CHARLOTTE, N.C. — All over Charlotte, people are holding signs by the road, asking for money.
Drivers might want to help them out, but Channel 9 investigated to whom are you really opening your window and if the signs that tell sad stories are true.
In an undercover 9 investigation, anchor Scott Wickersham followed some of the panhandlers from the exit ramp of Interstate 77 to Tyvola Road in south Charlotte.
Channel 9 cameras recorded several men who appear to have an organized system to make money here on a daily basis.
- PRESS PLAY Man looks through multiple cardboard signs:
<script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript" src="http://admin.brightcove.com/js/BrightcoveExperiences.js"></script><object id="myExperience4352236991001" class="BrightcoveExperience"> <param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /> <param name="width" value="300" /> <param name="height" value="169" /> <param name="playerID" value="1885717126001" /> <param name="playerKey" value="AQ~~,AAAAVzySnGE~,GJOLLPGiYiE4yJXtQU0a40DR9fKXyfCH" /> <param name="isSlim" value="true" /> <param name="dynamicStreaming" value="true" /> <param name="@videoPlayer" value="4352236991001" /></object><script type="text/javascript">brightcove.createExperiences();</script>
They gather under a tree each morning.
Eyewitness News watched them creating new signs or sometimes sifting through old signs in a duffel bag, each sign with a different message.
One man's sign was big enough to hide the smartphone he was using while asking for money.
When they left, Channel 9 saw one man go into Costco, where he bought food.
On another day, several of them walked to a house nearby.
Wickersham decided to ask them if they're really in need and homeless or if they're running a business.
One man took off right away, tearing up the sign on which he was working. He said he needed money to get to Davidson.
ORDINANCE: Sec. 14-282. - Soliciting from street or median strip
He said he wasn't panhandling, just sitting under a tree, but Channel 9 has video of him panhandling from a few days before.
Under the tree, Wickersham found bottles of water, a duffel bag, clothing and a fly swatter.
He also met Colin Marcho, who admitted that he was panhandling.
<strong>"I'm just looking for work , come out here trying to make a buck to eat on," Colin Marcho said.</strong>
Wickersham asked how much he can make in a day.
"It depends. Sometimes a hundred dollars,” Marcho said.
Marcho said he’s been panhandling for about six months to eat and survive on the streets.
On his Facebook page, Marcho paints a different image of himself. His cover photo shows piles of $20 bills. There's a picture of a gun and Marcho sitting in a Range Rover that he said he bought last September.
Channel 9 also learned that he has an arrest record for misdemeanors ranging from assault on a female to cyberstalking and marijuana possession.
Those who work with the people on the streets said that doesn't mean that he doesn't need help.
<strong>"You really have to swallow a lot of pride to put yourself in that situation," said Liz Clasen-Kelly, who works with the homeless for the Urban Ministry Center in uptown.</strong>
She said many people who panhandle don't live on the streets, but they're in need and are not always honest about why they need money.
"Everybody I know who was panhandled has struggled with a substance abuse issue,” Clasen-Kelly said.
On one occasion, Eyewitness News saw Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers speaking with the men whom the station was watching.
The officers were responding to a loitering complaint about the men, but they didn't arrest anyone.
Capt. Mike Campagna said the law allows the men to ask for money in a public area such as a sidewalk as long as they are not aggressive.
"You tell them no, and they re-approach you. If they do it any time after dark or if they are within 20 feet of dining, a bus stop, taxi stand," he said.
But it's illegal to do what these men are doing -- standing in or near a road trying to stop cars for donations.
Marcho said he's not looking for trouble, just for help.
“It’s hard , but you do what you have to do to survive,” he said.
CMPD suggests giving money directly to service providers in Charlotte who help those in need instead of handing people cash on the street.
Read more 9 Investigates:
- July 9: Legal loophole used to avoid NC concealed carry course
- July 8: Death row costing millions, but no one put to death
- July 7: No tickets for smoking ban violations
- July 6: Scammers try to pull IRS con on Action 9's Jason Stoogenke
- July 2: New tool helps show difficult crime scenes to jurors
WSOC
