Homicide No. 74 Kenny Ollemi - A Common Refrain

Charlotte's 74th murder victim Keneth "Kenny" Ollemi fits the usual profile of Charlotte homicide cases: African American male and likely involved in the drug business. 

Kenny Ollemi was also a "transplant" from up north, again a common refrain, perhaps seeking a better life in the ever expanding and growing job market in the Carolinas. 

Kenny managed to stay alive dodging bullets for 29 years using his "street smarts" when in 1995 he'd let his guard down and it nearly ended his life.

From the Daily Press in Newport New News Virginia December 1, 1995:

Hampton police are investigating a drug connection in a shooting that seriously wounded a 29-year-old resident of the Merrimac Apartments Wednesday night. 

Police found several small plastic bags of cocaine and a .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol beside the body, according to a search warrant affidavit filed in Circuit Court Thursday. 

The affidavit identified the victim as Kenny Ollemi. 

Ollemi shares a second-floor apartment with a woman at 217 Regent St., neighbors said. Regent Street intersects Kecoughtan Road in the Southampton area. 

Denfield Carty lives in the same building as Ollemi and was one of the people who heard one or two shots and called 911. 

Carty said he then heard a man cry out, ''I've been shot.'' He waited about five minutes before he went outside and found Ollemi on the grass behind the building. Carty said he noticed blood on the lower right side of the man's black leather jacket. 

''I touched him. He was out cold,'' Denfield said. 

Police speculate the assailant waited behind some bushes and surprised Ollemi moments after he showed up in a Nissan 300 ZX. Ollemi was walking toward the back door of the apartment building when the bullet tore into his right side. 

''A large quantity of rock cocaine was found on the ground where Kenny Ollemi fell. A black .380-semiautomatic pistol was recovered from the ground at the scene,'' the affidavit said.

Rosa Walker, Ollemi's roommate, told police that she bought the pistol. Walker also directed police to a compartment in Ollemi's car which contained more than $4,000 in cash, the court document said. 

When asked about the source of the money, Walker ''claimed that she had just cashed a SSI check. ... However, she was unable to provide documentation to substantiate this,'' the detective noted in the affidavit. 

Carty claims he never saw a pistol or any plastic bags of cocaine with the body. ''The only thing I saw on the ground were his car keys,'' he said. 

The Nissan 300 ZX that Ollemi had driven is registered to another man. Police have impounded the car. A check of Ollemi's criminal record revealed a conviction for possession of cocaine and marijuana, the document said.

You can read the rest of the story here.

Moving to Charlotte might have seemed like a good idea but the violent crime of urban metroplexes like the Tide Water area of Virginia has moved south as well. 

On Monday night, Kenny must have felt safe in the up-scale business area of IBM and Classic Drives. But he was targeted followed and killed, he knew the shooter or shooters. But even if he didn't they knew he carried a good amount of cash. Still shooting someone for $100 and a bag of crack is all part of thug life in Charloot.

The shooting on Monday night happened around midnight, just outside the back office door of Classic Graphics. 

Officers said an employee came outside and saw the car crashed in the company picnic area and found 53-year-old Kenny Ollemi shot inside. 

That person called 911 and MEDIC arrived, performed CPR and rushed Ollemi to the hospital, where emergency room staff and doctors tried to once again save Kenny's life.

Investigators said they believe Ollemi was shot inside his car while waiting to pick up a friend from work. They spent the night talking to other employees who may have seen or heard something. By day-break crime scene tape still fluttered in the cool early morning breeze a hint of fall to come in the air. 

3rd shift employees headed home as the presses turned out another glossy annual report for a Inc 1000 company. By noon less than 12 hours later things had returned to normal the yellow tape was gone and CSI techs had finished their work and Kenny's car had already been towed to a secrue location for futher forensic investigation. 

And so it goes.....