Something many of us take for granted is the same thing that may have made Gina Walters a target when she says she was robbed in the middle of the day on a busy street.

“I should be aware of my surroundings and I am most of the time, except for what I cannot see,” Walters said.

Walters is legally blind. Because of that, she can’t drive, so she often walks to the convinience store on Craighead road in North Charlotte.

But Tuesday afternoon, her stroll home from the corner store wasn’t so routine when a man approached her asking for directions

“I was just trying to be nice and I told him that Sugar Creek Road was that way,” Walters said.

But in a split second their pleasant exchange did changed.

“I had a change purse that was on my wrist and he took it off of me and stole it and ran across the street,” Walters said. “I started screaming and crying frantically”.

In broad daylight, on a busy street, Walters says she was robbed of her credit cards, multiple forms of ID and nearly 300 dollars.

“He really made it hard on me by stealing what he did. The only income i get is social security because of my vision I can’t work,” Walters said.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers with the North Tryon division responded and are currently investigating.

But looking back, Walters remembers seeing the man in line at the store just moments before his attack.

“When I was opening my change purse, he probably saw the cash I had in it,” Walters said.

But she never expected she’d find herself a victim and wants to warn others of the danger.

“I feel like he took advantage of a vulnerable young woman, that could happen to anyone,” Walters said.

Walters says there is surveillance video of the man inside the convience store that has been handed over to police.

He’s described as an African-American male in his 20’s.

An Indianapolis man has a warning for others after he says someone followed him home and robbed him.

It happened in the 5400 block of North Alton Avenue Tuesday night.

Timothy Houser has a rare genetic disease that affects his strength and muscle movement. He has been wheelchair bound for the past seven years. He said he had no idea that someone’s kind gesture would end up costing him thousands of dollars.

Houser said it all started in the parking lot of Wal-Mart on Lafayette Road when someone offered to help him load up groceries.

“I was having trouble trying to hold everything so a guy came up and offered to help me and I said sure,” said Timothy Houser, robbery victim.

Houser said the man had something else on his mind after putting everything away in the wheelchair accessible van.

“He was actually in my van putting the bags on the floor and then when he was done, he said, do you have a dollar or two for gas?” said Houser.

Houser told the man he didn’t have any cash and the two parted ways. He said he was driving back home when he noticed someone following him.

“I slowed down for the three-way stop. I slowed down and I stopped, but he kept going and went around me then he pulled over in front of me and stopped,” said Houser. “I thought what a jerk so I went around him and kept going.”

Houser said the driver kept cutting him off and would not stop.

“He was like within an inch of hitting the front of my car,” said Houser. “He actually ran me off the road against a tree. I didn’t hit the tree, but if I gone any further I would have.”

Houser said he had no idea what was going on until the driver showed his face.

“I said what’s your problem and then he hopped out of his car, I knew immediately it was the guy from Wal-Mart,” said Houser. “He ran around and backed his car over to me, he goes ‘where’s the bag? Give me the bag!’”

Houser told 24-Hour News 8 he put up a fight, but it was no match.

“I have a gun right down here in my wheelchair. He saw me reaching for that and that’s when he punched me in the face,” said Houser. “I was just in a daze.”

A fight over a handicapped parking spot sent an elderly woman to the hospital! It happened at the Walmart store on W. Layton Avenue in Greenfield.

The suspect is accused of using her chest to knock a 71-year-old woman to the ground in a fight over a handicapped parking spot.

John Rawlings of West Allis says growing up, he was taught a valuable lesson.

“It doesn`t matter who is in the right and who is in the wrong. You should treat everybody as you want to be treated,” Rawlings said.

That lesson is the first thing he thought of when he saw the fight during a recent trip to Walmart.

“I saw this other vehicle parked behind this SUV,” Rawlings said.

According to a police report. 32-year-old Kezia Perkins was attempting to park in a handicapped spot at the Greenfield Walmart store. She couldn’t make the turn, and that’s when the 71-year-old woman pulled in.

“They both had handicapped tags.  The older lady took the spot,” Rawlings said.

This apparently angered Perkins. Surveillance photos show Perkins going up to the victim’s car and yelling through the passenger side window. After waiting a moment, the 71-year-old woman exited her vehicle, and Perkins approached her.

“This lady chest-butted,” Rawlings said.

Two men set a pit bull-type dog on a disabled girl as she was being taken in a wheelchair across a Northampton beauty spot.

The incident in Lings Wood, happened on Friday, October 3 at about 4pm when a man was walking through the wood with his 12-year-old daughter, who is in a wheelchair.

Two men and a dog passed them by at which point the girl became upset by them passing too close and flailed her arms at them, which prompted one of the men to give a command to the dog to ‘get her’.

The dog then latched on to the young girl’s arm and would not let go until the father took action to stop it, after which the dog and the two men ran off. Fortunately the young girl was wearing arm guards which she needs due to her disability and this prevented her from being injured.

The offenders are described as black and in their 30s. One was about 6ft, clean-shaven with short black hair and wore a blue T-shirt and jeans.

The other is described as about 5ft 10in with medium length Afro-style hair and wore a white T-shirt and jeans.

The dog is described as a black and white pit bull-type breed. It had black and white front legs, black rear legs, a black and white body and a black head with a white stripe going from the top of its head to its nose.

Sector Inspector Kev Byrne, said: “This is an absolutely disgraceful incident. It is not a case of a dog being out of control, but being used as a weapon in an assault on a very vulnerable girl.

“Had it not been for the victim’s arm guards, she could have been seriously injured.

“I know local residents will be appalled by this incident and I would urge anybody with any information to contact us immediately.”

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Police in Stamford have arrested a man suspected of stealing the birthday money from a man with autism.

The suspect, 27-year old Steven St. Jacques of Stamford, is charged with second degree larceny. Police say he has prior arrests for an assault and a robbery.

The incident happened around 3:30 p.m. last Tuesday in Veterans’ Park and was caught on surveillance video.

The victim, who was on his way to the Stamford Town Center to purchase video games, was carrying $100 he received as a birthday gift from his family, police said.

On surveillance video, the suspect is seen walking up and speaking to the victim in the breezeway leading from Veterans Park and into the Stamford Town Center. The victim then excitedly shows the suspect his money.

The suspect then takes the money, taunts the victim by holding it and pretends to give it back. The suspect then pretends to put the money back into the victim’s pocket and walks away, when in actuality, he keeps it for himself. The victim doesn’t realize his birthday money has been taken until it is too late.

Police converged on the area but were unable to find the suspect.

Police say that based on leads over the weekend, they identified St. Jacques as the suspect and conducted a search warrant at his home.

St. Jacques turned himself in, according to investigators.

Stamford Police Officers, together with the Police Union, have rallied together and started a collection for the victim to get him his money back. Several Stamford citizens have also come forward to contribute as a result of this crime.

Police say more than $1,000 has been donated so far.

The Catoosa County Sheriff’s Office has a suspect in custody from the robbery of a handicapped woman at a Georgia ATM earlier this month.

Allen Green is facing multiple charges, including armed robbery, hijacking a motor vehicle, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

Police say Green followed a woman out of a Fort Oglethorpe bank after she had just used the ATM there.

The victim told police the suspect bumped the rear of her vehicle, causing her to pull over and the suspect produced a gun and robbed her.

PREVIOUS STORY: Allen has been taken to the Hamilton County jail where he awaits extradition to Catoosa County.

A handicapped woman who was robbed at gunpoint talks only to Channel 3 Eyewitness News about her terrorizing experience.

Catoosa County Deputies believe the gunman first spotted their victim at a local ATM, followed her to a remote street, then purposefully bumped into the rear of her car to get her to stop. The victim tells Channel 3 Eyewitness News she suffers from Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, which severely disables her ability to walk.

Family members tell us she usually can’t travel more than a few steps without her wheelchair. Channel 3 is protecting the woman’s identity, she said she is absolutely terrified these two men are still on the streets.

“He said I’m serious this is a robbery you don’t think I’ll shoot you,” said robbery victim.

Too afraid to be identified and visibly shaken but brave enough to tell Channel 3 how the two gunmen tricked her into unlocking her van doors.

“They really gained my trust and made me comfortable,” said robbery victim.

Investigators said it all started in an ATM parking lot where the victim withdrew cash. ATM surveillance shows a car following her van out. A few streets over on Park Street deputies said that same car bumped her van.

“I rolled my window down, he rolled his down and he said ma’am I am so sorry I bumped your car,” said robbery victim.

According to the victim, the men claimed to have minor damage to their car. They then offered to help look for damage on her car.

“I said okay I think it’s alright as long as the door will open and close so I can get my wheelchair in and out…then the taller one came up beside the car and he pulled out this gun and said this is a robbery or something like that. He got my purse, he got everything he got my social security card ,all of my cards.. he got everything I had,” said robbery victim.

The woman told deputies the man put the gun to her head, demanded cash, fought over her purse and threatened to kill her if she didn’t give up all of her bank pin numbers. Deputies said as soon as the gunmen were gone and in fear for her life the victim tried to get away in her wheelchair but crashed into the ditch.

“I was afraid they were going to go check it and then come back and get me …so somehow and I can’t tell you how but I managed to get up,” said robbery victim.

Family members said deputies found her hiding at least 50 feet away on a neighboring porch. The woman tells Channel 3 she believes God gave her the strength to walk to the house across the street. She made the distance suffering only minor scratching and bruising from her falls.

Anyone with any information is asked to call Catoosa County Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Gary Sisk is cautioning anyone using ATM machines at night to be aware of their surroundings.

If you are involved in a minor wreck officers say you should call police immediately. You should also try and stop in a well-lit, heavily populated area if possible.

“Please please call the Catoosa County Sheriff’s office and tell them anything you can cause these people they’re going to do it to other people,” said robbery victim.

A Covington teen with autism is recovering in the hospital after he was knocked out in what some people call the “knockout game.” The boy was struck so hard his jaw was broken in two places and he underwent surgery.

“He has autism he would never hurt anybody,” said a Covington mother who did not want to be identified.

The woman believes her son was the victim of the knockout game. The 17-year-old is still recovering from a blow he never saw coming.

“They cannot think that its OK, because it’s not, and I don’t want them to think they got away with,” she said.

The boy was walking home from the library when the attack happened. His mother says he passed a group of teens who went to a nearby high school.

“All of a sudden the boy in the maroon shirt came up from behind him punched him from behind in his face he fell to the ground,” his mother said.

“That child was not bothering nobody at the park, and they are going to follow him all the way over here to do something like that,” said neighbor Charles Certain, who lives nearby. He called the police.

The boy’s mother said he had to be taken to the hospital.

“They confirmed that his jaw was broken in two places and had surgery Saturday morning. He now has four plates and 15 screws in his mouth. He can’t open his mouth any more than a half inch and is now on a completely liquified diet for the next eight weeks,” she said.

Word of the attack spread quickly on social media and throughout the neighborhood.

Certain keeps a close eye on his grandchildren. He believes kids from another part of the community come to his area looking for trouble. He believes that’s how the attack happened.

“Some kids out there think they are grown. They’re bad. But somebody out there is going to be badder than them,” he said.

The Covington police chief tells WDSU the incident is isolated.

Detectives were back at the scene on Tuesday afternoon. Police said they are working to see if there are any surveillance cameras that may have captured the attack.

Anyone with information that can help police is asked to call Crimestoppers at 504-822-111.

A convicted killer and rapist who absconded from a mental health centre has been arrested in Sussex.

Officers launched a search after Samuel Lee, 44, failed to return from an authorised trip from the John Howard Centre, Kenworthy Road, Hackney, east London, last Thursday afternoon.

He was found in the Sussex seaside town of Eastbourne yesterday evening. Lee is serving a life sentence after being convicted in 2006 of snatching a 31-year-old cerebral palsy sufferer in Finsbury Park, north London and raping her in 2000.

In 1989, he was jailed for manslaughter, after he stabbed a man to death. Police officers thanked the public for their help in tracking him down.

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Two young women connected to the stabbing death of Michael Shull asked for forgiveness in court Thursday.

His parents had none to give.

And as the terms of three prison sentences were read aloud in a Mecklenburg County courtroom, Cliff and Josee Shull of Conover visibly struggled to accept what they believe is insufficient punishment of those responsible for their son’s death.

Michael Shull, who had recently graduated from the N.C. School for the Deaf, died shortly before Christmas 2012, the victim of a plot by people he knew.

The 21-year-old was fatally stabbed by a member of his girlfriend’s extended family.

The attack took place during a robbery planned in part by his girlfriend’s half sister.

On Thursday, all three involved in the robbery/slaying were sent to prison.

• Davonta Turner, 20, who stabbed Shull during the robbery attempt, will serve between 28 and 37 years.

• Turner’s half sister, Aveance Bryant, 20, received 4 1/2 to seven years. She is also a half sister to Shanika Harris, Michael Shull’s girlfriend at the time of his death.

• Ashley Owens, 20, Turner’s girlfriend of four weeks when the killing occurred, got five to seven years.

All of them were teenagers when they were arrested in December 2012.

To Cliff Shull, the prison terms handed out Thursday were not nearly enough. He wanted the death penalty. He said prosecutors told him he would never get one from a jury.

Inside the courtroom, the father twice stood before Superior Court Judge Richard Boner and asked him to consider the man his son was about to become and the pain his death had caused before agreeing to sentences offered in exchange for guilty pleas.

He said if given a future chance of freedom, the three defendants would one day be standing before another judge.

When Bryant and Owens stood and turned toward the victim’s family to express regrets – Bryant’s voice trembled during her comments – Shull and his wife, Josee, looked away.

Outside the courthouse, the former Marine said his son’s death deserved justice.

“This was completely planned, and my son was ambushed and murdered for a couple of hundred bucks, if that,” Shull said.

He said the defendants thought Michael was rich. In fact, he said, his son had landed his first job and was struggling to create an independent life despite his disability.

“Everybody has choices. Michael’s choices were taken away,” he said. “I know it’s not the Christian thing, but I can’t find forgiveness in my heart.”

“Not now,” Josee Shull added. “Not yet.”

In the courtroom, as Turner stood before him, Boner spoke of sentencing hearings yet to come.

“Someday, and I believe this, you’ll stand before someone far greater than all of us and account for what you’ve done,” the judge said. “I hope you’re ready.”

Turner did not respond.

Authorities have cleared Shanika Harris of any involvement in the crime.

She and Michael Shull met while the two were students at the N.C. School for the Deaf in Morganton. She is black. He was white. She is from Charlotte; he was from Conover.

The young couple had been dating on and off for two years, his parents say, and Shull had long ago made it a habit to help Harris’ family in any way he could – from fixing a truck, to taking them food to buying them items they needed that he couldn’t afford but paid for anyway.

On Dec. 22, 2012, a Friday, Shull got off work at a tire place in Morganton and drove down to Charlotte. His plan was to visit Harris and her family. He had just been paid.

Members of that family were lying in wait.

According to Assistant District Attorney Anna Greene, at one point in the evening, Aveance Bryant used sign language to persuade Harris to get out of Shull’s truck so Turner could ride with him instead.

Minutes into the drive, Turner handed Shull a note, telling him he was being robbed. Shull thought it was a joke. Turner then attacked the deaf man. When Shull fought back, Turner pulled a knife.

Police found the empty truck stopped in the middle of a road. As they were about to tow it off, a nearby resident appeared. There was the body of a man in her front yard.

Michael Shull still wore his work clothes. His pay stub was in his back pocket. He had been fatally stabbed in the chest.

The next day, the defendants used Shull’s bank card at a Charlotte mall to buy Christmas presents for Owens’ two small children.

Bryant’s attorney, Terry Sherrill, said his client and Owens “didn’t have any idea that Mr. Turner was going to kill Mr. Shull” and had agreed to testify against Turner, if his case had gone to trial.

He said he was confident that Bryant, in time, would make something of her life.

“No one can undo what has happened,” he told the judge.

When Bryant spoke in court, her voice shook. “I want to apologize,” she said, as she half turned toward the Shulls. “I know you’re having a hard time forgiving me.”

Owens also turned to face a row filled by the Shulls, their family and friends.

“It took me a long time to forgive myself,” she said softly. “I’m sorry, and I really mean it from the bottom of my heart.”

Cliff Shull stared at the floor. Later, he and his wife said they had heard those pleas and tears in court before – in March, when Bryant had pleaded guilty and been freed on bond. The next day, they say, she flooded her Facebook page with gleeful “I’m-out-of-jail photographs.”

“That doesn’t show remorse,” Josee Shull said.

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A disabled man was punched to the ground in a “sickening assault” as he tried to cross a road in Bradford city centre with his carer.

Richard Ibbotson was hit “two or three times” as he used a pelican crossing in Cheapside.

The attacker, who was a passenger in a dark green Nissan Micra, laughed when Mr Ibbotson’s carer, Melanie King, shouted at him to stop because he was disabled.

“It is really disgusting, attacking a vulnerable person like that,” said Mrs King.

Mr Ibbotson, 43, has severe epilepsy and learning and behavioural difficulties. He needs almost round-the-clock care.

Police are now appealing for witnesses to the attack, which happened on February 17 at about 3pm, to come forward.

Mrs King said: “We approached the pedestrian crossing at the Midland Hotel, waited for the lights to change, and crossed the road,” said Mrs King.

“I noticed a car coming down at great speed. It skidded to a halt at the lights. They looked at Richard and revved the engine and went back and forth, trying to intimidate us. Then the passenger shouted abuse, the car drove at us and swerved past us, while the lights were still on red.”

She added: “The passenger jumped out of the car and punched Richard to the ground. I shouted ‘stop, can’t you see he’s disabled’, but the passenger just laughed.”

The attacker and the driver of the Micra are described as Asian males, aged in their 20s.

Inspector Andy Gallant, who leads the City neighbourhood policing team, said: “This was a sickening assault on a vulnerable member of the community and I am appealing to anyone who witnessed this attack to contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”

Mrs King added: “It really set Richard back for weeks. He would not leave the house because he was so afraid.”

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