Drug issues nag neighborhood where woman died
SPRINGFIELD, Ore. - You could call Irene Sherriff the sheriff of Springfield's 51st and E street area. She has lived here since 1963 and has been the Neighborhood Watch leader more than 25 years.
She says every block in the area has a watch commander except the street where Wendy Whitaker lived.
Witaker, 35, was found dead behind the wheel of her car before 7 a.m. Wednesday, the victim of an a drive-by shooting.
Police think two men -- Ronald Smith and Michael Wesley Jr., both 27 -- fired on Whitaker's car with a .45-caliber handgun and a shotgun. Police think Whitaker's boyfriend was the intended target.
Both men are now in custody. Wesley was in critical condition after being shot by police Thursday as he rammed a police car with his truck.
The gunfire cast a chill over the neighborhood and raised questions about crime there.
While Sheriff thinks her neighborhood is safe, it has it's problems. She said they have theft problems, and they have noticed drug problems and drug dealings.
Some neighbors noticed a lot of foot traffic at Whitaker's house.
Dan Hamar has lived on the street for 20 years. He said crime and drug problems have gone down,
"I still know there's a lot of drug activity within a 5 block radius," he said.
Police say some sort of dealings were involved in Wednesday's shooting.
So just what can a Neighborhood Watch group do? Sherriff said not much. But that's not stopping her from fulfilling her duty.
"I've turned in a list of lots of license numbers," she says.
She says every block in the area has a watch commander except the street where Wendy Whitaker lived.
Witaker, 35, was found dead behind the wheel of her car before 7 a.m. Wednesday, the victim of an a drive-by shooting.
Police think two men -- Ronald Smith and Michael Wesley Jr., both 27 -- fired on Whitaker's car with a .45-caliber handgun and a shotgun. Police think Whitaker's boyfriend was the intended target.
Both men are now in custody. Wesley was in critical condition after being shot by police Thursday as he rammed a police car with his truck.
The gunfire cast a chill over the neighborhood and raised questions about crime there.
While Sheriff thinks her neighborhood is safe, it has it's problems. She said they have theft problems, and they have noticed drug problems and drug dealings.
Some neighbors noticed a lot of foot traffic at Whitaker's house.
Dan Hamar has lived on the street for 20 years. He said crime and drug problems have gone down,
"I still know there's a lot of drug activity within a 5 block radius," he said.
Police say some sort of dealings were involved in Wednesday's shooting.
So just what can a Neighborhood Watch group do? Sherriff said not much. But that's not stopping her from fulfilling her duty.
"I've turned in a list of lots of license numbers," she says.
