• Home
  • About
    • Authors
  • Advertise
  • Articles
    • Archives
    • Chaplain
    • Crime & Controversy
    • Community
    • Cop Humor
    • Editorial
    • Op-ed
    • Gear & Technology
    • Investigations
    • Laws & Legal
    • Leadership
    • News
    • Officer Down
    • On Duty
    • Tactics
  • Network
    • Learn more
  • Training
  • Officer Privacy
  • Jobs
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
Law Officer
Law Officer
No Result
View All Result

Elderly liquor store owner ‘fed up’ with thiefs, so she shoots one and gets arrested

May Boyce

May Boyce. (Metro Nashville Police Department)

June 22, 2020
Law OfficerbyLaw Officer
Share and speak up for justice, law & order...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Nashville liquor store owner May Boyce, an 88-year-old widow who stands 5-foot-3 and weighs 115 pounds, according to reports, got “fed up” with her store being ripped off so she shot a suspect accused of shoplifting.

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.

One of the men asked for brown liquor and the other, identified as Ramon Fisher, grabbed a couple of Crown Royal whiskey bottles. Boyce then confronted Fisher, who she said “lunged” at her.

She told police she grabbed her late mother Mary’s .38 Smith & Wesson snub-nose revolver and shot the would-be thief, reported the Charlotte Observer.

Fisher fell to the ground, yelling that he was shot. He crashed into a display case of wine bottles that broke open all over the floor.

“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,” she told The New York Post Saturday. “You’ve got to stick up for yourself sometimes.”

“I did what I had to do,” added Boyce. “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.”

She said she wasn’t aiming for the thief but instead shot the suspect in the back.

“I never shot a gun before,” Boyce said, “but I guess it’s something that comes natural. I aimed at the floor to scare him.”

  • NYPD OFFICER SUSPENDED AFTER VIDEO EMERGES SHOWING APPARENT CHOKEHOLD

Boyce has been charged with aggravated assault. She’s out of custody on $10,000 bond. The alleged perpetrator is recovering, according to Metro Nashville Police Department.

The liquor store was lined up with supportive customers on Saturday, reported the New York Post.

May Boyce is free on $10,000 bond on a charge of aggravated assault for shooting a man Tuesday night who she thought was a thief in her Murfreesboro Pike liquor store. The victim is recovering. pic.twitter.com/WUnZYZ6z80

— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) June 18, 2020

The elderly businesswoman has been victimized several times in the past few years. As a result, she’s scared, according to the Post.

  • SOUTH CAROLINA DEPUTY WHO SAVES CHOKING BABY BECOMES HER GODFATHER

A young friend of Boyce, Carson Burch, took to Facebook to defend her, saying she wears a wrist brace from an incident at the store two months ago when she was robbed and assaulted.

“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,” Burch wrote. “Now she’s charged with a crime for defending herself? Give me a break.”


Boyce said she volunteered to go to the station with the police when they arrived.

“I went down, got my mugshot taken, got out on bond and came right back to the store,” Boyce said. “I got some people to help me but it took us to 1 a.m. to clean up all the wine that spilled everywhere.”

Police said in an affidavit obtained by McClatchy News Service that they visited Fisher at Vanderbilt Hospital where he told them he had been high on cocaine and alcohol at the time he entered Boyce’s store and intended to steal liquor. The next day Fisher amended his story to say he and his friend planned to pay for the liquor and were not stealing it.

Boyce works six days a week at the liquor store she’s owned since 1994.

“I’m a people person,” she said, “I like to work.”

Authorities said it might be two years before they return her confiscated firearm.

“I told ’em, s**t, I might be dead by then,” Boyce said. “But the law’s the law.”

Nashville police did not return calls from The Post Sunday asking about whether or not Boyce overreacted by shooting Fisher, who is recovering.

 


Share and speak up for justice, law & order...
Tags: Carson Burchliquor store ownerMay BoyceMetro Nashville Police DepartmentRamon Fisher
Law Officer

Law Officer

Law Officer is the only major law enforcement publication and website owned and operated by law enforcement—for law enforcement and supporters of justice, law, and order. This unique facet makes Law Officer much more than just a publishing company, but a true advocate for the law enforcement profession.

Related Posts

nashville

Judge orders City of Nashville to provide details of investigation into Covenant School shooter

April 24, 2024
Thomas Pointer

Apple Air Tag helps police track convicted felon accused of shooting man during carjacking

April 9, 2024
Morgan Wallen

Country music singer Morgan Wallen arrested on felony charges in Nashville

April 8, 2024
Easter Sunday shooting

Easter Sunday shooting at Nashville restaurant leaves 1 dead, 7 injured

April 1, 2024
Riley Strain

Missing college student Riley Strain found dead in Cumberland River

March 22, 2024
catastrophic plane crash

5 dead after ‘catastrophic’ plane crash near Tennessee highway

March 5, 2024
Load More

Latest Articles

I’m Not Broken, I’m Dangerous

July 4, 2025

The Problem with Promotions

June 20, 2025
Melissa Hortman

Former Minnesota House Speaker Assassinated in Attack on Multiple Lawmakers

June 14, 2025

Sheriff: If You Throw a Brick At Our Deputy, ‘We Will Kill You, Graveyard Dead’

June 13, 2025

Former USAID Officer and Executives Plead Guilty in $550 Million Bribery Scheme

June 13, 2025

A Case Study in Federal Corruption and Media Silence

June 12, 2025
Load More

Weekly E-Newsletter

Subscribe—and get the latest news and editorials direct from Law Officer each week!

[newsletter_form type="minimal"]

Protect Your Privacy

JOIN THE FIGHT

BE COURAGEOUS

POPULAR GEAR

Tactical Pants

Tactical Boots

 

FIND MORE…

Law Officer

© 2024 LawOfficer.com

LawOfficer.com

  • Home
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Corrections
  • Contact

Speak up for justice, law & order

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
    • Authors
  • Advertise
  • Articles
    • Archives
    • Chaplain
    • Crime & Controversy
    • Community
    • Cop Humor
    • Editorial
    • Op-ed
    • Gear & Technology
    • Investigations
    • Laws & Legal
    • Leadership
    • News
    • Officer Down
    • On Duty
    • Tactics
  • Network
    • Learn more
  • Training
  • Officer Privacy
  • Jobs
  • Contact

© 2024 LawOfficer.com