Thread: Woman, 86, pulled gun before intruder killed her, documents say

Woman, 86, pulled gun before intruder killed her, documents say

By F.T. Norton
Fran.Norton@StarNewsOnline.com

December 12, 2012 at 5:32 p.m.


An 86-year-old woman killed in her Longwood home by an intruder Nov. 12 told her attacker to get out before trying to pull a gun on him, court documents reveal.

According to a search warrant filed in the murder case against Richard Hugh Grissett, when the convicted felon found Linnie Mae Ward sitting on her bed in her isolated home off Gwynn Road, he told her he was there to rob her.

But the feisty Ward didn't budge. Instead, she ordered the intruder out. And when he didn't leave, she reached for the rifle she kept at her bedside.

"Grissett wrestled with Linnie Mae Ward on the bed and they fell onto the floor. Grissett stated he punched Linnie Mae Ward numerous times, and then strangled her to kill her," wrote Lt. Donna Simpson in a request Nov. 20 for a warrant to search Grissett's home, vehicle and a pond near his house. "Grissett spontaneously stated to Detective John Holman that he had hit Linnie Ward while she was on the ground."

Simpson learned of the details a week after the killing when Ward's nephew, Bobby Ray Bozeman, 45, told police he smoked crack cocaine with Grissett earlier that deadly night. Bozeman said Grissett asked where his Aunt Linnie lived and Bozeman told him.

"Bozeman stated Grissett later told him he was going home, but that when Grissett left Bozeman's house, Grissett turned down Etheridge Road toward Linnie Ward's house," the document states.

Grissett, 51, is charged with first-degree murder, first-degree burglary, common law robbery, and possession of a firearm by a felon in the killing.

Both alleged attacker and victim were born and raised in Brunswick County. The afternoon following Ward's death, her son found her battered body face down on the floor of her ransacked bedroom amid scattered unspent bullets and a silver crucifix necklace that didn't belong to her. The warrant states dresser drawers were pulled out and several old purses were rifled through, but the only thing missing was the gun Ward tried to use to defend herself.

Untouched was a bottle of pain pills in the kitchen cabinet, and undisturbed under the pillow of her bed where Ward presumably hid it, was her purse containing a "large amount of cash."

The warrant request indicates Grissett cried when first confessing on Nov. 19, but it wasn't until the following morning – after staying in jail and requesting "the night to calm down and relax" – that he shared the details.

According to the warrant, Grissett said he drove to the secluded house in his 80-year-old mother's 2001 Buick Regal and entered through the unlocked front door. He told Ward why he was there and she told him to leave. And in an attempt to have a fighting chance against a man 35 years younger than her, Ward grabbed her rifle.

The fight was on and Grissett won.

After rummaging through her home, Grissett said, he took the rifle and made the 12-mile drive to Sunset Beach where he lived with family on Farm Loop Path. In the early morning hours of Nov. 13 he tossed Ward's rifle into a pond at the end of his street, the warrant states. The weapon was recovered there by investigators on Nov. 20.

A Brunswick County grand jury indicted Grissett on the charges Nov. 26.
This is not the first time Grissett has been in trouble with the law. His criminal record includes burglary charges dating back 20 years. His last run in with the law, N.C. Department of Correction records show, was in 2010 when he was convicted of felony breaking and entering and larceny. He was sentenced to 36 months probation and ordered to seek drug treatment.

Grissett was still serving that probation when Ward was killed.

Brunswick County District Attorney Jon David said Wednesday his office hasn't yet decided whether they'll seek the death penalty in the case.

He said he plans to meet with senior members of his staff this week to make a determination, adding that he will notify Ward's family of the decision prior to making it public.

Grissett remains in the Brunswick County jail without bail.

Woman, 86, pulled gun before intruder killed her, documents say | StarNewsOnline.com

Robbery halted by grandmother with a gun

Arrest made after police release surveillance video

UPDATED 4:18 PM CST Jan 10, 2013

VIDEO AT LINK

Ernestine Aldana owns a grocery store near the corner of Muskego Avenue and Becher Street in Milwaukee. On Dec. 14, Aldana was working in the store when a man entered the store and pulled a knife on her.
"I was really scared," she said.
But as the man reached for cash from the drawer, Aldana pulled a gun from underneath the counter.
"I didn't think," she said. "I didn't remember what was being said. I just took a step back, grabbed the gun and that was that."
As the gun came out, the man ran away.
Aldana said she and her husband have owned the grocery store for just over two years and have not encountered any problems before this. She said her son bought the gun for their protection, but they never thought they would have to use it.
"My son took me out to the shooting range," she said. "I did twice (shoot the gun)." But she said other than those two shots at the range, she has never fired the gun. But on that day, she came close.
"I probably shouldn't say this, but I think I was going to shoot the gun," she said. "But he was already running away. Once his back was turned, I couldn't do it."
Milwaukee police said Thursday that an arrest had been made in the case after they released the surveillance video.
Milwaukee Alderman Bob Donovan said he will present Aldana with one of his Golden Glove awards Friday.



Read more: Robbery halted by grandmother with a gun | Milwaukee County - WISN Home