Police charge teens from mall brawl

RALEIGH, Jul 27, 2008 (The News & Observer - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- TWBC | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Six of seven teens arrested after a Saturday night brawl at a North Raleigh mall were in jail today, charged with felony inciting a riot and a laundry list of other offenses.

Police said as many as 200-300 people were gathered around the food court fracas at Triangle Town Center Mall that closed the shopping complex 20 minutes early and forced police to evacuate shoppers.

The mall reopened at noon today.

The brawl started around 8 p.m. in the upper-level food court and spilled outside as police dispersed the crowd. It took about an hour for Raleigh, Wake County and Highway Patrol officers to restore order. Raleigh Police Department spokesman Jim Sughrue said seven people were taken into custody after the melee, including one 15-year old.

According to Sughrue and records, those arrested are: -- Tyrell Eugene Brantley, age 18, 1609 E. Lenoir St., charged with inciting a riot and disorderly conduct; $5,000 bond. -- Darryl Anthony Bobbitt, 18, 1411 E. Lenoir St., charged with inciting a riot, second-degree trespassing and resisting an officer; $5,000 bond. -- Christopher James Gamble, 17, of 4031 Northstone Drive, Apt. 102, charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, and inciting a riot; $35,000 bond. -- Laquavis O'Neal Jordan, 16, 1701 E. Lenoir St., charged with inciting a riot; released on $5,000 bond. -- Javonnie Nicholson, 16, 512 Bradkin Court., charged with inciting a riot, misdemeanor assault on a law enforcement officer, second-degree trespassing; $7,000 bond. Nicholson is the lone female charged in connection with the fracas. -- Ricky Ladd Williams, 16, 3321-101 Quail Ridge Road, charged with inciting a riot; engaging in an affray; held on $10,000 bond.

In addition, police will secure a juvenile petition against an unnamed 15-year-old who was also arrested.

In a news release, police said some of the people involved are known to be associated with gangs and that the brawl started as a gang-related incident. They haven't given any specifics yet about the associations or the gangs. Sughrue said the investigation is continuing and more arrests are possible if police identify more brawlers.

Police also declined to say if any of the people arrested are gang members, but a bond sheet for Williams says he has a recent conviction for conspiracy to commit armed robbery "with gang conditions."

Four off-duty Raleigh officers were working security at the mall. Police described a chaotic scene as more officers rushed to the mall to assist with the evacuation. Many shoppers were frightened by the uproar and fled the center hurriedly. Triangle Town Center security closed the mall at 8:40 p.m -- 20 minutes early -- and the scene was secured by 9 p.m., according to a police news release.

A Raleigh police officer received a significant laceration on his knee and had to be taken to Duke Raleigh Hospital. Sughrue said the officer's injury occurred while he was chasing a suspect, not as the result of an assault. He's expected to recover.

Gamble was charged in connection with the stabbing of a 15-year-old male in the buttocks during an altercation outside of the mall. The victim was taken to WakeMed and his wounds are not life-threatening.

Jack Love, general manager at Triangle Town Center, said the mall was constantly reviewing its security practices. He declined to answer specific questions about the fight or discuss mall security practices. "We are a public place, and incidents happen from time to time," Love said.

Heather Tant, who works at a shoe kiosk near the mall's lower food court, said she was working last night when police started arriving.

"A bunch of cops were pouring in here," Tant said. "They were yelling 'get out of the mall.'"

Tant didn't see the actual affray, but was scared, she said. She hurriedly put her cash drawer in the safe and went out to the parking lot.

Occasionally there are fights at Triangle Town Center, said Tant, 18, a Wake Technical Community College student. Groups of young people sometimes get into shouting matches that are broken up by mall security, she said. She was a little skeptical that gang members were hanging out at the mall.

"Just because they dress alike doesn't really mean anything," she said.

Police have said they think the fight had roots as a gang-related incident, one of two terms they use to talk about crimes and gangs. While definitions can vary between law enforcement agencies, Raleigh police use "gang related" to describe an incident "... to further the purposes of the gang. Examples would include establishing a gang's territory, gaining influence by suppressing another gang, or seeking revenge against another gang."

The other term is "gang involved." Typically people in those incidents are gang members or have significant ties to gang members, but the crimes themselves are not committed on behalf of gangs.

Sughrue, the police spokesman, said the examples above are just illustrations and that he wasn't at liberty to say what led police to classify the fight as "gang related."

samuel.spies@newsobserver.com or (919) 932-2014

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