NEWS

Emotional scars of December northside robbery linger

Bethany Bruner
Reporter

NEWARK - Nearly two months have passed since Carole Dodd and Larry Bartlett returned to their Day Avenue home on Dec. 29 and were approached by a stranger with a gun.

The stranger demanded Dodd's purse but when Bartlett refused to give him anything, the stranger fired the gun one time, according to court records.

Bartlett has now returned home after several weeks in the hospital. The bullet fired into his side remains in his body, but he continues to recover.

Dodd is recovering as well but remains wary of strangers and cautious about letting people into her home on a quiet street in north Newark.

The man accused of robbing them and shooting Bartlett, 26-year-old Codey Spears remains behind bars, awaiting trial.

Dodd isn't as concerned with what happens to Spears or how she is handling the events of Dec. 29 as she is with the reputation of the street she has called home for 45 years.

"This person has completely taken away something," she said. "People look down on our neighborhood and it isn't like that. It's not fair to our street."

The pair said they have received support from their neighbors since moments after the incident occurred. A man even left cookies and a $25 gift card for the pair, but didn't leave a name for them to thank.

Dodd and Bartlett had returned home around 5:30 p.m. Dec. 29, a Thursday, after running some errands. That's when Spears allegedly approached the pair.

"We were in the right place at the wrong time. he just disrupted our lives," Dodd said.

In the moments after the robbery, neighbors helped Dodd and Bartlett and one even contacted police, according to court records, to say they had seen Spears shortly after the shooting.

Codey Spears

A bill of particulars in the case said prosecutors believe Spears had run to a home less than a block away, pounding on a window to be let in by someone he knew, breaking the glass. When Spears was let into the home, he reportedly ran to an upstairs attic and changed his clothes before running out of the home.

Police found clothing which matched Dodd's description of the robber, as well as her purse in the attic and a blank checkbook full of her checks and other items outside the window Spears had allegedly knocked on, according to court records.

Spears was located within 24 hours and reportedly was in possession of another blank check of Dodd's and a key ring. Since his arrest, Spears has maintained his innocence, including in a letter to The Advocate. His case is currently scheduled for trial in early April.

Dodd said she was thankful for the detectives on the case who stayed with her and Bartlett at the hospital and worked quickly to ensure the person they believed to be responsible was apprehended.

"You could tell they were kind, wonderful people," she said. "If anything good has come of this, we've met some nice people."

Bartlett has been back home for several weeks and said he quickly made some changes to his lifestyle because of what happened.

"If we come home in the dark and there's somebody in the street, I don't pull in the driveway," he said. "To be more secure, I'm not going to do that."

Dodd, however, said she hasn't even thought about moving from her home.

"I'm not going to let this ruin my life," she said. "It's sad what happened, but it's not going to take my life."