ST. LOUIS • A standing-room only crowd of Dutchtown residents turned out Wednesday night for a community forum held in response to a recent uptick in crime in the sprawling south St. Louis neighborhood.

Two high-profile homicides, the Monday killing of St. Louis American newspaper employee Paul Reiter and the April beating death of resident Hoang D. Nguyen, underscore the problems in the economically and racially diverse area.

Mayor Francis Slay, Police Chief Dan Isom and Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce spoke to about 200 residents inside the banquet hall at Grbic Restaurant, urging residents to become the front line of defense against a small band of criminals.

Slay said with residents' help, police will catch those "who victimize and terrorize our neighborhoods and we're going to bring them to justice. I want you to know we're zeroing in on this. ... We have the numbers on our side. We will win this battle."

Police and city officials encouraged residents to report suspicious neighborhood activity and problem properties, contact police officers with concerns, become block captains of the neighborhood watch and join a new collaborative initiative connecting residents, officers and the court system.

"We have a good template for making our community safe," Isom said.

Capt. Dan Howard said police know how to identify criminals, have the resources to pursue them and have an overall plan in place to get them off the streets. And, with residents on board, those efforts will only be strengthened, Howard said.

"The plan will not succeed without you," Howard said.

Resident Faye Permenter, who has lived near Delor and Pennsylvania for 40 years, always believed she would never live anywhere else. But with prostitution, drug dealing and gang activity common near her home, she's no longer sure. "It's getting so bad," Permenter said.

She said he hopes officers and elected officials are serious about cleaning up the neighborhood. "I hope they're good with their word because our neighborhood is getting terrible," Permenter said. "I hope they're not blowing smoke."

Her friend Sue Revelle came away encouraged. "I think it sort of filled you with hope," Revelle said. "I feel more positive about things now."

Burglaries are one of the most prevalent and nagging problems in Dutchtown, and it was an attempted break-in leading to the killing of Reiter that sparked the meeting.

On Wednesday, Rico R. Paul, 18, of the 3500 block of Bamberger Avenue, was charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action and first-degree attempted burglary in connection with Reiter's death. Reiter was shot after he saw Paul on the rear deck of the home next door during the alleged break-in, police said.

Reiter's cellphone was found next to his body with the numbers 911 in the display screen, police said.

Paul is jailed without bail. Howard said Paul confessed to other burglaries in Dutchtown.

Paul pleaded guilty to second-degree felony robbery in St. Louis in October and was sentenced to three years' probation.

He was also charged in St. Louis with misdemeanor theft on April 17 and released the next day, court records say. After Paul failed to show for a May 3 bond hearing, Circuit Judge Elizabeth Hogan issued a warrant for his arrest.

Joel Currier and Robert Patrick of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.