Police in Garland have arrested a man they believe robbed a gas station and set the 76-year-old woman on fire.
Shortly after 7 a.m. Sunday, officers spotted a fire at a Fina gas station in the 3300 block of Broadway Boulevard.
As they pulled into the station, the officers saw a woman on fire step outside. One of the officers grabbed a fire extinguisher from his car and began spraying her to put out the fire.
The woman was able to tell officers she had been robbed, and the suspect doused her with a liquid to set her on fire. She gave a description of the suspect to officers.
Paramedics rushed the woman to the hospital. Investigators said she suffered burns over 40 percent of her body and was in critical condition.
Shortly after the fire, officers got calls about a man trying to break into houses in the neighborhood behind the Fina station.
Officers arrested Matthew Lee Johnson, 36, on charges of robbery and attempted capital murder.
A 76-year-old woman who was doused with flammable liquid and set on fire during a robbery Sunday morning has been identified as Nancy Harris of Garland.
Police tell us she remains in critical condition at Parkland Memorial Hospital. She suffered burns over 40 percent of her body in the attack at a convenience store where she works near Broadway Boulevard and Colonel Drive.
Suspect Matthew Lee Johnson, 36, has been jailed on a criminal attempted capital murder charge. His bail was set at $500,000.
Harris’s neighbors said they were shocked by the brutality of the attack on a selfless woman who kept a close eye on her neighborhood.
“I can’t understand why someone, some idiot, would do this to her,” said Margaret Tatum, 70, who lives a few houses down from Harris in the neighborhood just a few blocks from the crime scene.
“I know she’s in a lot of pain,” Tatum said. “I can feel that pain here,” she said as she pointed to her heart.
“I’ve been crying all morning,” Tatum said. “I couldn’t sleep last night.”
Another neighbor, Jim Bertucci, 62, said Harris always seemed to remember little details about everyone and what was going on in their lives.
“She was the kind of friend that, you know, you may not see them and then when you see them … It’s like we never missed a beat,” Bertucci said.
“To rob somebody, that’s one thing,” Bertucci said. “But To throw gas on them and light them — my God, that’s terrible. I wouldn’t do that to a lump of coal.”
Police are investigating a vicious beating at a McDonald's drive-thru in Denver.
Shannon, who asked us not to use her last name, was the victim of an attack on May 9 just before noon.
She called our sister station KUSA 9News, and asked for help finding her attackers.
"I don't feel safe anymore," Shannon said.
The attack happened in the middle of the busy lunch hour at the McDonald's on 3300 Colorado Boulevard near Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
Radio reference recorded dispatchers describing the attack, as multiple 911 calls came in.
"Two black females are inside. They're fighting inside the car still in the drive-thru," one dispatcher can be heard saying.
Shannon has been coming to the same drive-thru almost every day for five years without a problem... until this incident.
"I witnessed this young lady throwing trash out of her car and all I said was that it wasn't cool," Shannon said.
A few choice words later, Shannon thought the argument was over.
"All of a sudden I was being attacked," Shannon said.
Two women jumped out of the car in front of her.
"She was right in my window just punching me in my face, pulling my hair," Shannon said. "She started biting on my hands so severely. I thought she was gonna bite 'em off, actually."
Then a man jumped out of the car and threw a soda through her window.
"He said, 'This is for you, you white b----. This is a grape soda.' And then they took off," Shannon said.
The attack happened in plain view of a rooftop security camera, but Denver Police told Shannon the actual beating wasn't caught on tape.
Investigators won't release the security video, calling this an "open investigation."
McDonald's management has no comment, but say it is cooperating with police.
"If they can do that, they can snap and do something else. Something worse," Shannon said.
Shannon hopes police find whoever beat her up before they do it again.
"I don't want anybody else to get hurt like I got hurt," Shannon said.
The description of the suspects - two black women and one black man - is vague. The best clue police have to go on right now is they were driving a light-blue Cadillac with temporary tags.
Call Denver Metro Crime Stoppers at 720-913-STOP (7867) or text DMCS plus your message to 274637 if you have any information. You can remain anonymous and could be eligible for a reward.
Tulsa Police have confirmed to News On 6 that an elderly man, who with his wife was brutally beaten by intruders to his home in March, has died.
Bob Strait, 90, was critically injured in the March 13 assault, which took place in the 3300 block of East Virgin Street.
The couple were married 65 years before Nancy Strait, 85, died at a Tulsa hospital from wounds sustained in the beating.
Tulsa Police have named 20-year-old Tyrone Woodfork the principal suspect in the case. He was booked into the Tulsa County Jail and faces several charges, including first-degree murder for the death of Nancy Strait.
Police said in addition to being beaten, Nancy Strait had been sexually assaulted, and Bob Strait had wounds to his face from a BB gun.
TPD said the body of Bob Strait has been transferred to the medical examiner, who will determine an official cause of death. If it is determined his injuries played a part in his death, more charges could be added to Woodfork.
Bob Strait's girls said they could feel his death coming.
"Before, when I would walk by his room taking laundry, he would wink at me and wave and I'd wave back," Strait's daughter Andra said.
Bob stayed in a room at Andra's after Nancy's death. When he woke up, he could see pictures of his beloved wife as well as get well wishes from his great grandkids.
They say he would look at the pictures of his wife of more than 60 years and tears would fill his eyes.
"It was torture to see him hurting, that's torture," Strait's daughter Lanora said. "Losing him is hard, but he's not hurting anymore."
They both believe Bob died as a direct result of being attacked and believe the man in custody should be charged with two murders.
"I believe Daddy would still be with us if he hadn't killed mom," Andra said. "He broke daddy's jaw so he couldn't eat, broke his ribs so he couldn't get up and move around. We did get him up to watch the Braves game, but he even lost that joy."
They hate their mother's last moments on earth were filled with terror and their father's with sorrow but take comfort in the memories and legacy the couple leaves behind.
Nancy was known for her gracious hospitality, homemade jams and quilts. Bob was known for his woodworking talents, making airplanes and cabinets for his kids and grandkids.
"He's asleep," Andra said. "No more pain, no more sorrow for his part. It's what he wanted. He wanted to be where mom was and he'll be buried with mama."
Bob Strait was a paratrooper in World War II. He was with the historic 101st Airborne Division, where he was part of the D-Day invasion. He was awarded the Bronze Star.
Nancy Strait grew up in a log cabin in Kenwood, Oklahoma, with no running water. She moved to Tulsa to work during the war, and when the war ended, she met Bob.
Three weeks later they were married: Friday the 13th in 1946.
A fund has been set up for the Straits. You can donate at any Arvest branch. It will remain open through June. The family wanted to thank everyone for their tremendous show of support.
I would put a round through the back of Tyrone's head and not lose a wink of sleep.
The video “Anthony vs. Curtis” has since been re-uploaded to YouTube. The video shows Trayvon engaged in actual and intentional violent conduct. You’ll notice Trayvon in the video, wearing a white cap with the striped shirt. You can hear his name called out about 5 seconds into the video.
The address of the home pictured in the other videos is linked to Trayvon’s mother Sybrina Fulton. I will not post the family’s home address here but it is clear that this is Trayvon’s YouTube account and his mother’s home. It appears that Trayvon was involved in and enjoyed underground fights. Certainly, he was not the little angelic child the MSM made him out to be.
Hat Tip Matt
The re-uploaded video mentioned in the article has been pulled by YouTube again but I found it on another source.
Pat Buchanan: Those who fanned the flames of race war should go on trial
by Patrick J. Buchanan Email | Archive
Pat Buchanan was twice a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination and the Reform Party's candidate in 2000.
He is also a founder and editor of The American Conservative. Buchanan served three presidents in the White House, was a founding panelist of three national TV shows, and is the author of nine books. His latest book is "Suicide of a Superpower: Will America Survive to 2025?"
Three months ago, George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer in Sanford, Fla., shot and killed Trayvon Martin.
Handcuffed, taken in and interrogated, Zimmerman told police Trayvon had been acting suspiciously that dark and rainy night, that he had followed Trayvon, been knocked down and battered on the ground, and, fearing for his life, pulled a concealed handgun and shot him.
Sanford police and prosecutors concluded that Zimmerman acted in self-defense and had not committed a provable felony. They let him go.
A racial firestorm followed. “Blacks are under attack,” railed Jesse Jackson. “Killing us is big business.” Arriving in Sanford, the reverend dialed it up. Trayvon was “shot down in cold blood by a vigilante … murdered and martyred.”
Rep. Maxine Waters’ charge of “hate crime” was echoed by radio talker Joe Madison. Rep. Hank Johnson said Trayvon had been “executed.” The Grio compared his killing to the lynching of Emmett Till in Mississippi in 1955.
The New Black Panther Party put Zimmerman’s face on a “Wanted Dead or Alive” poster, called for 5,000 black men to run him down and said Trayvon had been “murdered in cold blood.”
Spike Lee tweeted what he thought was Zimmerman’s home address.
Zimmerman and his family have been in hiding for months in fear for their lives after the death threats.
President Obama expressed his empathy with the parents.
“If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon. And I think (the parents) are right to expect that all of us as Americans are gonna take this with the seriousness it deserves and that we’re going to get to the bottom of exactly what happened.”
Obama said not a word to cool the lynch-mob atmosphere created by some of his major allies in a nation where he is the chief law enforcement officer. And so the campaign to convict Zimmerman of racist murder in the public mind, before he ever got to trial, proceeded on.
Rep. Jan Schakowsky called Trayvon’s killing a “modern-day lynching.” CNN claimed to have picked up the phrase “(bleeping) coons” on the tape of Zimmerman’s call to police, but had to retract when an enhanced version of the tape revealed no such slur.
Three times NBC used a version of Zimmerman’s call to the police edited to make it appear he racially profiled Trayvon.
The actual version:
Zimmerman: “This guy looks like he’s up to no good, or he’s on drugs or something. It’s raining, and he’s just walking around, looking about.”
Dispatcher: “OK, and this guy, is he white, black or Hispanic?”
Zimmerman: “He looks black.”
The transcript was spliced to have Zimmerman say: “This guy looks like he’s up to no good. He looks black.”
CNN media critic Howard Kurtz called it “blatant distortion.”
Caught and called out, three NBC employees were cashiered.
With this wind at her back, Florida State Attorney Angela Corey charged Zimmerman with second-degree murder. Translation: Zimmerman murdered Trayvon in a “depraved” state of mind.
If convicted, he could get life.
Last week came a more ominous report. Federal investigators are looking into hate-crime charges that could bring the death penalty. The feds would have to prove Zimmerman stalked and murdered Trayvon because he was black.
Yet, last week also, evidence from the investigation spilled out into the national media and seemed to contradict and swamp the prosecution’s case.
A medical report the day after the shooting revealed that Zimmerman had suffered a broken nose, two black eyes and lacerations on the back of his head. Photographs from the night of the shooting confirmed it.
A police report that same night said Zimmerman’s sweatshirt had “grass stains and was wet on the back,” consistent with his being flat on his back.
The lead investigator on the scene, Officer Christopher Serino, wrote that Zimmerman could be heard “yelling for help as he was being battered by Trayvon Martin.” One witness said he heard 14 separate cries for help. Trayvon’s father initially told police the cries were not those of his son, then recanted.
One responder at the scene said he saw wounds on the knuckles of one of Trayvon’s hands, suggesting he had connected with a punch. The coroner found both the knuckle wounds and traces of the drug found in marijuana in Trayvon’s blood and urine.
Trayvon’s hoodie had powder stains indicating he was shot in the chest from 1 to 18 inches away, consistent again with what Zimmerman said.
Another eyewitness said the guy in the hoodie was on top beating the guy on the bottom “MMA style” – mixed martial arts style.
With this evidence, how can a jury convict Zimmerman of murder?
Yet the public mind has been so poisoned that an acquittal of George Zimmerman could ignite a reaction similar to that, 20 years ago, when the Simi Valley jury acquitted the LAPD cops in the Rodney King beating case.
Should that happen, those who fanned the flames, and those who did nothing to douse them, should themselves go on trial in the public arena.
By John Gonzalez
May 25, 2012 - 06:56 am
Updated: May 25, 2012 - 12:53 pm
We may never know exactly how or why young Trayvon Martin was killed that dark February night in Sanford, Fla., but the slaying which has provoked nationwide protests has now prompted something even more unique nearly 900 miles away.
In an effort to better educate students and their parents about race relations and social injustice, a D.C. elementary school has declared Friday “Trayvon Martin Day.”
Teachers at Malcolm X Elementary in Southeast are using the unfolding case and the story surrounding Martin as part of their "Let's Keep Our Children Safe" seminar.
Malcolm X Elementary Principal J. Harrison Coleman says that she hopes the lesson will help reduce the needless violence and bullying in the community.
"The children at Malcolm X know the name Trayvon Martin," Coleman said.
"They know the incident. They know because of what they see in the news and what they experience every day."
Coleman said that every adult who attended the seminar would receive an Arizona Iced Tea and each student would get a bag of Skittles.
The staff here hopes this day makes the students at Malcolm X understand that someone always cares. Coleman specifically is calling on more parents to volunteer and get involved.
"We want to send a message to stop the bullying and bring about a happy spirit," Coleman said. "A sense of bonding within the community and within the school.
"I think it's important for them to understand that life is precious."
WJLA reports that the school in Congress Heights is holding a series of events and discussions related to Martin's killing earlier this year as a means to teach students about social justice, race relations and conflict resolution.
In an interview, Principal Principal J. Harrison Coleman spoke of the initiative: "My hope is that the takeaway is that we stop some of the needless violence that's going on in the community.
It's all too relative to children in our community.
The children at Malcolm X know the name Trayvon Martin, they know the incident and they know it basically because of what's in the news and what they experience everyday.
We hope we send a message that we want to stop the bullying...to bring about a happy spirit, a sense of bonding in the community and school."
Coleman said that all participants in the day's events would be given a can of Arizona iced tea and a bag of Skittles—the very products Martin had gone to buy before being shot by George Zimmerman.
By John Gonzalez
May 25, 2012 - 06:56 am
Updated: May 25, 2012 - 12:53 pm
We may never know exactly how or why young Trayvon Martin was killed that dark February night in Sanford, Fla., but the slaying which has provoked nationwide protests has now prompted something even more unique nearly 900 miles away.
Ummm yeah, we will know when the testimony comes out in court... but apparently it was because he was beating the SHIT out of Zimmerman who was afraid for his life, so he shot his ass.
May 25th, 2012, 18:02
Malsua
Re: Trayvon Martin Shooting
It wasn't sweet tea ladies, it was Watermelon Fruit Drink! Trayvon was a walking sterotype.
May 28th, 2012, 03:24
Malsua
Re: Trayvon Martin Shooting
So Trayvon was probably zonked out of his gourd on Lean.
Never heard of it before tonight. It's probably in this thread.
The following link pretty much exposes that TM was a DMX/Lean user and probably was on it the night he died.
I had never heard of “lean” before yesterday, but apparently it is a concoction made from certain prescription cough syrups and a beverage medium, often made more palatable with candy.
One of the recipes for “lean” calls for using Arizona Iced Tea Co.watermelon fruit juice cocktail as the beverage of choice, and Skittles candy… the items found on Trayvon Martin’s body the night he was shot by George Zimmerman.
The Conservative Treehouse has a lengthy post about the recreational drug, it’s effects and side effects, and alleged screen captures of Trayvon Martin’s social media sites discussing his fondness for the concoction.
…
If the story is correct it seems Trayvon’s medical records and the medical examiner’s review of his body will be revisited, to see if he used the drug frequently and in a concentrated enough form to explain his apparent confusion at the convenience store that night, the odd behavior that spurred George Zimmerman to call Sanford police, and the aggression he displayed when he fought with Zimmerman.
I read this to my wife and youngest son and their reaction was that this is a stretch. And perhap it is. Especially if you’d never heard of ‘Lean’ and if you don’t read the details of the post put up at The Conservative Treehouse.
If those details are true however, and frankly, they’re pretty convincing, then there’s yet more evidence that Zimmerman needs to be exonerated.
Read the details yourself and tell us in the comments if you think it’s a stretch.
Frankly, after doing so, I can only conclude it’s a stretch to think it a stretch.
For some reason, that graphic tickles my funny bone.
May 28th, 2012, 17:39
American Patriot
Re: Trayvon Martin Shooting
Just because those of us NOT using drugs never heard of it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. I never heard of "date rape drugs" (Rufunol) before a couple of years ago. I never had heard of "Ecstasy" either until the media made a big deal out of "Raves" (which I also had never heard of by the way).
So it's NOT a "stretch" as some want you to think it is.
June 1st, 2012, 04:55
eversman
Re: Trayvon Martin Shooting
what i have to say is going to be controversial (when is it not) but realistic. I'm glad he's dead. He was a thug, with a criminal history, and a history of unprovoked violence. trayvon was also implicated in burglary. He was caught in a gated community at night, where he didnt live and didnt know anyone. what was he doing there? answer: up to no good. He attacked a man who lived in that community, and tried to kill him with common street violence. Trayvon miscalculated: he attacked someone who could and did defend himself, and he paid for that stupid mistake with his life. As a result, a working law abiding man is alive, and the thug is dead and will never attaack, hurt, kill or burlglarize anyone else. I dont see a problem with that. In fact, i think zimmerman deserves a medal. Regardless of whether trayvon was on anything atg the time it went down or not, i dont give a damn. He attacked george zimmerman, not the other way around. And, he's dead because he attacked zimmerman.
The single most important over riding FACT that EVERYONE who is using trayvon for their own ends is ignoring is that If trayvon had been where he was supposed to be (not casing houses to burglarize or looking for a fight) and had he not been out with the intent to break the law, this incident never would have happened.
This whole trayvon outrage bs is like a drunk running a red light, dying in the ensuing accident, and the community getting pist off because the innocent he hit at the intersection survived and pist because the drunk died. its stupid, foolish, and ass backwards, and im sick to death of it all.
I will say it again: im glad a known criminal who was up to no good took a bullet and will commit no more crimes and the victim of one of his attacks still draws breath. and personally, i dont give a darn if that angers people, and i think those who support trayvon dont support trayvon, but harbor racial hatred, or leftists views about guns and victims fighting back. it isnt about a kid, he wasnt a kid. the pictures of then and now prove it. the pictures of him right before his death show a thug, a low life, a street criminal who was predator without conscience or self control. That is a person i not only do not mourn, but celebrate not being around anymore.
People like trayvon martin are the reason most of us own guns. guns, unfortunately, seem to be the only answer to people like trayvon, and seem to be the only thing people like trayvon understand and respond to.
-ev
June 1st, 2012, 05:14
Ryan Ruck
Re: Trayvon Martin Shooting
Can't find a single thing to disagree with in that ev.
June 1st, 2012, 19:06
American Patriot
Re: Trayvon Martin Shooting
Zimmerman's bond was just revoked.
June 1st, 2012, 19:51
Malsua
Re: Trayvon Martin Shooting
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rick Donaldson
Zimmerman's bond was just revoked.
The judge is an asshole.
June 1st, 2012, 20:31
American Patriot
Re: Trayvon Martin Shooting
I heard it had something to do with his web site and all the donations he received. Some smarmy lawyer was on FNC saying "This is not a PUNISHMENT, this is to PROTECT the Witnesses"
I'm trying to figure out from whom the witnesses need protection... Zimmerman? or the New Black KKK - I mean Panthers.