Community mourns Wing, group vows fight against drugs and crime

Many members of Project ACTION went straight from Wesley J. Wing’s funeral to the community group’s monthly meeting Tuesday.
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20150429/NEWS02/704299865

Community mourns Wing, group vows fight against drugs and crime By Susan Smallheer Staff Writer | April 29,2015 Photo by Len Emery Select Board Chairman Kristi Morris, left, and Police Chief Douglas Johnston, second from left, take questions Tuesday at the Project ACTION meeting in Springfield. SPRINGFIELD — Many members of Project ACTION went straight from Wesley J. Wing’s funeral to the community group’s monthly meeting Tuesday. There was a direct connection in more ways than one. The community-building group took a big hit last week, with the shooting death of Wing, 37, a local builder and father of four children. Wing died after being shot multiple times by Gregory A. Smith, 30, of Springfield, after Wing accused Smith’s girlfriend, Wendy Morris, 25, of bringing drug trafficking to his neighborhood in Birdland, a housing development near Springfield High School. But in the words of Kristi Morris, chairman of the Springfield Select Board and one of the leaders of Project ACTION, Wing’s death is a challenge that the community must overcome. “It was a setback for us, of course,” said Morris, who praised the work of the Springfield Police Department and other law enforcement officers in apprehending Smith. Smith has pleaded innocent to a charge of second-degree murder. He has a lengthy criminal record and is being held without bail. Police Chief Douglas Johnston said even before Wing confronted Wendy Morris, police were helping to have Smith and his girlfriend Morris evicted from the home they rented at 2 Lark Lane, just around the corner from Wing’s home on Cardinal Drive. Johnston told Project ACTION’s crime and safety subcommittee Tuesday his department has been working with local landlords who suspect their tenants of illegal drug activities. He said Morris and Smith’s landlord had already started eviction proceedings, without the suggestion of the police department. Morris, who doesn’t have a criminal record, has been charged with being an accessory after the fact in Wing’s slaying. She has been released. The police chief said his department can send letters of warning to landlords or property owners even without a drug charge or conviction. Suspicion of illegal activity is enough to evict people, he said. Selectwoman Stephanie Thompson, Project ACTION’s main leader, said the community is working on fundraising efforts to help the Wing family. Wesley Wing was the family’s sole means of support. Thompson said the fundraising plans were in the “early planning stages.” Wing was eulogized Tuesday in a private funeral service at United Methodist Church of Springfield. Afterward, his friends, family and members of the community held a reception in the dining room of the church to honor Wing. Thompson said the next monthly meeting of Project ACTION would likely be held in the evening, at the request of community members who can’t attend afternoon meetings. “We need to get the power of the community behind us,” she said. Project ACTION was launched in January in response to shootings in 2013 and 2014 in downtown Springfield. Police said both shootings involved gang activity and drug dealing, a reflection of the tide of violence and drug activity that has hit Springfield in recent years.