Rock Hill downtown business owners, residents say they’re on edge after fatal shooting

Business leaders and restaurant owners in Rock Hill’s downtown district say they’re concerned about their customers’ safety after a fatal shooting earlier this month.

The Nov. 6 shooting, near an agency that helps the poor and homeless in Rock Hill, has prompted some to worry the homeless could drive away area business.

Jayson Tucker was charged with murder after police say he fatally shot Antonio Roddey Nov. 6 during an argument in the parking lot of the Renew Our Community center on East White Street, near Dave Lyle Boulevard. Both men were clients of the agency.

Nearly 100 people came out to City Hall on Monday, where at least five downtown business leaders, restaurant owners and residents asked the Rock Hill City Council for guidance on how to help the homelesss. Many said homeless people have been asking for money near their businesses by tapping on customers’ car windows or approaching them on the street. They said they want to raise awareness about safety in the city’s downtown area.

Business owner Richard McCluskey said he has worked in Rock Hill for 30 years with Song’s Fashions on East Main Street. McCluskey he has heard about homeless people asking for money from people who are withdrawing money from ATMs. He said he rarely sees a police officer on Main Street.

“They need to be arrested,” McCluskey said. “This stuff is not right. It’s making it very hard on downtown businesses.”

Capt. Mark Bollinger, spokesperson for Rock Hill Police Department, said a community service officer regularly patrols the downtown business district. Bollinger, who responded to questions about the downtown police presence, but did not speak at the council meeting, urged anyone who notices such harassment to immediately contact the police department.

“If there are some businesses that feel like we should be doing more, they need to touch base with us,” Bollinger said.

Amy Fortes, who owns the Flipside Restaurant on Caldwell Street with her husband Jon, said she’s heard complaints from customers about the homeless making people feel unsafe in their cars by asking for money.

She said a lady once walked through the back door of the kitchen and demanded food.

Williams & Fudge founder Gary Williams said he is a supporter and contributor of the ROC. He pressed the council to pass a law restricting panhandling to daylight hours.

“I think we have a real problem, when the city is investing millions of dollars downtown to create a walking trail from Winthrop to (Fountain Park) and we have this issue,” Williams said. “I don’t mind people asking for money during the day, but during the night, I’m uncomfortable.”

Mayor Doug Echols said business owners likely see the Nov. 6 fatal shooting as “the tipping point.”

Bollinger said there have been no documented incidents of harassment in the downtown business district in the past three months.

Advocates for the homeless say they’re committed to provide permanent housing for the chronically homeless. By providing shelter for the homeless, substance abuse help and a stable living condition, advocates say they could provide more than a temporary solution.

Lora Holladay, who serves with the Salvation Army, said barriers such as mental illness and substance abuse are difficult to overcome without an “intense effort.” There are about 150 people deemed “chronically homeless” in Rock Hill, Holladay said.

“It is marathon work,” Holladay said. “But we must make efforts to work harder for these people.”

Police are still investigating the Nov. 6 shooting and the motive for the apparent argument between the gunman and the deceased man. It is not known where the suspect got the gun, or what he did with the weapon after the shooting. The gun has not been found, Allmon said.

The victim’s mother, Loretta Gaither, tearfully told a judge last week during the suspect’s bond hearing that her son “was not perfect, but he didn’t deserve to be shot in the head.”

Roddey leaves six children, his mother told the court. Tucker, the suspect, was denied bond.

Echols said people who are concerned about the homeless can reach out to the Catawba Area Coalition for the Homeless, made up of about 25 agencies working collaboratively to help the homeless in York, Lancaster and Chester counties.

United Way of York County and The Salvation Army of Rock Hill representatives are two CACH’s partners, said United Way of York County’s collective impact director James Jeter.

United Way opened its warming shelter for homeless men last week at Bethel United Methodist church on Curtis Street. On the first night, they received 25 homeless men. Jeter said they’re expecting upward of 115 men throughout the winter.

CACH works throughout the year, Jeter said, to provide seminars on poverty, raising awareness for the chronically homeless and meeting with other nonprofits in the area.

“We’ll shelter the men from now until April 1, when we close the shelter,” Jeter said. “We provide a hot meal for them, a warm place to sleep, a nutritional breakfast and transportation to the ROC if they’re part of that.”

The ROC opened in 2011. The agency helps the poor and homeless with vocational and other services.

ROC members are working to identify if any panhandlers are agency clients, said ROC executive director Bruce McKagan. If they are, he said, it will be important to meet with them and talk about the issue. If they are not a part of ROC, McKagan said, he wants to invite them to his organization.

Echols said it has been “somewhat discouraging” to work with the York County Council, saying the county has had multiple opportunities to sell the ROC building on East White Street and chose not to do so.

“My response is that each of you contact and share your information with the County Council,” Echols said at Monday’s meeting. “Ask them to consider selling the property, and put it back on the tax roll, and find a more suitable situation for the homeless.”

York County Council chairman Britt Blackwell said the council will hold a meeting in executive session during its Nov. 20 meeting to discuss contractual negotiations with the property. He said ROC leases the building on a month-to-month basis.

“We’ve been very proactive to making (a sale) happen,” Blackwell said.

This story was originally published November 16, 2017 at 5:59 PM with the headline "Rock Hill downtown business owners, residents say they’re on edge after fatal shooting."