Murderd Street Woman

Melissa Michelle Ward

Case Number: 04-087386
Race: White
Sex: Female
DOB: 04-12-1971
Age: 33
Height: 5’1”
Weight: 90
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Brown
Case Status: Unsolved

On 11-02-04 Melissa Michelle Ward was reported missing to the Chattanooga Police Department.

Ms. Ward had been arrested in the past on prostitution and drug charges and her death may have been related to association with criminals

Missy was last seen on 10-29-04 at about 1900 hours, when she got into a late model red Ford Pick-up Truck with a white camper top, at the BI-Lo parking lot on 23rd Street. The drive of the vehicle was described as a W/M, salt and pepper hair, in his 50’s. Missy was last seen wearing a blue dress and no shoes.

On December 05, 2004 the decomposed body of Melissa Ward was found on Cash Canyon Road.




From the News Channel 3 web site

HAMILTON COUNTY, TN. (WRCB)  --  A man charged with raping two young girls this summer is being looked at in connection with a murder from six years ago.
Earlier this month 46-year-old Christopher Johnson was charged with allegedly raping and kidnapping a relative and one of her friends.
Channel 3 and our partners at the Times Free Press have learned from multiple sources that Johnson has been interviewed in connection with the murder of Melissa 'Missy' Ward.
Ward's remains were found in a remote area of Lookout Valley in 2004.  Her case went cold until two weeks ago when the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office suddenly reopened it.
Dawn Johnson says she was shocked to learn her sister's 6-year-old murder case was not only reopened, but that detectives interviewed a man she's never heard of before.
"She looked up to me," Johnson says.  "She would say all the time that she wanted to be like me."
The last few weeks have been bittersweet for Johnson.
"I'm excited because hopefully we'll have closure," she says.  "Hopefully they'll catch the person that did this."
Two weeks ago, after receiving new information, detectives searched the area off Cash Canyon Road where Ward's remains were found in 2004.
Johnson says investigators told her in 2004 they were looking for a serial killer.
"They were telling us it could be a serial killer," she says.
The Sheriff's Office won't officially go that far.  Johnson says her sister had a drug problem and one prostitution arrest in Hamilton County, but that shouldn't matter.
"She didn't die because she was a prostitute or a drug addict," Johnson says.  "She died because she was with the wrong person."
After two days of searching the woods again, detectives pulled out.  Sheriff Hammond won't say exactly what someone said that led them back to the original crime scene. 
"There's some sensitive information that we need to keep quiet about for the case," Hammond says.  "We can't comment."
Although the sheriff's office won't officially name a suspect, Channel 3 has learned from multiple sources that Christopher Johnson has been interviewed in connection with the murder.
To Dawn Johnson it's all still an unfolding mystery.  She just wants to know what happened.
"You see on TV people say 'why',"  Johnson says.  "You think, 'that's so crazy', but I want to know why she was targeted."
Johnson says her sister was last seen getting into a red pick-up truck outside a grocery story.
Christopher Johnson appeared in court two weeks ago on his latest charges, he is still in custody.


From the Chattanoogan.com site

Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office investigators are looking into new evidence involving the 2004 murder of Melissa Ward. They are also searching for the possiiblity of additional bodies near where that of Ms. Ward was found in the Tennessee River Gorge. On Thursday, prisoners helped clear a wooded area at the search site.
On Dec. 5, 2004, bones were located at 1580 Cash Canyon Road in a wooded area that were later identified through a forensic examination as belonging to Ms. Ward.
The victim had been reported missing by her family to law enforcement on Nov. 2, 2004.

Authorities said, "A ground search is being conducted of the area where Melissa Ward’s remains were located in December 2004. Interviews with persons of interest are being conducted by investigators in an attempt to bring closure to this active homicide investigation."

The body had been found by attorney Bryan Hoss in a remote area off Cash Canyon Road.
A month later, then-Sheriff John Cupp said it was that of 33-year-old Melissa Michelle Ward.
He said Ms. Ward had been arrested in the past on prostitution and drug charges. He said her death may have been related to association with criminals.
Sheriff Cupp said she had been murdered.
Attorney Hoss and his wife were looking at a lot near the Tennessee River that was for sale.

Jameika Porch a Life cut too Short

Date of Birth: 1-6-90

Age: (at disappearance) 4 years

Height: 3'6"

Weight: 38 lbs

Build: Medium

Eyes: Hazel

Hair: Sandy

Race: Black

                           Missing from: Chattanooga, TN

                           Date Missing: 8-14-94

Jameika Porch was abducted from her grandmother’s home in Chattanooga, Tennessee at 1708 Tunnel Boulevard. in the middle of the night on August 14, 1994. She had been sleeping in the same bed as her eight-year-old cousin when someone came in and carried her out through the window, without waking her cousin. Tim Carroll of the Chattanooga Police Department says they initially looked at it as a missing person case, and a possible abduction. "The grandmother woke up, and the child was missing, she thought, she just assumed that her daughter had come to pick the child up." Chattanooga police immediately launched an all out search for the girl, using dogs, and search and rescue teams. Investigators later learned that Jameika had actually disappeared from her bedroom sometime in the early morning hours of August 14th. The girl's aunt, who also lived there, heard noises in the house around 5 or 6 in the morning. Whoever took Jameika may have come in through the back door, where a window payne could be removed near the door knob. Police say it was a well known way to get into the house if you didn't have a key. In the days and months that followed, national exposure of the case brought in tips from across the country. Despite the information, the searching, and help from others like the F.B.I., none of the leads panned out. Then on October 21st, 1999 A worker from a tree trimming service had found it at 1548 Riverside Drive, at the Riverside Industrial Park. Police brought in Cadaver dogs to start searching the area. The next day, a class from the Chattanooga Police Academy helped find the rest of the remains. Authorities have recovered about 60 percent of the skeleton with the help of cadaver dogs, he said. "Given that the bones may have been there for five years, that's about what you'd expect," he said. "Bones can be displaced over time by dogs and other animals or flooding," he added D-N-A proves it was the body of Jameika Porch, according to Police Lt. Tim Carroll. "It was ruled a homicide. It was a ligature strangulation, and you know, that's terrible a 4 year old, a 4 year old child being murdered that way." All these years, the big question remains: who killed Jameika Porch. Police have potential suspects, but not enough to make an arrest. That's why Lt. Carroll says investigators need your help. Genetic experts are testing a skeleton discovered two miles from where a pajama-clad girl disappeared from her grandmother's house five years ago to determine if it is the missing child, police said. A Hamilton County forensic anthropologist has determined that the bones belonged to a 4- or 5-year-old child of African descent, and the bones have been sent to a private lab for verification, said Chattanooga police spokesman Ed Buice.

UPDATE:

I finally got a tip on this case via email on this case. The tipster told me that they was at someone's home and was told that young Jameika Porch was sold to settle a drug debt. Now I would like to find and talk to the girls mother Joyce Porch as word has it the is was she herself that sold the child for it was she that had the debt. I was told by this same tipster that the cousin was not asleep but saw someone pick Jameika Porch but due to not have her glasses on could not see clearly.

Also thanks to an Anonymous post to this post I know that Joyce Porch was a know user of Crack Cocaine.

Taking down a drug dealer

Ok lets just say that there is a drug deal that you want to get off the street. First thing that should be done is to inform the police but should they prove to be of know help or informing the police is not an option for some reason then please keep reading. To take out a drug dealer you are going to need a few things. 1. Video or photo camera  2. Audio recorder 3. Note book and pencil 4. 2 or 3 USB drives 5. binoculars Now the best way to take out a drug dealer is to get proof and then make sure that proof gets to the right people and here is how. 1. Know your target: Watch your target follow them around for afew day if you can but you must great take care not to be seen. By your target. This so so that you can get to know more about your target. You should make note of the car/truck/SUV that they drive color, make, model, and plate number. You should also note where they go the type of place the address thing like that how long they stay at each location. This will help you find out when and where they sale their drugs maybe even where they get the drugs wich they sale. It will also make sure that your target is not a undercover cop. Keep track of all this on an audio recorder for later to write down in a notebook 2. Observation: now that have a basic idea of your targets movements time to make some other notes. Now you should use some binoculars to keep a safe distance as to not be found out by your target. While observing your target note such thing as the number of guys if any they have watching out for them, what drugs they are dealing, what kind of weapons they keep on them if you can. While observing your target try to get some video of picture evidence. Make sure to get a good shot of your targets face, car, plate, and transactions. Again keep track of all this on an audio recorder to so that you can later write your observations in a notebook. 3. Keep all your data: Save and make 2 or 3 copies of ever thing you vidoe, photos, and audio recrodings even make a copy of your notebook on you computer and save all this to some USB drives. Now I say to use USB drive cause they are easy to hide for save keep but you should not hind then all in the same place. 4. get your evidance tio the right people: now make some copies of your all your data on to some DVDs and them to the city and county police. Now that you have done all this I shouold say to only confront the deal as a last resort but if it does to come to that then you must be ready any and evey thing that could happen know that there is more then a good chance that they could and will most likey pull a gun or a knife. There is also a very good chace that the dealer will not be the only one you will be face he may have backup. Make sure to be smart about it and try to do it when there are a few by standers as possible.

Citizen Arrest Laws in Tennessee

In Tennessee, it has been held that a private citizen has the right to arrest when a felony has been committed and he has reasonable cause to believe that the person arrested committed it. Reasonable grounds will justify the arrest, whether the facts turn out to be sufficient or not.

Tennessee law sates that a person placed under citizen's arrest may not sue the arresting party if it turns out no felony has been committed


What Are Felony Crimes in Tennessee?



Capital Crime Crimes such as kidnapping, rape, arson or murder are capital crimes. Felons who have committed any of these crimes are likely to get either the death penalty or life imprisonment.


Class A Felony Class A felonies include manslaughter, sexual crimes, drug crimes such as possession of drugs or drug use, or burglary. Criminals who have committed a class A felony will most likely spend no less than 15 years in prison and no more than 60 years in prison.


Class B Felony

Class B felonies are theft of at least $60,000 or more, possession of at least 0.5 grams of cocaine, robbery or burglary. Felons who have committed a class B felony generally spend no less than eight years in prison and no more than 30 years in prison.


Class C Felony Class C felonies include crimes such as fraud, white collar crimes, and drug crimes including the possession of 20 to 99 plants. Felons who have committed a class C felony usually spend no less than three years in prison and no more than 15 years in prison.


Class D Felony Class D felonies in Tennessee include computer tapering, DUIs, aggravated assault or failure to pay child support. Felons who have committed a class D felony are likely to spend no less than two years in prison and no more than 12 years in prison.

Class E Felony

Class E felonies in the state of Tennessee are crimes such as computer fraud or aggravated gambling promotion. Felons who have committed a class E felony are likely to spend no less than one year in prison and no more than six years in prison.


Sentencing for Felonies

Class A - It has a probable sentence of imprisonment of about 15 to 60 years with an extreme fine of $50,000 for most of the offenses as well as $500, 000, 00 for the substance offenses.

Class B - This kind of felony has a probable sentence of imprisonment of about 8 to 30 years with an extreme fine of $25,000 for most of the offenses as well as $100,000 for the substance offenses.

Class C - It has a probable sentence of imprisonment of about 3 to 15 years with a great fine of $10,000 for most of the offenses as well as $100, 000, 00 for the substance offenses.

Class D - Tennessee felonies in the class D has a possible sentence of imprisonment of about 2 to 12 years with an intense fine of $5,000 for most of the offenses as well as $50, 000, 00 for the substance offenses. Class E - Felony charges in this type is charged with probable sentence of imprisonment of about 1 to 6 years with an extreme fine of $3,000 for most of the offenses as well as $5, 000, 00 for the substance offenses.

Haunting the Chattanooga Street Gangs

Like most cities in the good old USA, Chattanooga has it's fair share of street gangs that carve out their own territories within the city. In 2011, the Chattanooga Police Investigators documented 40 active gangs and 1,100 gang members in the city. Each Community has a territory that serves as a syndicate that controlled drug trafficking, home invasions, robbery, theft, and other crimes. It is important to note that color does not apply in the gang affiliation in Chattanooga. The well known gangs that are in Chattanooga are the Bloods who run the southside, the Crips who run East Lake and North of Willow and Dodds, the Vice Lords who are allies to the the Bloods, the Gangsters Disciples who are allies to the Crips, Pirus who are allies with the Bloods, and MS-13 which transnational criminal gang. Whereas gangs like the Bloods and the Crips are hybrid gang meaning that they are made up of small gangs that have banded together. Now the Gangsters Disciples seem to have a chain of command and defined leaders and are more havs covert styles of selling drugs making them more of a organized-crime gang rather than the average steet gang. The Gangsters Disciples seem to do more recruiting than other gangs in the city and are the biggest in the city but the bloods are not far behind them.

FOLK NATION GANGS	FOLK SIGNS & SYMBOLS	PEOPLE NATION GANGS	PEOPLE SIGNS & SYMBOLS
Crips	6-point star	Bloods	5-point star
Gangster Disciples	Pitchfork facing up	Vice Lords	Dice
Black Gangster Disciples	Winged heart	Latin Kings	Crown
Latin Disciples	Devil horns	Pirus	Bunny head facing left
La Raza	Backward facing bunny head		Pyramid
	Number six with a tail		Crescent

The crimes gang members commit. Drugs are the most common gang-related crime, followed by assaults. Specific gang activities in neighborhoods involve bullying, intimidation, drug sales, loitering, violence and fighting, robberies, break-ins, prostitution, shootings and graffiti. Local gangs often fight over girls or relationship issues, and these confrontations sometimes include members of the same gang

Peak times for gang crime. Fridays are the busiest for gang crime. Tuesdays are the slowest. Crime peaks at 11 p.m.

On the street and on the Internet. Gang members are tech savvy and use Facebook and other social media to brag about their exploits, glorify their illegal lifestyles and plan activities

Need a gun? No problem. Gang members reported that it's easy to get guns in Chattanooga. If you have the cash, you can get "whatever you want on the streets," including AK-47s and high-powered rifles. Many younger members who were interviewed said that 15- to 18-year-olds commonly carry guns for protection. Only about one-third of suspects brandished a gun in gang-related crimes reported to police.

How do you identify these gangs well

Bloods = red; also sets known to wear brown, orange, burnt orange to represent dried blood

Crip = Blue

Vice Lord = Black, red, green, gold

 Gangster Disciples = black and blue

MS-13 = numerous tattoos on their bodies and faces, wear blue and white colors taken from the El Salvadoran flag.

Dark Ghost of Chattanooga TN

Greetings to those reading this I am Dark Ghost the Masked Detective. I am a member of the Real Life Super Hero Community on the Heroes Alliance  and I am in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Now what I do is I patrol the street and parks of Chattanooga, I investigate the unsolved crimes of the city. The Chattanooga Police have many good cops but they are still outnumbered by the gangs, drug dealers, murderers, sexual predators, and muggers. Thieves who walk in to stores with guns to steal the money in the cash drawer and break into people's homes to just take what they want. I have watch the crime rate in the city slowly rise now I can no longer just stand by so I have put together a uniform, bought the gear that I needed and got a mask. Now I haunt Chattanooga's streets, alleys, and it's parks. I will see that these criminals are brought to justice, be a friend to the people of the city, and an ally to it's Police. I will watch over the city of Chattanooga from the darkness. I will do my work under the cover of the night. I will strike hard and fast then fade into the shadows. I want a Chattanooga where kids can play in the parks and their parent's do not have to fear someone will take their children. I want Chattanooga to be a place where families can feel safe in their homes again. I want a Chattanooga people can walk down the streets without fear. I am skilled in Martial arts, I have knowledge of first aid, and I have studied Criminal Justice. I do not use lethal weapons and I also carry a variety of tools.