Mayor urges community to break silence in tragic shooting

By Felicia Farnsworth

Union Springs Mayor Roderick Clark held a press conference at the Union Springs Police Department on Monday, July 1, approximately at noon. In attendance were USPD Chief Clarence Wheeler, Fire Chief Rob Cameron, City Councilman Stan Cooks, Mayor Roderick Clark, Barbara McLaurine representing the South Central Alabama Crimestoppers, and USPD Investigator Lt. Gary Lewis.

Clark started off the meeting by stating, “To the citizens of Union Springs, we come together today in unity, asking everyone to join us in finding justice for the family of Delvin Tarver. Mr. Tarver lost his life in our community almost two months ago. At the scene of the crime, there were close to one hundred kids in the proximity, and no one said anything.” He goes on to say, “I am calling on all of my churches, community leaders, parents, and elected officials to ask their friends and loved ones to encourage any person that was on the scene that night to say something to help us find justice for the family of Delvin Tarver. I would like to thank SBI, Crimestoppers, Investigator Lewis, and the entire Union Springs Police Department for the time and hours spent on this case. Investigator Lewis is heading this case up and has done a tremendous job communicating with the family and the media.”

Investigator Lewis encourages anyone who was there to call the Police Department or Crimestoppers to help them find the ones responsible for the death of Delvin Tarver. “On May the 4th at approximately 12:45 a.m. shots started ringing out in the parking lot of CVS and we do know that it was pretty close to a hundred young people, young adults there. We are asking those who were present to please give us a call and let us know what they saw or heard. Mr. Tarver lost his life, and he wasn’t a target. We do believe that he was in a vehicle that was struck by a stray bullet. So, if anyone can help with that information, we are asking the citizens of Bullock County if you see something, say something.” He goes on to say, “It’s easy to complain about what the police are not doing and what one knows and what they don’t know. So, we are asking those citizens who were there, who knows, to give us a call so that we can solve some of these cases. Not only Mr. Tarver's case but other cases as well where witnesses won’t come forward. If they don’t want to have their identity known, they can call the Crimestoppers, or they can call the Union Springs Police Department and you won’t have to leave your name.”

When asked if they had any leads in their investigation, Investigator Lewis assured me that they do have a few leads and persons of interest, but they needed the citizens to come forward with what they saw that night.

Union Springs City Councilman Stan Cooks had this to say, “I know somebody in the community knows something. There’s an old saying that snitches get stitches. Well in this case, according to Crimestoppers, you don’t have to leave your name, and, in this case, snitches get riches! Remember that if you don’t start telling on some of these people, somebody that you know could be next to get hurt and I don’t want that to happen. I just want it to stop, all of it, the shooting, stop all the crime, and let’s try to get our city back to the way it once was, SAFE!”

An award of $500 was made by a private citizen as well as the original $1,000 donated by Crimestoppers, making it a total of $1500 for the capture of someone in this case. “We want to thank Crimestoppers and the private citizen for their donations of the rewards for participating in helping us solve the crime that was done in our community,” stated Mayor Clark.

According to Investigator Lewis, there are photos of those who were at the CVS that night on Facebook. If you recognize those people in the photos, the USPD and Crimestoppers are urging you to reach out to them and let them know who they are, anonymously if need be. “Some of them are witnesses and I know witnesses can help us solve cases,” stated Investigator Lewis.

If you have any information regarding the identity of the suspect or whereabouts, please immediately call the Union Springs Police Department at 334-738-3131 or Crimestoppers using our 24-hour tip line at 334-215-STOP (7867) or 1-833-AL1-STOP (251-7867). Your Tip may lead to a Cash Reward!