'Miss him dearly': Midwood Smokehouse employee dies days after altercation in Glenwood South

Saturday, September 2, 2023

Raleigh restaurant employee dies after altercation in Glenwood South

Midwood Smokehouse employee David Millette died days after being attacked in Glenwood South.

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Police in Raleigh said Friday that a restaurant employee who was involved in an altercation nearly a week ago has died.

According to the Raleigh Police Department, officers responded to a disturbance call shortly after 2 a.m., on Saturday in the Glenwood South area.

Officers said 27-year-old David Millette and another man were involved in the dispute at Glenwood Avenue and Johnson Street.

During the incident, Millette was punched and sustained injuries when he fell to the ground and hit his head on the sidewalk, He was taken to the hospital with serious injuries. Friday, RPD confirmed Millette has since died from his injuries. They didn't elaborate on what type of injuries Millette sustained during the altercation.

ABC11 reached out to Midwood Smokehouse where Millette was employed as the general manager and they sent this statement:

"We lost a beloved member of our team to violence in the neighborhood. We miss him dearly."

Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin called the incident "horrendous" and "sad."

She said Raleigh police need eyewitnesses and surveillance video to help with their investigation.

"We really made a commitment to the neighborhood that we were going to be proactive and that's what I've seen our police chief do."

There's a new pilot program with RPD; they shut down cross streets up and down Glenwood, and have officers patrolling side streets on Friday and Saturday nights

Baldwin said business owners have given very positive feedback about it and they want it to remain that way.

They've also upped parking fines from $30 to $200 for those parking in some neighborhoods who don't live there.

"So what we are seeing is when people come out of the bars at 2 a.m., they are not hanging around like they used to, they're leaving. That's what we want to see so we think this police presence is helping," Baldwin said. "We've been working hard to figure out what can we do because safety is our No. 1 priority.

"We really made a commitment to the neighborhood that we were going to be proactive," she added, "and that's what I've seen our police chief do."

Raleigh Police Chief Estella Patterson talked Friday about what her department is doing to mitigate the persistent crime problem in Glenwood South.

"Just an increased presence in police officers. We're cutting out the opportunity to cruise and ride through Glenwood South because we know when you have those kinds of crowds, it tends to attract crime," Patterson said. "So we're going to do everything in our power, and the City of Raleigh's done a lot of great things in terms of the lighting, in terms of making sure that the vegetation is cut back so that that area is open and you can see very clearly."

James Willingham, the assistant general manager of The Hibernian, said they've appreciated the increased police presence. He noted it's a double-edged sword because too many police officers deter people from coming out.

"They're not here to deal with the drunk college kids, they're here to make sure everyone is safe," Willingham said. "Once people figure that out, people will start trickling back down."

He lamented the news about Millette -- another violent episode in the area.

"It's definitely sad to hear that," Willingham said. "Another incident that happened on Glenwood."

Anyone with any information on this investigation is asked to visit Crimestoppers at www.p3tips.com/89 for anonymous reporting options or call (919) 996-1193.

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