Ridgefield, Briarcliff neighbors use listserv to catch man charged with crime

A previous version of this article incorrectly called Michael Patrick Harper a criminal — he is only charged with, not convicted of, a crime — and stated that Victoria Freeman and Cotton Bryan directly provided the police with information that led to Harper’s arrest. In fact, Ken Larsen directly provided the information. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the errors.

For college students, listservs often act as ways to keep up with classes and extracurriculars, and occasionally beg for notes.

But last month, the Chapel Hill Police Department and a local community used a listserv to catch a man police say fled the scene after wrecking into a parked vehicle.

On Oct. 25, Michael Patrick Harper, 21, of Chesley Lane was arrested by deputies with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office for four charges stemming from an Oct. 13 hit and run.

He was later released on $5,000 unsecured bond. Sgt. Joshua Mecimore said police do not know if alcohol was involved.

Residents of the Ridgefield and Briarcliff neighborhoods worked together to identify Harper, who lived only a few streets from the incident’s location, as the suspect.

The morning after the hit and run, Kay Schlegel-Pratt forwarded an email from Virginia Tompkins, owner of the car, to her neighborhood listserv, asking for information about the incident.

And neighbors heeded the call.

Ken Larsen, a resident of Emory Drive, put together a sheet of evidence uncovered by the community that he sent to the police department.

The sheet he submitted helped lead to the arrest of Harper five days later, he said.

Larsen said neighbors noticed that Harper’s vehicle had been missing since the night of the accident.

Residents had given Larsen Harper’s license plate number and provided anecdotes about Harper’s past driving, which they called reckless.

Police used the license plate number to find his address, where they found the vehicle and confirmed that it was involved. They later arrested Harper.

Larsen said he thinks residents’ emails hastened Harper’s arrest.

“I think they probably would have found him eventually, but having the listserv definitely expedited it,” he said.

Roscoe Reeve, a resident of Brigham Road, said he indirectly helped with the investigation.

“I participated by encouraging anybody that knew anything to call the police,” he said.

Reeve said he believes the relationship between residents and police is important to safety.

And Mecimore agreed, saying because there are only 120 officers in the department, police often rely on residents for the information they need to solve crimes.

“That partnership between the community and the police department is really what makes the difference.”

Contact the City Editor at city@dailytarheel.com.