Muncie taskforce meets, reviews work, plans action, laments juvenile justice

MUNCIE, Ind. — Work is continuing by the 17-member taskforce on Muncie violence, organized after the Industry Neighborhood shooting in July that killed one and wounded 17. Community members, police and government officials met Tuesday morning to report on efforts to aid in resolving issues leading to ongoing violence in the city.

Mayor Dan Ridenour presented findings of a survey of taskforce members and an informal survey of community members about the violence and its underlying causes.

Taskforce members primarily said that laws and ordinances needed to be better enforced and that young people need to know they will be held accountable for their actions.

More: Battle against gun violence in Muncie fought by neighborhoods and law enforcement

Other factors, such as poverty and lack of male role models, also contributed to violence among young people in Muncie, with some saying ready access to guns was also a factor.

Much of the discussion and work of the taskforce centers on youth, even though the shooting that brought attention to community violence occurred among adults during a street party on the early morning of July 30 at Willard and Hackley streets. Estimates of up to 1,000 people were in the street when a dispute between two men broke out and bullets began to fly.

Joseph Bonner, 30, Muncie, died from bullet wounds that night. John L. Vance Jr., 36, was charged with two counts of aggravated battery, a Level 3 felony carrying up to 16 years in prison and unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon.

Justin Elliott Bonner, 29, brother of the late Joseph Bonner, was also charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon. All the charges stem from the outbreak of gunfire that wounded nearly a score of people in the streets that night.

Ridenour noted possible solutions suggested in the survey included enforcement of laws and ordinances, education about guns and conflict resolution, having more mentors for young people and developing relationships between neighborhoods and police.

Ted Baker, from the city board of public works, said his board has placed a moratorium on granting variances for the city noise ordinance since the large party where the shooting occurred. He noted the city has no ability to handle parties that grow so large without proper planning.

Police Chief Nate Sloan said his department continues to work with neighborhoods and provides additional security when additional police presence is requested.

The issue of mental health and its impact on violence was also discussed during the meeting. Deputy Police Chief Chris Deegan said the department is continuing to recruit for a social worker position within the department. The position would engage in crisis intervention and make referrals for those struggling with mental health issues, substance use disorder, homelessness and traumatic events.

More: Star Press hosts community forum about gun violence

Deegan also noted that among the 30 people hired by the police department since 2020, five were minorities and four of those are still with the department.

Kaitlyn Sheridan, the trauma program manager at IU Ball Memorial Hospital, said the hospital would assist the task force and provide information about the nature of violence being seen by the medical personnel in Muncie.

Ridenour also told the group that work on the planned Crisis Center at the former Workman's Bar on West Eighth Street has resumed. The center will be owned by the city and operated by IU Health, which is supplying a staff of 14 social workers to keep the center staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Work had temporarily slowed at the building after the discovery of termites earlier this year.

More: Shooting taskforce meets out of public eye for talk on guns, crime and juveniles

City Parks Superintedent Carl Malone told other members of the taskforce that he will be going into Muncie Community Schools classrooms, reaching out to students. He noted the need to help children after a case in Indianapolis this week in which a gun fell out of the backpack of a first grader in school.

Malone said the parks department will strive to help kids both at home and in school.

Stephen Hargrave of Real Black Excellence, a group working inside Southview Elementary teaching children there, is also aiming to help students in their home whenever need is found.

Hargrave said his crew is willing to provide help in the homes of the youngsters he teaches, including clean the houses of students if necessary.

"We are going to get this done for our community," he said.

Ridenour said that so much of the problem is a lack of personal responsibily.

"We have got to hold people, even our youth, accountable," he said.

Taskforce member and Delaware County Prosecutor Eric Hoffman also told the group that juvenile justice in the Muncie community is not working because the juvenile judge has to approve any charge he makes against a juvenile.

"It's very frustrating," he said.

More: Second arrest made in Muncie block-party gunfire that left one dead, 17 wounded

The prevailing philosophy in this county is to be soft on juvenile crime, and the young people committing crime know it and take advantage of it, he said. They are failing to learn that actions have consequences.

The meeting adjourned as the discussion continued among some members afterward. Ridenour said he intends to call another taskforce meeting to continue the discussion early in the new year.

David Penticuff is a reporter with The Star Press. He can be contacted at dpenticuff@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Violence taskforce scans work, plans action, laments juvenile justice