone what to do, I am just stating my opinion on this issue. My heart goes out to the victims families, and I hope i did not offend anyone with this post.
nwco74
The mother and her friends had been out to a club, which at that time of night means an illegal after hours establishment. The van was parked next to a vacant lot. Even if she wanted to relax and grieve after the death of her youngest four children's father, I think that being in someone's house at 4:30 a.m. would have been a better choice than being out in a parked van. Life is about choices. All of my choices have not been wonderful. I do thank God for keeping me and protecting me and my children. Let us all remember to think before we make choices. Flint and no other city will become better until all people take responsibility for their actions. This means that parents must take responsibility for themselves and their children. Parents must stop making excuses for their children - at home, in the streets, and in schools. It is amazing that so many people live without God and without any God fearing morals or values.
BrotherRobert
11/17/2009:Shayshay, first of all, my mom would not be sitting on the porch at that time! She's always in bed at that time like these people should have been! These people could have been just out partying at 4:30 in the morning with their kids still in bed. What kind of parent is that?? She has 7 kids at home and she's not home for whatever legal or illegal reason! I am not wrong in saying this. I just get sick of people doing DUMB stuff in places where they should not be!
She may have had a 3rd shift job and that will come out in the investigation but until then, all we can do is speculate. I am NEVER outside at 4:30 a.m. A lot more heinous crimes are committed in the wee hours than in broad daylight! If you do not have a third shift job, or have to go to school in the morning, do yourself a favor and STAY HOME! These crazy people are just waiting for you to show up!
Stulpnaegl
I always love it when people "speak out"
about whatever it is the media is hyping on any
particular day. It's as if just commenting on the
subject is not enough.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009, 7:00:22 PM
nojustice23
It is understandable that they want to show this woman is a good way but I know the streets of Flint on the northside and at 4:30 in the morning, you either doing drugs or buying drugs esp sitting in a van waiting for the person that you sent in the drug house to buy the drugs. This person still have the right to live her life and she still took care of her kids and her murder along with others are senseless and these drug dealers and drug houses need to be dealt with by the power of good decent citizens, we just can't count on the Police or the city government to get the drugs out of the neighborhood. More of the same is going keep happening unless we do something about it. I am tried of the talking, I want action. Action speaks louder than words. |
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Thu Jan 03, 2013 9:35 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Flint youths train to become 'peace coaches,' resolve to fight worsening violence
By Khalil AlHajal | kalhajal@mlive.com
on January 25, 2012 at 12:00 AM, updated January 25, 2012 at 1:38 PM
FLINT, Michigan — A group of youths met Tuesday to learn how to break up a fight without ending up in a brawl, how to defuse confrontation, how to cope with trauma — how to survive.
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Pastor Robert McCathern of Joy Tabernacle Church gathered 25 people age 18-to 28 in response to the rash of violence that’s killed eight people in Flint within less than a
month.
“Conflict resolution is a mandatory prerequisite for survival,” McCathern said.
He said the youths, most of them involved in an employment and training program McCathern leads, went to him asking for something to do about the violence.
“Every day they come back with another tragedy, another death, another funeral they have to go to,” McCathern said. “They came to me and said ‘We’ve got to do something.’”
Over seven weeks, the pastor plans to put the group through conflict resolution and other kinds of training to turn them into "peace coaches" that can have an effect on the people and neighborhoods around them.
Quintin Botley is hoping to absorb the training and then spread it elsewhere.
“This program captures you, but that person is going to have to change inside,” said Botley, 22.
Botley doesn’t have an innocent past.
He said he spent time in jail for crimes that started with a juvenile breaking and entering conviction.
“Whatever your past is, you can do what’s in your heart,” said Botley, 22. “Back in the day, I was an instigator. Now, I’ve grown in maturity and if I see something, if I can’t break it up, I can at least walk away... He (McCathern) helped me on a maturity level and he opened up my mind to things I would never have thought about. We just need more options, instead of just the street.”
McCathern asked the youths how many of them have had brothers or sisters killed in the city.
Three people stood.
He asked how many have lost cousins to violence.
Eight people stood.
McCathern asked how many among the group have lost schoolmates or friends in Flint homicides.
The entire group rose from their seats.
They pledged to return every Tuesday for the next six weeks to talk about ways to prevent violence in the city, and to explore their struggles with what McCathern calls “urban stress syndrome,” caused by abnormal exposure to death.
“We are dealing with level-of-war fatalities,” McCathern said. “We do nothing in urban communities to deal with the stress and trauma.”
Tyrone Johnson felt the effect of the recent rash of slayings on Jan. 17, when a longtime schoolmate, Sam Garner, 28, was found by relatives shot to death at a home on Winona Street near Welch Boulevard.
“He was a good guy,” said Johnson, 28. “He was there for his kids.
“It just seems like it’s going to get worse... We should be able to die from health reasons, not by being shot.”
Some in the group thought eight homicides in a month was normal in any city.
"It's like that everywhere," one voice in the group said.
"No," responded McCathern. "It's not like that everywhere.”
"Nobody can penetrate this city but you," McCathern told the group. "Nobody can change this city but you."
Aaron Dunigan, 25, plans to attend the next six meetings. He said he hopes the program will help awaken many who have come to view the constant violence as normal.
"We think it's normal because that's all we know," he said.
"We can't keep depending on other people to come in and help us," said Dunigan, a Mott Community College student. "It takes us saying 'I'm not going do this. I'm not going to hang out with these people if they're not looking for change, too. I'm tired of losing my people... I definitely think we can start something from here."
McCathern hopes the group will grow each week.
The meetings will be continue over the next six Tuesdays, 2 p.m. at Joy Tabernacle Church, 2505 North Chevrolet Avenue. |
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Thu Jan 03, 2013 9:48 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Other churches, such as Foss Avenue, are working with youth. They do not exploit the anguish arising from violence among their parishioners.
The young man may have wanted to turn himself in, but I am convinced it was McCathern who saw a publicity moment. Once again we have Mccathern holding a sobbing youth after an incidence of violence. Channel 25 showed the pastor holding the boy and the grieving parents.
watch as he will once again look for contributions. |
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Fri Jan 04, 2013 4:58 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Teen turns himself saying he shot his bestfriend
by Josh Marshall
Posted: 01.03.2013 at 6:45 PM
Josh Marshall
Josh Marshall is a reporter for NBC25. He studied Broadcast Journalism at West Virginia University.
FLINT -- "I want to say I am sorry, I'm sorry for shooting him, I did shoot him, it was an accident, we were playing around all night,” said the teenager.
A tearful confession is helping police piece together the New Year’s Day shooting of a flint teenager.
Pastor Robert McCathern says the alleged shooter is a long standing member of joy tabernacle and has no criminal history.
"I baptized him some years ago and that is why he came to me. And suggested himself that he turn himself in,” said McCathern.
After speaking in front of media and family the teenager was taken into custody by the flint police department.
My son was not a killer he loved everybody and i hate this had to happen and i am sorry for what happened to your son,” said Sabrina Bartee.
A few blocks from joy tabernacle church where police witnessed the confession. The family of slain 15 year old gianni herron is still seeking answers.
"It has been days and i have not even been able to identify if this is my child." Said Angela McClendon.
McClendon says the alleged shooter was friends with her son had plans to be with him the night of his death.
Because of incidents in the city the Flint Police Department has not commented about any official charges against the alleged shooter. |
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Fri Jan 04, 2013 5:04 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Posted: Jan 03, 2013 10:41 PM EST Updated: Jan 03, 2013 10:47 PM EST
By Andrew Keller, Multimedia Journalist - bio | email
FLINT, MI (WNEM) -
A teen admitted Thursday to killing his best friend on New Year's Day, telling police, pastors and community members it was an accident.
You may remember that this tragedy began early New Year's Day at a Flint home. Initial reports were an intruder shot 15-year-old Gianni Herron. But Thursday, the 16-year-old suspect made a public apology and explained his claim of what really happened.
"I'm sorry for shooting him, I didn't try to, it was an accident," said the teen suspect between gasps Thursday afternoon.
He confessed to being the one who shot and killed his 15-year-old best friend while playing around with guns. He claims it was an accident and came clean before turning himself in Thursday. Behind him were prominent Flint pastors, including his own pastor, Robert McCathern.
"He wanted to come clean in terms of his involvement and what happened, he was very remorseful," McCathern said.
The teen's confession was first heard by the man who knew him all too well - the man who baptized him.
"He didn't want to live with the situation so he contacted me, he and the family, and we talked about what was best," McCathern said.
The pastor said the teen told him he wanted to do the right thing. He then called his close friend, Pastor Jeff Hawkins, to sit in.
"We knew that we had to contact authorities. So I immediately called [Flint police Chief Alvern Lock], told chief what had happened," said Hawkins.
But before the suspect turned himself in, he made a plea to others in the city.
"Everybody should turn in their guns," the suspect said.
And on Thursday, both Hawkins and McCathern said seeing this young man step up is a small victory for this community.
"It's just one of those surreal days and it gives me hope that we're ready to move forward in the city," said McCathern.
"And when you try to make a difference and lead to positive change, you have to deal with whatever comes your way," said Hawkins.
Hawkins, who lost two of his sons to Flint violence, said this young man turning himself in for his wrongdoing is a small step in the right direction.
As far as the suspect's future, investigators are still trying to piece together some things in this case. For one, police found three guns in the basement where the two teens were, but they aren't releasing how the teens got the weapons. And as far as criminal charges, it's too early to say, but Genesee County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney John Potbury tells TV5 his office will review the evidence and reports and decide from there.
Copyright 2013 WNEM (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.
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Fri Jan 04, 2013 5:09 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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The torch has passed: Flint's Joy Tabernacle Church moves into Community Presbyterian Church building
Published: Friday, October 30, 2009, 12:04 PM
By Jennifer Kildee | Flint Journal
| The Flint JournalRichard McClelland passes a symbolic torch to Pastor R. Sherman McCathern as a way of representing the handing over of the Civic Park Community Presbyterian Church building to the Joy Tabernacle Church last Sunday afternoon.
If walls could talk, the historic church at the corner of Chevrolet Avenue and Dayton Street would have plenty to say.
For 85 years it was the home of the venerable Community Presbyterian Church. Today, it’s home to Joy Tabernacle Church by a twist of fate that the Tabernacle’s pastor says is nothing short of a miracle.
In its heyday, Community Presbyterian Church boasted a 1,600-member strong congregation. But church membership continued to age over the decades as young families moved to the suburbs, the local economy continued its slide and membership withered. Finally, it was decided that the church would close its doors in December 2008.
The search for a buyer began.
“We’ve been in the process of consolidating several churches in the Flint area,” said Bob Emrich, president of the board of trustees of the Presbytery of Lake Huron, the governing body that oversees churches in its district, which includes Flint, Saginaw and Bay City.
“The Presbyterian faith is a dwindling faith,” Emrich said. “It’s because none of our kids go to church because they’ve moved away. The same thing is happening with all the major denominations.”
Emrich said the church had sold about 10 churches in Flint prior to the “crash” of the economy last year.
“After that it got really tough,” he said. “Deal after deal started falling through because nobody could get financing.”
Emrich said the Community Presbyterian property was a special one.
“Our concern was to make sure this wonderful asset was somehow put into somebody’s hands who could use it,” he said. “At one point we were asking for more than $100,000 for it. We decided what really matters is to make this place available to someone else.”
About that time, the Rev. Sherman McCathern of Joy Tabernacle Church was looking for a permanent home for his flock — its very first home since its inception in 2001. But to fully grasp the Joy Tabernacle journey, the clock must be turned back eight years.
In November 2001, on the heels of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack that shook Americans to the core, McCathern met with a small group of people at the YWCA in downtown Flint and formed a new nondenominational church called Joy Tabernacle, Fellowship of Christian Believers Church.
McCathern, who is originally from Pontiac, had come to the area during a vacation to visit friends and family, and had been invited to Flint to lead a Bible study class.
“I was working in Wisconsin, and had just come home for a visit,” he said. “But I came to Flint, started a Bible class and it all grew from there.”
One of the members of the Bible study group said she had found a place for the group to continue to meet — the YWCA in downtown Flint.
During its first year downtown, the new church gained about 60 members who attended services every Thursday evening and Sunday morning.
Baptisms took place in the swimming pool. “We baptized about 25 or 30 people in the pool in our first year,” McCathern recalled.
Fast forward about one year to November 2002 when the Rev. Leon Riley and co-Pastor Sharon Riley of the New Testament Full Gospel Church came calling to request that Joy Tabernacle merge with their church, which was located at 715 Stockton St. in Flint.
Just two months later, tragedy struck when that 122-year-old church burned to the ground. Many members of the recently merged church scattered, but a few stayed and were invited to hold services at the First Church of the Brethren. A bond quickly formed between the African-American Joy Tabernacle congregation and the white congregation of First Church of the Brethren, as the two shared the church for the next two years and sometimes held joint services and co-sponsored community outreach efforts.
Then in June 2005, Joy Tabernacle moved again to a space at 731 E. Hamilton Ave., an annex property of Morning Star Baptist Church. Again, the Joy Tabernacle congregation held joint services with another congregation, this time its new friends at Morning Star Baptist Church. A next-door neighbor to the annex was New Paths Inc., a community corrections program that serves as an alternative for jail for adult males of nonviolent nature and offense. McCathern says he believes it was all part of God’s plan to help him minister to the men of New Paths.
Fast forward again to 2009, when McCathern learned that Community Presbyterian Church property was for sale.
“I had gone to look at a church for sale on Delaware Street on the east side,” he said. “But it was all torn up, so the real estate agent told me we should look at another church on Chevrolet and Dayton.”
McCathern said he felt an undeniably powerful connection to the building when he pulled into the parking lot.
“I knew that this was the place that God was going to do the greatest work in my life,” he said. “I felt connected so richly to spirit of church. To me, we’re one church.”
But the Joy Tabernacle congregation — made up of many former wayward souls without jobs — had no money to speak of.
“In fact, we were in deficit at the bank that week,” McCathern said with a laugh. “We had lost some strong members after we began ministering to the New Paths men. Some people told us ‘We’re leaving you. This is not the right time,’” he recalls. “But I knew it was God’s will for us.”
The church offered everything it had — about $15,000 — with the promise of more to come to purchase the building, but McCathern said he knew Community Presbyterian was mulling another offer.
“I told God that if this other church would serve the community better, then give it to them,” McCathern said. “But if we can, let us have it. We’ll serve dinners every Christmas,” he recalls praying.
The real estate agent called to say he had news about the offer, then abruptly told McCathern he’d have to call right back.
“He called back and said ‘Yes, they accepted the money you offered and said that’s all they want. They don’t want any more money. There is no mortgage.’” The agent had called back to double-check before delivering the good news to McCathern.
McCathern said he was speechless by what he heard.
“I’m still in awe at what God has done for us,” he said. “I really am.”
In a moving ceremony on Oct. 11, the church officially, and symbolically, changed hands.
There was a lot of tear-wiping and muffled sniffles as Richard McClellan of Community Presbyterian Church handed an ornate, lit candle to the Rev. McCathern as those who had packed into the church looked on. About 25 members of Community Presbyterian, some of them in their 80s and 90s, attended the ceremony. A few of them spoke.
“There’s a spirit that is in this church,” Community Presbyterian member Janice L. Mars told those gathered. “I was baptized here 50 years ago. It makes me feel so good to know that this church will continue to be loved as much as we loved it.”
Flint Mayor Dayne Walling attended the ceremony, offering a proclamation that declared Oct. 11, 2009, as Joy Tabernacle Church Day.
McCathern said he and the Joy Tabernacle family plans to reach out to its Civic Park neighbors as well as continue to minister to struggling members who have “fallen through the cracks” of society.
“We’ve found families who for three generations have been unchurched,” he said. “Their grandmother never went to church, their mother never went, they never went. We’ve become an urban ministry. They are unfamiliar with church life and need lots of understanding. They don’t understand the dress code, manners or behaviors,” McCathern said.
“We lost a lot of traditional church members when we started this ministry. It threw us into an 85 percent unemployment congregation. But now we’re seeing more of an influx of working families. God is balancing it back out now. We’re the fastest-growing church in Flint.”
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Fri Jan 04, 2013 8:44 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Killing of Kaleb Maclin in Flint leaves mother mourning for both her sons, victim and suspect
By Bryn Mickle | bmickle1@mlive.com
on June 11, 2008 at 9:33 PM, updated June 11, 2008 at 10:01 PM
FLINT, Michigan — Leatha Maclin can barely bring herself to take even a sip of grape juice.
One son dead. The other in a detention center.
Sobbing in a church office this week, Maclin struggled to even acknowledge that her 16-year-old son could have wielded the knife that killed her other son.
"I can't live without both," said Maclin. "I've lost both my sons."
Maclin's 16-year-old son, Damarcus, is charged with open murder in the weekend slaying of his 21-year-old brother, Kaleb.
The pair were apparently arguing over an iPod and a cellphone Saturday night in the family's Lapeer Road apartment when Damarcus allegedly stabbed Kaleb in the chest with a kitchen knife.
Damarcus' pastor said the teen told him he didn't mean to do it and only wanted to scare his brother with the knife.
"He loved his brother," said Rev. R. Sherman McCathern, who met with Damarcus at the Regional Detention Center on Tuesday. "He has a lot of remorse."
The brothers had only been home a short time after work Saturday night when the argument began, said McCathern.
Their mother, who is partially deaf, was home at the time but didn't realize what happened until she turned around and saw Kaleb bleeding. She has had little to eat or drink since.
Damarcus ran from the apartment but later surrendered to police after calling McCathern shortly after the stabbing to pick him up.
"He kept asking to go to the hospital to see his brother," said McCathern.
A longtime friend of Kaleb Maclin's said the brothers sometimes had a rocky relationship.
"But at the end of the day, they respected each other," said Delmar Harrison, 23, of Flint. "I'm still in disbelief."
Harrison and others who knew Kaleb marveled at his sense of community service and pride in a job well done.
He mowed grass for people at no charge, picked up the city and talked of one day becoming mayor.
His aunt, Sheila Maclin, said Kaleb did something that his mother and her siblings had not done.
"He was the first in the family to graduate high school on time," said Sheila Maclin.
One of Kaleb's teachers at Northern High School said he came into the ninth-grade with a bad attitude, but worked hard to turn his demeanor and his life around.
He was determined to make a bright future for himself. He even dressed the part, wearing a tie to school every day, said teacher Shirley Barnett.
"He was our special student," Barnett said. "He had a way about himself and a good heart."
His family took pride six years ago when Kaleb was chosen to help carry the Olympic torch in Michigan for the 2002 Winter Olympics. He was nominated for the duty through the Bridges of the Future program, family members said.
"He was proud to represent Michigan," said Sheila Maclin. "He wanted to be in Olympics."
Kaleb also looked out for his brother, family members said.
Using money from his job at Sears, Kaleb had recently bought Damarcus a new pair of dress pants to interview at a nearby Taco Bell. He got the job.
Damarcus, a sophomore at Central High School, had problems in school but was turning things around, McCathern said,
The boys' mother said she just wants Damarcus to be sent home.
"He didn't mean it," said Leatha Maclin.
For now, Damarcus is being held in the Regional Detention Center and is charged as an adult with his brother's slaying.
Genesee County Prosecutor David S. Leyton has called the case tragic but said this week that the "grievous" facts led to the decision to charge Damarcus as an adult.
Leyton on Wednesday declined further comment.
But Sheila Maclin believes Damarcus would be better served with his mother.
"He doesn't need a bar over his face. He needs help," said Sheila Maclin.
McCathern hopes the case will lead to a renewed emphasis on stopping youth violence and plans to discuss the matter with Flint Mayor Don Williamson.
"The church just can't continue to bury children. We have to teach them how to live," said McCathern. "Enough is enough."
Funeral services for Maclin are set for noon Saturday at Joy Tabernacle, 731 E. Hamilton Ave., Flint. A viewing will be Friday from 2-6 p.m. at Lawrence E. Moon Funeral Home. |
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Fri Jan 04, 2013 9:09 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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In a MyLife profile McCathern says he was born in 1954, was in Pontiac 2002 to 2004 and Racine WI since 2005.
There is no mention of his training or life prior to the Journal article stating he was in Wisconcin in 2001. There is no mention of his role as interim Pastor of Gethsemane Missionary Baptist.
I observe how many press conferences he holds when violence occurs and yet Civic Park and Dayton Avenue continues to be one of the most violent in Flint.
Check the Register of Deeds and you can see he is actively seeking donations of property around the Church. Yet the Flint web site does not reflect all of his property. |
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Fri Jan 04, 2013 9:40 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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lowmoralground
Flint, Michigan Teen Shukur Brown Turns Himself In for New Year’s Shooting Death of Best Friend Gianni Herron
January 3, 2013 by Brett Wilkins in Crime & Punishment with 0 Comments
ABC 12 – WJRT – Flint, MI
A Michigan teen who shot and killed his best friend in the early morning hours of January 1 has turned himself in to police.
Shukur Brown, 16, of Flint claims the deadly shooting was an accident. Speaking at a Thursday press conference arranged by a local pastor, a distraught Brown wept as he explained to family members, the media and Flint police what happened just after 2 a.m. on Tuesday.
“He was my best friend,” Brown said of 15-year-old Gianni Herron as he wiped tears from his face. “I just want to say I’m sorry. I didn’t try to [kill Herron], it was an accident.”
“Everybody should turn in their guns,” Brown urged, pleading for others to help put an end to violence in the crumbling rust belt city of 101,000.
Attorney Glenn Cotton told reporters that the boys had obtained a gun and ammunition (but did not say how) and were playing with the weapon in the basement of a home on North Chevrolet Avenue when the weapon accidentally discharged, killing Herron.
“They weren’t treating them like guns (should be treated),” Cotton said. “It was easy for these guns to get had at 2 o’clock in the morning, easier than it was to get new shoes at Foot Locker.”
Pastor Robert J. McCathern of Joy Tabernacle Church, who arranged the press conference, said he, Brown, Cotton and other pastors wanted to raise awareness in the community in the hope that other young men might give up their guns.
“It’s important to the city of Flint to say this young man has asked all young men to put down their guns,” McCathern said as Brown stood behind him.
Flint police stood in the back of the room until the press conference was over before escorting Brown out of the room. Flint Police Chief Alvern Lock said that the teen would be taken to a police station to make a statement, possibly in the presence of his attorney, before possibly being held in a juvenile detention center.
Angela McClendon, Herron’s mother, told Michigan Live that she wasn’t upset with Brown.
“I’m not angry with the boy, it was an accident,” she said before addressing a plea to the community.
“I don’t think they should be playing with guns,” McClendon said. “The violence, it just needs to stop.”
Herron’s is the latest in a string of accidental shooting deaths that have been reported in recent weeks.
On December 15, 3-year-old Oklahoma toddler Ryder Rozier shot himself in the head with a gun he found in the home of his uncle, a state policeman.
Three days later, South Dakota teen Dalton Williams was shot and killed by his friend Braiden McCahren during horseplay.
On Christmas Day, 2-year-old Sincere Tymere Smith shot himself dead with his father’s gun in Conway, South Carolina.
And last Sunday, Justin Brueger accidentally shot and killed his 8-year-old son Easton Brueger while cleaning his rifle.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed! |
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Fri Jan 04, 2013 9:42 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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It is a travesty that these emotional press conferences by Mccathern with sobbing teens only makes Flint a racist target.
Nigger Crime In Flint Like Any Other niggerfuxated City!
www.chimpout.com/forum/showthread.php?86300-Nigger-Crime-In-Flint-Like-Any-...
FLINT, Michigan — It was a simple, but impossible, wish. ... Sherman McCathern of the Joy Tabernacle Church, which family members attend.
Flint, Michigan Teen Shukur Brown Turns Himself In for New ...
morallowground.com/2013/01/03/flint-michigan-teen-shukur-brown-turns-himsel...
10 hours ago ... Shukur Brown, a 16-year-old Flint, Michigan teen, turned himself in for the New ... Pastor Robert J. McCathern of Joy Tabernacle Church, who ... |
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Fri Jan 04, 2013 9:47 am |
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Dave Starr
F L I N T O I D
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| Has anyone looked at the titles of the various forums on that web site!!?!?!!??? |
_________________
I used to care, but I take a pill for that now.
Pushing buttons sure can be fun.
When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way.
Paddle faster, I hear banjos. |
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Fri Jan 04, 2013 10:36 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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quote:
Dave Starr schreef:
Has anyone looked at the titles of the various forums on that web site!!?!?!!???
AFRAID TO DAVE! VERY VERY AFRAID! |
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Fri Jan 04, 2013 1:49 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Andrew Heller: Whether you agree or not, urban violence affects us all
By Andrew Heller | Flint Journal
on January 04, 2013 at 11:00 AM, updated January 04, 2013 at 11:59 AM
Shukur Brown, 16, hugs his mother and father, Terry Jerome Brown, left, and Sabrina Bartee, right, during a press conference Thursday, January 3. Shukur Brown and his family have come forward in a press conference to discuss the need to put weapons down and that gun violence needs to cease Thursday, January 3. Brown has turned himself in to Flint police in connection to what he says was an accidental shooting of Gianni Herron, 15, on New Year's Day.Lauren Justice | MLive.com
A press conference? Teenagers in trouble with the law are now holding press conferences before they turn themselves in?
Now I've heard it all.
If Thursday's events don't convince you that violence and bloodshed in Flint have reached unimaginable levels – and that you should care - then nothing will.
This was a weird one even by Flint standards. We've seen gang-bangers, serial killers and drug wars. But we've never seen anything like 16-year-old Shukur Brown's sob-filled press conference - arranged by a Flint pastor - before turning himself in to police for questioning in the New Year's Day shooting death of Brown's best friend, a shooting that Brown said was an accident.
Some probably viewed the press conference and Brown's plea for Flint to lay down its arms as noble, maybe even potentially influential.
But from a law and order perspective, this was a badly timed circus not an emotional flashpoint, and for the police chief to let it happen, standing by like the cops watching the Blues Brothers finish a concert before arresting them, is darned near unbelievable.
Sure, the kid gave his version of what he says happened. But police can't know for sure that's the truth. Their job is to investigate and arrest if warranted. The rest is up to the prosecutor's office and the courts.
Or it was before this, anyway. Now, well, let's just say that allowing any suspect to make his case in the theater of public opinion before questioning him sets a lousy precedent. If this is the direction we're going, we might want to change how cops recite the Miranda rights before arresting people: "You have the right to remain silent, the right to legal representation and the right to assemble the media in time for the 6 o'clock broadcast before we take you into custody."
Here's my worry: That this bit of theater is just as likely to harden viewpoints of Flint and its problems as it is to inspire toughs with guns to lay them down or turn them in, and Flint certainly doesn't need that.
As it is, indifference to the violence that plagues Michigan's biggest cities is just as big a problem as the violence itself. And if you don't agree, tell me, where is the outrage over the swaths of people killed in 2012 in Flint (66 homicides, which tied a record) and Detroit (386, giving the city the highest homicide rate in nearly two decades)?
There is none. There may be alarm. Some passing concern. But there isn't widespread outrage. If there were, you'd see something being done. You'd see people demanding action, and not just when emotions are running high but over and over again until the problem is fixed. You'd see government at all levels prioritizing cities. You'd see attempts to do something about the scourge of handguns. But you see little of that in any sustained form and haven't the past 30 years, and that's proof unto itself.
The truth is a large percentage of Michigan has simply written off cities like Flint, Detroit, Saginaw and Pontiac. Whether it's bigotry, fatigue or something else, far too many people view the incessant carnage in our core cities and think, "Ah well, it's only thugs killing thugs."
It's not that, of course. Children are killed. Old people are killed. Futures are killed. Families, friends and neighborhoods are shattered, and along with them entire cities. And when our cities crumble, so will our state.
Violence, murder and mayhem, after all, are ripples in a pond.
We're all affected whether we admit it or not.
Write to Andrew Heller at andrewhellercolumn@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. |
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Fri Jan 04, 2013 1:58 pm |
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