IF SHE HAD SHOT A WHITE MAN SHE WOULD NOT BE FACING CHARGES

88-year-old woman shoots man suspected of stealing booze from her store, TN cops say

By Tanasia Kenney

The Charlotte Observer
June 19, 2020

An 88-year-old woman faces charges after authorities say she shot a man she suspected of trying to steal from her Tennessee liquor store.

May Boyce was charged with aggravated assault and released on $10,000 bond, according to Nashville police.

Boyce, who owns Murfreesboro Road Liquor and Wines, told investigators two Black men entered her store June 16 and walked behind the counter where the vodka was located, according to an affidavit obtained by McClatchy News. She said one of the men approached her “in a manner that she knew” he was going to steal from her.

That’s when Boyce says she grabbed her gun and placed it on the counter, according to police.

One of the men asked for brown liquor and the other grabbed a few bottles, Boyce told police, according to the affidavit.

Boyce confronted the bottle-grabbing man, identified as Ramon Fisher, according to her account to police. Fisher “lunged” at her and ran toward the store’s exit, Boyce said.

“Ms. Boyce stated that she pointed the gun towards the ground, in the victim’s direction, and fired once,” authorities said. “The victim yelled out that he had been shot and fell into a stack of bottles.”

The other man helped Fisher out of the store, the affidavit states.

Police caught up with Fisher at Vanderbilt Hospital, where he told police he was under the influence of drugs and alcohol at the time and said he and his friend went to the store to steal liquor, the affidavit says.

Fisher offered a different story the next day, telling police in a follow-up interview he had every intention of paying for the alcohol.

“He stated that he was not going to steal any liquor, [and] that his friend, the unidentified male ... told him to take the liquor, that he was going to pay for it,” according to police.

Fisher denied fleeing the store and said he was walking toward the exit when Boyce shot him once in the back.

The victim is expected to recover, authorities said.