By ANGELA MARSHALL
But stabbing seen as isolated incident
With the police command post finally gone, residents of Baldwin Oaks were ready to begin the healing process last Friday. Three days earlier, on Oct. 31, a real-life Halloween horror had shattered their quiet existence when a visiting teen was slain in their streets.
The aftermath of a confrontation between several bike-riding teens and a young couple out for a walk left Akil Melville mortally wounded at the crossroads of this small community, where Center Drive, South Drive and Fenimore Place all meet. The 17-year-old from Brooklyn had been visiting his aunt, Judy Campbell of Center Drive.
Akil and his girlfriend, Kim Bryan of Amityville, had just met up when they came in contact with several teens on bicycles, according to police. An argument escalated and one boy produced a knife, stabbing Akil repeatedly. Cries from a neighbor to break up the fight would come too late to save Akil's life. The bike riders fled and police were continuing to try to find them this week.
On Friday, several residents were out doing yard work, cutting the grass and removing leaves from their manicured lawns. But no one touched the yellow-chalk circles marking the splatters of Akil's blood. They looked at them and shook their heads.
"This is a quiet, decent neighborhood," said one resident, who didn't want to give her name. She and others of the area at Baldwin's most northern tip, just south of Hempstead, resent it when other Baldwin residents say their area is deteriorating. Most have lived there for more than 10 years, some for 25.
"This is an isolated incident," said Werner Kinkel, an 18-year resident. "I was really shocked that this happened."
Mr. Kinkel, who does architectural consulting work out of his South Drive home, said the neighborhood never has had a gang problem, and he does not believe Akil Melville's death was the result of one, either. He, like others, believes the stabbing was a Halloween incident gone too far. "I've always found it to be a quiet and nice area," he said.
George Vassall, a 25-year resident, agreed. He said Halloween always brings strangers into the neighborhood -- mostly teens on their bikes passing through to get to the supermarket. "There's no gangs in this community."
Police speculated that, because of the bikes, the boys were from a neighboring area, -- Baldwin, Hempstead or Uniondale. "I don't think they were from too far out of this area," Lt. Frank Guidice said on Friday. "No one has been identified at this point."
Coes Neck Park, a few blocks from the stabbing, was all but empty Friday afternoon. A grandmother, her son and granddaughter were the only ones using the park's playground. The grandmother, who didn't want to give her name, said she almost didn't stay that day because of teens in the park when she arrived. The stabbing has made her cautious. "I'm more careful when I'm out walking," she said. "It makes me nervous."
A Center Drive woman, who lives just doors from where the stabbing happened, felt similarly. "I was never afraid before," she said. "It's really a shame."
