Reverse 911 used to get leads on homicide
Published 9:29 pm Monday, February 11, 2013
Residents and businesses in the Saratoga area of the city received a barrage of phone calls, text messages and emails Friday afternoon asking them to provide information on a Jan. 1 homicide nearby.
Carlton Holland Jr., 31, died in the shooting that occurred just after 3 a.m. in the 400 block of Linden Avenue.
No arrests have been made in the case, but police hope that will change after the use of the Reverse 911 system.
“We did that because we’re asking the public to help us by providing additional information,” Police Chief Thomas Bennett said. “We’ve got some good, solid leads on the case, but we need more information to make an arrest.”
The Reverse 911 system calls landline phones in the area with an automated message and also sends emails and text messages to subscribers who have requested the free service. It is frequently used to get information out to the public but is less frequently used to request information from the public, Bennett said.
“In this situation, we feel like there’s some more people out there that might have information that haven’t shared it with us,” Bennett said. “There was a lot of people out there the night he was shot.”
Holland suffered a gunshot wound to the upper chest while at the party on Linden Avenue. Family and friends later called him a lovable people person who could make anybody laugh.
To provide information on the shooting, call Detective C. Gonzalez at 514-7945, Detective R. Cain at 514-7935 or the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP. Callers to Crime Line never have to give their names or appear in court, and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.