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Sentencing of Dilworth Serial Rapist On 11/21/08, the District Attorney's office reported that Jose Rivera, the man known as the Dilworth Serial Rapist had entered a plea and was sentenced. District Attorney Peter Gilchrist announced the following: Jose Rivera-Mejia ( the Dilworth Rapist) entered guilty pleas to 3 counts of 1st degree rape, 2 counts of 1st degree sex offense, 4 counts of 2nd degree kidnapping and 1 count of robbery with a dangerous weapon and received a sentence of 270 to 333 months plus 270 to 333 months consecutive (this is 45-55 1/2 years). Update on development of a Rental Property Ordinance Over the past months the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) conducted research on the impact rental properties, both apartment communities and single-family home rental, has on public safety services to determine if a rental property ordinance was necessary. The CMPD presented information to City Council that owners of rental property should be actively engaged in addressing problems on their properties and that they simply should not be neighborhood nuisances or pass along their opportunity costs to the public by way of increased workload/cost to the Police, Fire, MEDIC, and City Code Enforcement. The City Council’s Public Safety Committee, at its Thursday, June 19, 2008 meeting, approved that a rental property ordinance be drafted to include all residential rental property types and presented to City Council for action. The CMPD has formed a stakeholders group to provide input into the development of the rental property ordinance. Representatives on the stakeholders group include neighborhood leaders, representatives from the CMPD, City staff (i.e., Planning, Neighborhood Development, and City Attorney’s Office), the Greater Charlotte Apartment Association, the Charlotte Landlord’s Association, the Real Estate and Building Industry Coalition, and Legal Aid of Charlotte. Based on our research, the components of residential property ordinance should include a – Registration Process – Methodology to identify problem properties – Notification of the owner of the problems – Provide the opportunity for the owner to correct the problems – Penalties imposed if no action is taken by the owner Justice and Public Safety Task Force Recommendations Draft - November, 2008 Ganged Up: Monroe May Be The Man To Address Crime Woes |