Increase in Violent Crime Puts Community On Red Alert
By Michael Baker


HOUSTON - A sudden outbreak of violent crime in Houston's Montrose area, including one homicide, has put local neighborhood protection programs and businesses on full alert.

Though the homicide actually occurred in the Galleria area, police have sufficient reason to believe the victim, Juan Emanuel Miyar, picked up someone in the Montrose area who committed it.

Firefighters found Miyar, 38, in his home at the Post Oak 2 Apartments early Saturday morning when arriving to fight a fire in the apartment believed to be started by the murderer.

Miyar, an openly gay interior decorator, was reported to have multiple stab wounds, and there was no sign of forced entry into his apartment.

Nothing appeared to have been stolen from the apartment itself, though the assailant did steal Miyar's vehicle, a 2001 black Ford Expedition (license number 5TJ-M61) which was later recovered near N. Shepherd and 8th Street.

According to longtime GLBT activist Ray Hill, who had been in contact with case investigator Sgt. Waymon Allen, the victim had been clubbing in the Montrose area with a friend prior to returning to his apartment.

At about 1 a.m., the victim dropped off his friend at the friend's Montrose-area home and began to check out the street corners, where it is presumed he picked up the murderer and brought him/her home, Hill said.

Police estimate the victim was murdered around 3:15 a.m., before the fire was started.

Besides the homicide, there were also several less serious but nonetheless violent incidents in the Montrose area last weekend, according to Q-Patrol chair Chris Arasin.

First, Arasin reported that there was a mugging outside one of the Montrose-area bars. In a separate incident, a bar employee was also stabbed on Saturday evening.

A third violent assault happened on Taft near West Gray, when a man was struck with a board, Arasin said. Although that area is technically part of Fourth Ward, it is quite close to the Montrose area.

And all of these incidents marked only one weekend, with several similar attacks in the area. Arasin said two weeks earlier there was a mugging and assault near Katz's Deli, near the intersection of Westheimer and Montrose.

Additionally, activist Jone Devlin said she was aware an elderly woman mugged and beaten by three women when walking home from the Montrose area Kroger. The woman is recovering in the hospital.

Arasin, who has worked with Q-Patrol more than four years, said he is unable to recall a time when so much violence was reported in the area.

"In the time I have been here, we have not had any major incidents at all," Arasin said. "I've mostly seen minor mugging spurts, maybe two on a weekend, but nothing of the violent nature that we've gotten this past weekend."

Hill agreed. "Certainly these four or five incidences are alarming, although they're not entirely surprising," he said, referring to a antigay sentiment which is seemingly being stirred up by the non-discrimination ordinance battle at city hall.

None of the crimes, including the homicide, are currently being classified as a hate crime, nor are all of the victims identified as GLBT. But Hill and other activists are saying these instances can be a foreboding sign of what may spawn from the negativity.

As examples of the increased hostility towards the GLBT community, Hill pointed to a July 3 email circulated by Pastor Laurence White of Our Saviour Lutheran Church in North Houston, blasting the Mayor for the non-discrimination ordinance and to the increasing desperation of Dave Wilson.

Hill said Wilson, who is scrambling to collect signatures for his petition to put an antigay referendum on November's ballot, could begin to resort to nasty rhetoric as his deadline to submit his petition rapidly approaches.

Houston Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus President Deborah Rogers agreed with Hill, warning the community to "prepare ourselves for the illogical and inhuman increase in hate speech, property crimes and even violence targeted against the GLBT community at large."

What you can do

There are a number of things GLBT Houstonians can do to alleviate the problem of violence in the Montrose area.

The most effective method, Arasin said, would be to volunteer with Q-Patrol, which monitors the Montrose area and reports potential criminal activity or gay bashing to the police.

Unfortunately, Q-Patrol does not have ample volunteers to effectively watch the entire area. On the Friday night when Miyar was murdered, Q-Patrol did not even have enough people to be on patrol.

Volunteers for Q-Patrol are immediately put to work and trained on the job, though Arasin said newcomers will always be placed in a group with an experienced member. Also, Q-Patrol does not try to solve problems itself; for that, it relies on the police.

"We're not an interventionist's group," Arasin said. "Our main goal is to be out there as a deterrent, so if something does happen, we're a witness to it."

The HPD know and respect the efforts of Q-Patrol, and usual respond to its requests quickly, according to Arasin. Those interested in helping Q-Patrol should call 713-528-SAFE or send an email to qpatrolinc@aol.com or qp_callouts@hotmail.com.

Also, police are looking for any information regarding Miyar's murder. Anyone with information about Miyar or his black Ford Expedition after midnight on Friday, especially in the Montrose or North Shepherd area, should call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS or Hill at 713-523-6969 (confidentiality is promised).

For those interested in learning more about self-defense, there is a fairly new group called the Pink Pistols that participates in various self-defense training programs, ranging from firearm usage to physical combat.

Dan Weiner, founder of Pink Pistols, said even a little knowledge of self-defense in dangerous situations could be invaluable. "Any attempt at defense you make at protecting yourself is helpful," he said.

The Pink Pistols meet on the second Monday of each month, and can be contacted at Houston@pinkpistols.org.

And of course, Rogers said those in the Montrose area should exercise extreme caution when out and about in light of recent events.

"The HGLPC strongly encourages all citizens of our community and beyond to stay safe, remain aware of your surroundings at all times, and join our hands together against the politics, language and actions of hate." she said.

.

(top)