CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW)-  Midway through 2025, Charlottesville Police Department and its officers have dealt with fentanyl drug busts, unconfirmed gang activity, and continued gun violence.   

Appearing on WINA Morning News, Commonwealth’s Attorney Joe Platania addressed the issues of repeat offenders, and discussed the presence of gangs in the city and how they relate to the bigger cases that have entered the public consciousness.   

His thought process as a prosecutor is holistic, in that he seeks to understand the external factors that drive crimes being committed, only then can you work to prevent them.   

He praised the cooperation between the three law enforcement agencies working in the area, CPD, Albemarle County Police, and University of Virginia Police, citing that cooperation as major factor in the arrest in the large fentanyl drug bust on Prospect Avenue earlier this year.   

Platania mentioned that one out of three individuals in the local jail, according to recent data, return within three years.   

“It’s poverty, housing, its employment, its intergenerational trauma… its all of those things melted together,” Platania said.  

He assured that he is not excusing criminal activity but emphasized a more “global” approach in examining the life of an offender and hopefully ensuring that won’t become that 1 of 3.   

Speaking on gang activity in relation to the shooting that occurred at Country Green Road, “I am uncomfortable with the word gang. …It carries with it a connotation that may be applicable in some instances and not in others.” 

The language notwithstanding, he did confirm that there are neighborhood relating groups of individuals that are getting into disputes, usually involving firearms, with one another over frivolous conflicts.   

Though he did confirm that there are plenty of enhancement charges to apply to those suspected of gang activity, Platania believes that achieving significant and sustained sentence using “low hanging fruit” charges, factors best into his priority of taking in account all factors that contribute to the offenses of individuals who believe there is no other course of action.   

He could not comment in detail on the Fourth of July shooting at Orangedale Avenue, but did take the opportunity to encourage eyewitnesses to come forward and aid the investigation.