Oak Street homeowners packing up, leaving town|[08/21/2008]
Published 12:00 am Thursday, August 21, 2008
Holman, Johns say shots fired into their home after news story is last straw
Empty boxes sat in a pile and suitcases were half-packed in Nate Holman and Nonie Johns’ home on Oak Street Wednesday afternoon.
It was the first time the couple returned to their home without a police escort since late Sunday evening, when they said someone shot at their home in retaliation over comments they made about neighborhood crime that appeared in The Vicksburg Post on Sunday.
“I thought I might grow old here. I love this house and I have a real attachment to Vicksburg, but I don’t want to be a part of this town anymore,” Holman said.
Holman and Johns have contacted a Realtor and said they will put the house they have lived in since 2006 up for sale. They have quit their jobs, and plan to move to Bay St. Louis over the weekend.
Although they’ve made an estimated 200 calls to police over the past year to report criminal activity in the neighborhood – and have pressed charges against their neighbors multiple times – the final draw came Sunday around 11 p.m. when Holman said he heard a single shot followed by someone running away from his house.
“When I lost all hope was not when that shot was fired, but when the city of Vicksburg abandoned me,” he said, noting his wife, a nurse, was at work at the time. “Right or wrong, I thought I was a dead man. I expected to die here.”
Holman called the police immediately, and thereafter North Ward Alderman Michael Mayfield, who represents the area. Although he said Vicksburg police and Mayfield have been helpful in the past, Holman said police were slow to respond and unsympathetic when they finally arrived. He admitted to hanging up the phone on Mayfield before he could provide any help.
“The police officer who showed up said he would escort me out of the house. I went to the back of the house to pack some things up and when I came back he was gone, and the door was left ajar,” Holman said.
Holman called the police back, and eventually did get a police escort to help him leave his home. He picked up his wife at her workplace and they stayed the night in a motel outside of town, and have since been staying with friends. Holman said Johns filed a complaint against the Vicksburg Police on Monday for their lack of concern Sunday evening, but Police Chief Tommy Moffett said he was unaware of any such complaint.
“I am disappointed we were not able to meet their expectations or satisfy them,” Moffett said. “We sent officers out, but we were not able to find where the house had been shot, and they were not able to point out any bullet holes. No one else reported hearing any shots at the time. It’s very difficult for us to go forward without any evidence of the incident.” Mayfield expressed regret at Holman and Johns’ decision to leave town, but reiterated he has tried to address their problems in the past and said he is still willing to help them in any way he can.
“It bothers me to know I have citizens in my district – or anywhere in this city – who feel like they have to leave the community for some peace of mind,” Mayfield said. “We’re doing our best to stamp out crime in that area, and I’ve done all I could every time people call me with concerns to remedy the situation.”
Moffett said police have stepped up patrolling efforts along Oak Street and another neighborhood along Speed Street, where complaints about crime have increased. On Monday, an officer sat in a patrol car on the block of Holman and Johns’ house checking IDs of people who passed by, but said his efforts were not due to any incident at the couple’s home.
Holman and Johns moved to Vicksburg in 2004, and rented a home on Security Street before discovering the home on Oak Street. The couple said they were warned about neighborhood crime, but were charmed with the old residential area, its bricked streets and the home providing a picturesque view of the Mississippi River.
“This instance shows Vicksburg exactly for what it is,” said Holman. “There are some wonderful people here, and it’s a beautiful place. But it’s a place that is beguiling with charm, a charm that veils a deep hole of hatred and bitterness.”