Pubdate: Tue, 08 Aug 2000 Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL) Copyright: 2000 The Sun-Times Co. Contact: 401 N. Wabash, Chicago IL 60611 Feedback: http://www.suntimes.com/geninfo/feedback.html Website: http://www.suntimes.com/ Author: Mary Mitchell, BY MARY MITCHELL SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST At the funeral of Tsarina Powell, a woman pressed into my hand an envelope containing a $200 check in donations collected from co-workers. She hoped the money would help the Powell family cope with the tragic and violent end to the 12-year-old girl's life. Tsarina was killed on July 10 as she fled her bed when her home was sprayed with gunfire. Like many of the people who sent flowers, the young woman who gave me the check felt that what happened to Tsarina was the last straw. She wanted to show that she cared about the life of this special girl who managed to make the most out of her trying circumstances. Both of Tsarina's parents are deceased, and Tsarina lived with an older sister and other unrelated adults on South Honore. Two suspects, Derrick L. Martin, 19, and Michael Barnes, 28, have been charged with first-degree murder in connection with Tsarina's shooting. But these suspects are not the only people responsible for Tsarina's death. According to police sources, Tsarina became an unintended victim when an older sister moved into the home, trying to escape a drug debt. If this family knew the woman was being chased by armed drug dealers and didn't seek police help, they bear some of the blame for what happened to Tsarina. This tragedy could have been prevented had one of Tsarina's adult relatives refused to allow a family member who was mixed up with criminals to seek refuge in their home. Instead of giving her a place to hide, the family should have called the police and helped the woman clean up her dangerous lifestyle. If the woman refused the family's help, so be it. But there was no reason for family members to jeopardize their own safety trying to save someone from a mess she created. Drug use and drug dealing are hard to hide. Neighbors who live near a drug house notice the strange activities. And anyone who has had to deal with a relative's drug habit knows that addicts are untrustworthy. The investigation into Tsarina's death revealed that a sister, who did not live in the Honore house, was given guns and narcotics to hold after a battery occurred on the West Side. The guns came up missing, as did the drugs. When demands were made for payment, the woman fled to the Honore house and hid out until the day before the house was sprayed with bullets. It would be difficult to prove the woman knew that the gunmen were coming, but it is at least highly coincidental that she left the house the day before the gunmen arrived. Still, there is no law that holds adults accountable under such circumstances, even though parents and guardians can be charged with neglect for committing other dangerous acts, such as leaving a child home alone. Putting a child in a situation where he or she may be killed as a result of an adult's criminal behavior is even more reprehensible. Parents and guardians who strap their kids into car seats and then drive off under the influence of drugs and alcohol, for instance, should be severely prosecuted if any harm befalls their children. That is why I can't see giving this family any financial help. Instead, I am forwarding the $200 check, along with my matching check, to Sadie Waterford Manor, a home for girls located in Crestwood. The home serves girls ranging from 10 to 18 years old. Many of them have been removed from abusive and neglectful situations. Because of her innocence, Tsarina in her death has sparked a movement to confront violence associated with gangs and drugs. I applaud the efforts being made by hundreds of people to end this kind of street violence. Still, little will change until adults make better moral decisions--even if it means turning their backs on wayward family members. - --- MAP posted-by: greg