YouTube video aids police in brawl investigation

Dover police thought they had pretty much wrapped up the investigation of an argument that escalated into a brawl.

But five days after three people were arrested for their involvement in a melee that sent two to the hospital, investigators received numerous phone calls from around the country alerting them to a video posted on the Internet.

“I had a voicemail from a gentleman from New York who said that he had seen a video on YouTube and just wanted to make sure that the police are aware that some sort of assault occurred in Dover,” said Capt. Tim Stump.

The original 5-minute, 41-second video begins with an angry and violent confrontation that occurred last Wednesday in Dover between two or three people in the area of South Reed and New Street. As the footage unfolds, more people get involved and more fights ensue. After spending much of the day Monday analyzing the tape and identifying suspects, police now believe as many as 20 people were involved.

So far, six suspects have been arrested and charged with assault and riot. Gloria Bolden, 44, Jazzmen Bolden, 19, and Latasha Wright, 32, were the first to be charged. After viewing the video, police identified and arrested Kilyle Goode, 21, Lacree Rue, 23, and a 12-year-old male.

According to police reports, the 24-year-old male victim received stitches for a laceration to the head, and the 33-year-old female victim spent the night in the hospital with broken ribs and a collapsed lung.

Stump, who at this point does not know what triggered the fight, says the video has been extremely helpful. But what is troubling, he says, is that authorities had to stumble upon it. In the YouTube video, several others can be seen in the background, apparently recording the events.

“We did not have anyone come into the police station with a video camera and say ‘look what I just saw, are you going to investigate?’” Stump said. “It was put on YouTube, obviously, I’m assuming, for entertainment purposes.”

Stump says police are always eager to look at any video that captures criminal activity. But they don’t want citizens to put themselves in any danger in the process.

“We’re not asking people to run up to crimes to see what type of footage they can pick up for us,” he said. “But if they do have it we certainly look forward to watching it. As we can tell in this case, it was beneficial to us.”