In Wake of Robberies, is Paradise Still Paradise?

After two armed robberies at businesses in Paradise, residents are asking if more can be done to make the community safer.

Stuart Merenbloom, president of the Paradise Community Association, said the crime has been a topic of conversation at meetings and in the community.

"We had two brazen armed robberies in our backyard," he said. "Paradise is not Paradise anymore."

Lieutenant Nancy Storke, deputy commander of Precinct One/Wilkens, said that the two incidents were not related.

The first incident was on Feb. 1 at Wine and Spirits. A man walked into the store and approached the cash register, pointed a silver semi-automatic handgun at the clerk and demanded that he open the register.

The second incident was on Feb. 4 at Catonsville Pharmacy when a man walked into the store, pointed a handgun at the pharmacist and demanded a bag of Percocet pills.

Police released a photo of the suspect who robbed Wine and Spirits.

Neil Leikach, the owner of Catonsville Pharmacy where one of the robberies took place, said this was the first time the store had been robbed.

"We've changed a few of our procedures but otherwise it's business as usual," he said.

Merenbloom said the association has been discussing starting a neighborhood watch group, but there haven't been many volunteers. He used to be a part of a neighborhood watch group in Pikesville that started out with large numbers but dwindled down to fewer than a handful of residents, he said.

"If you have people who can only do one or two nights, it's not going to be effective," he said.

Elsewhere in Catonsville, neighborhood watch groups have had some success.

Paul Buker, a resident of Westchester and organizer of the Citizens on Patrol group for that neighborhood, said that getting the group off the ground is the hardest thing.

The Westchester group started two years ago with roughly five residents and now has roughly 50 people involved in various capacities. The group has evening patrols, but also has certain residents keeping an eye out in more informal but consistent ways such as when they walk their dogs each morning or drive through the neighborhood on the way to work, Buker said.   

He has been told by police that there has been an impact on crime because of the group, but for the most part the job is not very glamorous, he said.

"If you have dreams of catching the bad guys, it just doesn't happen," Buker said.