Cherry Avenue homicide leaves many questions unanswered
By Sheila Sanchez
Three weeks ago, on April 16, the tranquility of Willow Glen was shaken when a man on Cherry Avenue killed his roommate.
The tragic event was too close to home. It left many with questions about what could have been done to prevent it.
Some neighbors on Cherry Avenue are no doubt wondering if they were too busy to notice trouble at the house where Richard McPherson lived. Did anyone reach out to help him and those who lived with him? Did someone try and get rejected? Did anyone know he had lost his job and was probably having financial problems? Could having that information have helped a neighbor help him?
Police sources say such incidents just happen, with neighbors not having a lot of power to get into troubled, violent homes, or get people committed to mental institutions. Sometimes neighbors turn the other way because they fear retaliation or worry that they'll be hurt.
Clearly, neighbors knew the house situation was not typical of their neighborhood. They had lived with the burning trash, the loud parties, alcohol abuse, domestic violence, drug consumption, mental illness and depression inside.
Perhaps someone actually did show interest in McPherson. Perhaps someone tried to reach him, to talk to him about his troubles. Or maybe neighbors were too frightened to try.
It's good to ask what could have been done to prevent such a heinous crime from occurring.
Nobody arrives at McPherson's state of mind alone or without outside influence. There were reasons why McPherson ended up taking someone else's life.
The homicide has done more than just disturb the peacefulness of the southern Willow Glen community. It has shocked and alarmed many residents who fear their neighborhood is becoming a victim of society's ills.
It's too late for McPherson. He's now in jail and will be tried and punished by the justice system for killing someone else; and it's too late for Duane Simmons, who probably died trying to help him.
But it's not too late for Willow Glen residents to prevent unfortunate and similar tragedies from occurring in the future.
Willow Glen residents can continue to keep a watchful eye around their homes for signs of trouble, speaking to their neighbors more often to find out how they're doing, offering help when problems occur, being willing to call the police when needed and coming out of the comforts of their homes to be better neighbors.
One unidentified resident was quoted as saying that the Cherry Avenue house tenants liked to drink their booze, "but who cares?" It's precisely that attitude toward other people's drinking problems and personal drama that can lead to such tragic endings.
Who cares? We should care. By not caring and ignoring backyard problems we're doing the community a disservice. We're hurting ourselves too, since problems affecting our neighbors eventually spill out and reach those around.
When neighbors have serious problems, such as those tormenting McPherson and his roommates, it's important for those living around them to help, either by calling the appropriate authorities or by offering other kinds of support.
I, once, lived in a neighborhood with a crack house nearby in South Central Los Angeles. My roommates and I frequently called the police to alert them of violence in the home. Police officers would diligently show up and break up the fights. I'm positive we prevented many violent episodes from escalating by calling the police. We called for their safety and ours.
Other times, we simply acted as good Samaritans. We helped them clean up their yard and trash and tried talking to the neighbors. Afterwards, my roommates and I would often speak about the social and economic differences that separated us from those living in the crack house, but we continued to try to reach them, even when we were afraid.
By ignoring neighborhood problems that can lead to murder and other crimes, we must accept part of the blame for them. By turning the other way, we're doing a disservice to the community and those who live in it.
San Jose Police Sgt. Steve Dixon talked in general terms about McPherson after the incident occurred saying those like him are "timebombs," going off and adding that there are more out in the community, even in "good neighborhoods." The problem is if nobody reaches out to these so-called timebombs people end up dead. That means parents lose children, as is the case here. McPherson's parents have lost their son to the criminal justice system and Simmon's parents have lost their son to a regrettable incident that maybe could have been prevented if someone would have intervened at the appropriate time.
Sheila Sánchez is the editor of The Willow Glen Resident. She can be reached at 408.200.1051 or at ssanchez@svcn.com.
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
