Long Neck residents rally to demand change

More than 200 residents packed into an Oak Orchard fire hall May 1 demanding more police presence following a spike in burglaries and robberies.

“We want to remind the criminals that they don't own Long Neck, we do,” said Maryann Matyjewicz, a Long Neck resident who is part of a grassroots movement to prevent crime in her neighborhood.

The strong community turnout at the firehall did not deter the spate of crime: shortly after the meeting ended, police say, a man tried to rob Angola Shore Stop on Route 24, and then succeeded 45 minutes later after he got a handgun and robbed the Long Neck Dash In about 10:30 p.m.

The May 1 robberies are the latest in a string that is taking a toll on Long Neck business. On April 22, Kick n' Chicken closed its Route 24 location following 13 burglaries in three years – two back-to-back the week before the store closed. Nearby, Walgreens was robbed the day after Kick n' Chicken closed; a week earlier the Dollar Store was robbed. Both stores are on Route 24 near Long Neck.

Charlie Pollard, Kick n' Chicken owner, attended the firehall meeting, making it clear he closed his Long Neck store because he refuses to support the drug habits of area criminals. Pollard defended himself against critics who said he should have had security cameras at his store.

“Dollar General has security cameras, and it did not stop someone from walking in with a gun. Cameras do not solve all crimes,” he said. “We are all here because we have a problem.”

Police presence is sorely needed, said Pollard to the standing-room-only crowd.

A few said they only ever see state police parked on Route 24 to ticket drivers for speeding or using their cellphones.

“It's been a month, and we ain't seen a soul,” one man said about police presence in his Long Neck neighborhood. “The criminals do what they want.”

Since the beginning of the year, 13 burglaries have been committed in the Long Neck area. Sgt. Adam Wright said police have cleared nine of those cases, but others are still under investigation and may have been committed by people who have not yet been arrested.

Wright had no data on robberies or commercial crime, and when he told the crowd there is more residential crime in Long Neck than commercial, he prompted outraged public outcry.

Resident Margaret A. Bellum quickly pointed out two burglaries to Kick n' Chicken and the armed robberies at Walgreens and Dollar General Store as commercial crimes.

“That's a stretch of one-eighth of a mile, all in one week,” she said.

“We're tired of the drugs and all that's going on,” another resident said.

A review of Delaware State Police's Enhanced Analytic Response chart shows mostly clusters of burglaries in the Long Neck area and only two robberies. Based on the map, the number of burglaries is similar to buglaries in Seaford and in pockets around Ocean View – two municipalities that have their own police forces.

The two robberies listed on the SPEAR map are dated January 2017; recent robberies are not yet shown on the map.

Wright said residents should be vigilant and report suspicious activity to police when they see it. Even the most insignificant piece of information can be used to help solve a crime, he said.

However, resident Cynthia Gregor said she got no response on the night of the Walgreens robbery when she called 911. She said she reported three men in hoodies who had a shopping cart and were acting suspicious at the entrance of the Enchanted Forest, a neighborhood close to Walgreens.

“I called 911, and no one got back to me,” she said.

A resident of Oak Meadows, a development that sits off Route 5, said his homeowners association took control of their neighborhood with the help of state police, but it was a combined effort by residents and police.

“We were a hot spot, but when you came in, it made a difference,” he said. “The hot spot left and went to another development. All you can do is this cat-and-mouse game.”

Rep. Ruth Briggs King, R-Georgetown, whose district includes Long Neck and Oak Orchard, said, with 10 overdoses already recorded in those areas, drugs are a problem.

“Crime probably goes hand-in-hand with burglaries to get money for their habits,” she said.

Long Neck, Oak Orchard and Angola are unincorporated areas that must depend on state police troopers for protection – troopers who are spread thin across the entire county, said Sgt. Wright.

Finding state money to pay for more troopers is unlikely as the state faces a nearly $400 million budget shortfall, Briggs King said.

She said Long Neck residents could pursue incorporated status, which would allow them to create a municipal police force such as those in Lewes, Rehoboth Beach and Millsboro. But that would also come with a price tag – residents would have to pay for a local police force. Briggs King said residents may already face higher income taxes and user taxes to cover the state budget, and incorporating Long Neck would mean more money out-of-pocket.

“With all due respect, what are you willing to pay?” she asked.

John Matyjewicz, Maryann's husband, and several others recently started a group called Long Neck Strong to organize residents against area crime. He said they have about 100 members so far, and many plan to attend the Tuesday, May 9 Sussex County Council meeting to ask for more police protection.

“The state and county are supposed to supply you with certain services, and that's all we want,” he said.

Matyjewicz said he has heard discussion about incorporating Long Neck, but nothing concrete. Property owners would have to agree to incorporate, and with so many land-leased properties, he said, he doubts large property owners would support it.

For more information on Long Neck Strong, visit longneckstrong.com or email info@longneckstrong.com.