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Task force aims at getting guns off Charlotte streets

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Authorities have been hunting some of the most violent criminals to get guns off the street for the past month in Charlotte.
 
Anchor Allison Latos recently went on a ride-a-long with the task force for one shift.
 
The mission is focused on Charlotte's 13 patrol divisions like Hickory Grove.
 
However, the task force is not limited to those boundaries and has four teams of officers that cover the entire city on a mission to stop criminals.
 
On one assignment, police said Larry Crowder tried to avoid questioning while they investigated calls of shots fired and learned of warrants for his arrest on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and trespassing.

"Jesus Christ is real. Take me to jail," Crowder, who has been arrested at least 25 times, said as he was taken into custody.
 
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department has arrested 266 people and recovered 51 guns -- 12 of them stolen.
 
This week, Joann Ellis told Channel 9 about the frightening moments she was carjacked  in NoDa.
 
Task force members Officer Ryan Leggett and Sgt. Henry Rozell are credited with catching the suspected gunman.
 
"He was covered in sweat," Leggett said. "It wasn't that warm that night. There was a good breeze  blowing. He was sweating profusely and that got my attention."
 
Rozell said, "It's not rocket science. It's having the willingness to do go out there and do it and know what you're looking for."
 
The 24 officers on this summer task force were picked from the 13 patrol divisions specifically for this job.
 
In the southeast area, they've really honed in on the businesses along Albemarle Road that were being robbed often.
 
Out of the 266 task force arrests across Charlotte, 112 of them have happened there.
 
The officers confiscated 15 of the 51 guns police recovered so far.