Page 31 - Florida Sentinel 11-29-19

National Crime
82-Year-Old Body Builder Stops Intruder In His Tracks
MS. WILLIE MURPHY
Crime
FDLE Arrests Three In Multi-State Crime Spree
FDLE ARRESTS
Rochester, New York, res- ident Willie Murphy is not your average 82-year-old. When a man decided to break into her home recently, the award-winning body- builder used her strength to stop the intruder with the help of a table, baby shampoo and a broom.
Murphy told local sta- tion WHAM-TV that the in- truder started pounding on her door and asking for someone to call an ambu- lance as she was getting ready for bed. She called the police, but would not let the man in. That’s when things got more intense.
The man busted through the door, but did not make it very far before Murphy began to fight back. She quickly grabbed a nearby table and started attacking the intruder.
“I took that table and I went to working on him,” she told WHAM-TV. “... I’m alone and I’m old, but guess what? I’m tough.”
The table broke, but that didn’t stop Murphy. She just picked up the metal legs and used them to continue defending her home. She went on using a combination of her strength training and other household items to make sure the intruder
stayed down. After jumping on him a few times, Murphy grabbed a bottle of baby shampoo and squirted it in his face. After that, she started whacking him with a broom.
Despite being able to deadlift 225 pounds, Mur- phy told WHAM that the in- truder was too heavy for her to move.
“He wants to get the heck out of there and I’m trying to help him get out of the house, but I can’t move him,” she said. “He’s dead weight.”
When she finally had a chance to get close enough to try to move him, the police began arriving.
“So they come in,” she said. “He’s lying down al- ready because I had really did a number on that man.”
She does not plan on pressing charges, WHAM-TV reported.
Murphy’s strength in the situation was no surprise, as she is a familiar sight at the Maplewood YMCA. Mur- phy has previously earned first place awards in her divi- sion at the World Natural Powerlifting Federation’s championships and was named the 2014 Lifter of the Year after winning gold medals in the deadlift, power curl and bench press.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has ar- rested three people in con- nection with an organized retail theft ring. The ring op- erated throughout the South- eastern United States and is responsible for more than 100 thefts in 23 Florida coun- ties. Two suspects remain at large.
The investigation began in May after FDLE was con- tacted by The Home Depot about a barcode switch scam. Agents believe the sus- pects printed fraudulent UPC barcodes on adhesive stick- ers. The stickers were then placed over UPC barcodes on more expensive products at The Home Depot and Target stores.
The suspects printed UPC codes for $7.99 electrical out- lets and placed them over barcodes for wireless smart dimmer switches costing $99.95 and home wi-fi sys- tems costing $299.
They also printed UPC barcodes for $19.97 rotary tool accessory kits, using the fraudulent codes to purchase
National Crime
$199 smart thermostats.
The investigation shows one suspect placed the false barcodes on the merchandise in store while another pur- chased the products. Sus- pects routinely purchased dozens of items costing stores thousands of dollars in a sin-
gle transaction.
After the purchases, sus-
pects mailed the items to an- other suspect who sold them
online for large profits. Agents say the thefts cost re- tailers more than $150,000 in Florida alone.
The suspects arrested or charged are: Usman Ali, 33, of Pembroke Pines, FL; Rand Clark, 58, of Orlando; Gwendolyn Walker, 53, of Orlando; Harold Wilson, 62, address unknown at this time; and Keith Conyers, 56, address unknown.
Body Of Missing UFC Fighter's 19-Year-Old Step-Daughter Aniah Blanchard Is Found In Alabama
Human remains believed to be those of UFC heavy- weight fighter's missing step- daughter Aniah Blanchard, 19, were discov- ered this morning in Ala- bama.
The body was found on Monday in Macon County, more than a month after Blanchard was last seen alive at a convenience store in Auburn.
'I can confirm that human remains have been found and we have good reason to sus- pect they are that of Aniah Blanchard,' said District At- torney Brandon Hughes.
Just hours later, law en- forcement officials an- nounced the arrest of a third suspect in connection to the case, identified as David Johnson, Jr., 63.
Blanchard's family were said to have been notified of the grim discovery.
The skeletal remains were located off Highway 80 in Shorter, Alabama, located halfway between Auburn, where Blanchard was last
ANIAH BLANCHARD
seen alive, and Montgomery, where her damaged and bloodied SUV was found.
According to a statement from Auburn Police, officers acting on a tip arrived at a wooded area in the 38000 block of County Road 2 at around 10.45am.
'After a brief search by In- vestigators they located what appeared to be human re- mains several feet into the woodline,' the press release stated.
Last Friday, a second sus- pect arrested last week in Blanchard's case has been accused of disposing of evi- dence.
Antwain Shamar Fisher, 35, of Montgomery, Alabama, who has a murder conviction stemming from an unrelated case, was taken into custody on Friday on first-degree kidnapping charges in Blanchard's dis- appearance last month.
Earlier this month, police charged Fisher's alleged ac- complice, 29-year-old Ibra- heem Yazeed, with kidnapping.
In an arrest warrant filed with the court Monday, po- lice said Fisher helped Yazeed by disposing of un- specified evidence and chauf- feuring him around.
Fisher, who goes by the nickname 'Squirmy,' was denied bond because of his lengthy criminal history, which includes a felony mur- der conviction. He is due back in court on December 18.
Blanchard was last seen on October 23 in Auburn. Her stepfather is UFC fighter Walt Harris of metro Birm- ingham.
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