A “fed-up” 88-year-old Nashville liquor store owner who works alone 6 days a week faces criminal charges after shooting an alleged shoplifter.
The Police charged May Boyce, whose store was robbed several times, with aggravated assault. Upon being released on a $10,000 bond, the woman who doesn’t want to be stereotyped as a little old lady went back to work.
Rreports from the media have yet to indicate whether police have filed any charges against the alleged shoplifter. The investigation is ongoing.
Boyce, who describes herself as a people person who enjoys working, told the New York Post that she has had enough of alleged nonpaying customers.
“I did what I had to do, and I hope word gets out on the street that I’m fed up and I’m not taking it anymore. You’ve got to stick up for yourself sometimes. I did what I had to do. After you’ve been played for a fool by people stealin’ from you for years, you get fed up. And don’t put me in the category of a little old lady. I know how to take care of myself.”
When the men allegedly walked behind the counter where vodka was shelved, the 88-year-old lady added that she had a sense that one of the men was going to try to steal from her in the way he approached her. At that point, she reached for her weapon and put it on the counter.
In the Tuesday incident, Boyce allegedly fired one shot when the man allegedly grabbed some bottles of booze, supposedly lunged at her, and then headed for the exit.
The victim, who is receiving treatment at a local hospital and is expected to be okay, claims that he wasn’t stealing or fleeing, and intended to pay, and that “he was walking toward the exit when Boyce shot him once in the back,” the Charlotte Observer reported.
The wounded man apparently fell into a wine bottle display case and then was assisted out of the store by another man who had entered the store with him. Boyce and some friends cleaned up the spilled wine after she was booked and released.
The 5’3″, 115-pounded widow admitted that “I never shot a gun before, but I guess it’s something that comes natural. I aimed at the floor to scare him.”
As part of the investigation, cops confiscated Boyce’s gun, and it could take two years before the firearm can be returned to her.
“I told ’em, s–t, I might be dead by then. But the law’s the law,” she quipped.
A friend of the liquor store owner took to Facebook to provide some background.
“She is a sweet old lady who minds her own business. She opens this liquor store up every single day by herself, and she closes it down every night by herself. Literally not even 2 months ago her store was robbed. She was assaulted during the process, pushed down, and she has been wearing a brace on her wrist ever since. I actually had a conversation with her since then about how she is afraid to defend herself against would-be thieves because of what has been transpiring. Now she is CHARGED WITH A CRIME FOR DEFENDING HERSELF?? AN 88 YR OLD WOMAN?? Give me a break, folks…”
A GoFundMe pages has been set up for the benefit of May Boyce.
