The same day the Stonewall Citizen’s Patrol met with the San Diego Police Department to organize a training session, a man was stabbed in the chest while walking along Washington Street in Hillcrest on Nov. 6.

According to SDPD lieutenant Margaret Schaufelberger, the crime, which was not GLBT-related, involved two homeless men. She said the victim suffered a minor wound to the chest about an inch deep that did not hit any vital organs.

The Stonewall Citizens Patrol was formed by American Veterans for Equal Rights (AVER) in partnership with the SDPD, in response to the escalating violent attacks within the Hillcrest area. It was instated to patrol and monitor the areas of Balboa Park, Hillcrest and North Park during Pride next year, but may begin patrolling the area earlier than that. The patrol is supported by Councilmember Toni Atkins and local businesses.

“I believe that citizens play a critical role in effective law enforcement, by reporting crimes, being witnesses, looking out for each other and sending the message that crime won’t be tolerated in their neighborhood,” Atkins said. “I believe the Stonewall Citizens Patrol will convince potential criminals that it’s a bad idea for them to commit their crimes in Hillcrest and the surrounding area.”

The SDPD plans to provide training for the Stonewall Citizens Patrol so patrol members can serve as their “eyes and ears” and also increase their own personal safety awareness, Schaufelberger said.

“It’s not about being the guardian angels or being vigilantes at all,” she said. “It’s just about helping reduce incidence of crime due to their visibility and provide potential victims with information on how to reduce their victimization and to assist us by reporting suspicious activity.”

Stonewall Citizens Patrol chair Bob Lehman recently met with the police department to organize a training session for the 25 people who have expressed interest in participating so far. The first recruitment and training with the SDPD takes place on Monday, Nov. 27, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at The Center, located at 3909 Centre St.

In the last 90 days, there have been 33 unsolved street robberies reported in the Hillcrest and North Park areas, according to the SDPD’s Western Division. More than one third of the robberies involved a handgun or knife in the attacks.

Lehman said the actual number of crimes may be higher within the GLBT community.

“Sometimes in our community, crimes go unreported either because of shame, fear or just lack of urgency by the person attacked,” he said. “Also, we have military members that fear they’ll be found out by the incident occurring in a ‘gay’ area. They fear their command might put two and two together and realize they’re gay or lesbian.”

If someone does not feel comfortable talking to the police after an attack, the Stonewall Citizens Patrol urges them to contact The Center so they can address the danger area and perhaps prevent someone else from being attacked, Lehman said.

The Stonewall Citizens Patrol has already implemented some strategies to curb crime by passing out safety whistles people can attach to their key chains and has also surveyed the area to identify streetlights that are out and need to be replaced.

Schaufelberger said the SDPD has arrested and charged eight suspects, who are in custody related to some of the strong-arm robberies reported in the Western Division.

“When we arrest suspects for robbery, we arrest them for a specific robbery,” she said. “Then what we do is we take a look at other robbery crimes and we see if the MO – modus operandi or method of operation – whether or not that matches other crimes.”

The Gay & Lesbian Times has previously reported on multiple robberies and assaults involving gay victims in the Hillcrest area since July. The suspects in custody were not involved in those specific crimes, Schaufelberger said.

The SDPD has arrested four suspects for committing a series of four robberies on Sept. 27, three in the Western Division and one in Central Division. During one of those crimes, officers in plainclothes were able to witness one of the robberies and arrest the suspect, Schaufelberger said

Other crimes the Gay & Lesbian Times has reported on include an Oct. 8 incident where a gay Hillcrest resident was severely beaten and robbed on the corner of Sixth and Robinson avenues. The victim, Jared Murray, told the Gay & Lesbian Times he was walking along Robinson Avenue around 2:00 a.m. when a silver/gray minivan pulled up alongside him, and another man outside of the van asked him for a cigarette. Murray said he gave the man his wallet immediately but was hit two times in the face with some type of object.

Murray said he suffered various facial fractures, including one to his upper right cheek and a triple fracture to his orbital. He had reconstructive surgery in which titanium plates were permanently placed into his face.

Hillcrest resident Michael Earick was attacked and struck in the head during the early morning hours of Aug. 26. Earick said he was able to escape without serious injuries and described the three suspects as thin black males between 6 foot 4 inches and 6 foot 6 inches tall.

A day later, on Aug. 27, another gay male was attacked and robbed on Utah Street in North Park. The victim described the suspects as four black males.

Prior to that, on July 12, a gay man walking home from the Albertsons located on Washington Street in Mission Hills was robbed of his wallet and assaulted by four men on his way home. The victim said he believes the incident may have been hate-motivated due to the sheer violence of the attack. The SDPD did not classify the assault and robbery as a hate crime because anti-gay epithets were not used by the attackers.

Police officers say attackers are generally comprised of two to four black males, between the ages of 16 and 25 years old. The suspects approach victims on foot and then attack without warning.

Schaufelberger said specific eye-witness accounts and suspect descriptions have been difficult to obtain because of the swift nature of the attacks.

Schaufelberger said since most of these cases don’t involve a lot of physical evidence, the SDPD in some cases is able to charge a suspect based on if they use a victim’s personal property, such as a credit card.

“Police numbers are down, so it creates a target-rich environment for criminals,” Lehman said. “Hopefully the extra presence of the Citizens Patrol along with community awareness can bring those numbers down.”

Two full-time detectives have been assigned to investigate area crimes, and San Diego County Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of as much as $1,000 for information that leads to any arrests. In addition, SDPD officers are visiting businesses in the affected areas to alert their security personnel to the crime spree.

For more information about the Stonewall Citizens Patrol and its training, call Ben Gomez at (619) 459-1019 or e-mail him at elranchoboy@cox.net. San Diego Crime Stoppers can be reached at (888) 580-TIPS.