Crime Time

Wise County man tortured with stun gun, bound with duct tape, dies 7 months later

Marvin Zimmerman was found last June bound with handcuffs and duct tape several days after robbers ransacked his home in Wise County.

One of four men later arrested for the crime told investigators that the assailants used a stun gun on Zimmerman to learn where he kept belongings.

But seven months later, Zimmerman could not recover from his injuries and indeed took a turn for the worse.

He died Sunday at a hospital from complications of a brain injury, dehydration and renal failure.

Bill Miller has more in this report.

Fort Worth widow thanks robber for letting her keep wedding rings

A home invasion robbery might cause most people to be bitter, but an 80-year-old widow in Fort Worth was grateful to one of the men who recently ransacked her home.

The man, while grabbing valuables, handed her wedding bands back to her.

"I just thought that was really sweet," she said. "Possessions are possessions. They can either be replaced or you can do without them.

"I thank them for not hurting me and being considerate of me because I thought that was kindness that he gave me back my wedding rings."

Deanna Boyd reports.

Blotter: home invasion; attempted robbery

Here’s a round up of incidents from Sept. 12 that were reported by Fort Worth police.

10:37 a.m. Officers responded to a home invasion call from the 4400 block of Angus Drive. A man said he got a call from his alarm company, so he went home and found an intruder who showed a handgun. The burglar then ran off with numerous items, but no one was hurt.

5:53 p.m. Officers responded to a dog bite call in the 3800 Cibolo Drive. A woman said she saw her dog and a neighbor’s dog fighting through the fence. She tried separating them, but she said her neighbor’s dog bit her hand. Animal control was notified.

9:43 p.m Officers responded to a robbery call at a convenience store in the 2200 block of East Loop 820. The victim said a man entered the store and demanded money, but fled without getting any. No one was hurt there, either.

-- Compiled by Bill Miller from FWPD news release.

Gunman sought by Grand Prairie police

Have you seen this man?

Grand Prairie police want to see him -- behind bars.

Investigators believe he is one of three people -- two men and a woman -- who invaded an east-side home shortly before 9 p.m. on March 26. A man, his wife and their 15-year-old daughter were all there when the trio burst into their home.

The robber depicted in this sketch (right) forced the husband at gunpoint to remove "a large sum of money" from a safe. Then he pistol whipped the man.

Anyone with information can call the Grand Prairie tip line or Grand Prairie Crime Stoppers.

-- Bill Miller

Gunman kills five, then himself in Finland

Police in Helsinki, Finland, say that a man killed his ex-girlfriend at her apartment and then four workers at a suburban shopping mall where she had worked before fatally shooting himself.

The man, Ibrahim Shkupolli, 43, was identified as an immigrant who had lived in Finland for several years.

Witnesses told police that panic ensued at the mall after the shots rang out.

-- Lance Murray

Woman, 93, badly beaten in home invasion

A 93-year-old woman was in critical condition Wednesday after she was beaten during what police described as a home invasion.

The Associated Press has reported that Terrell police have found an abandoned car they say belongs to the woman. Police say they found the woman's 1999 red Ford Taurus just before midday Wednesday in an alley behind the First Assembly of God in Terrell.

There were signs of a struggle in the woman’s Terrell home where she lived alone, police said. The woman, who was not identified, remained in critical condition as of 5 a.m. Wednesday at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas.

"We believe this happened just a few hours before officers found her in her home," Terrell police Capt. A.D. Sansom said Wednesday. Officers responded to the victim’s home shortly after 5 p.m. Tuesday.

"A friend had not heard from her and called her family," Sansom said. "Family members then called police."

When officers arrived, a door was found opened, but it did not appear as if it was kicked in, Terrell police said.

The woman was found in the home with head injuries, police said.

Police believe several items in the house were taken, but they had not completed an inventory as of Wednesday morning. But investigators reported that the woman’s car was missing. Terrell is about 30 miles east of Dallas.

Would-be intruder fatally shoots himself

A would-be Grand Prairie home invader apparently shot himself in the process and died at the scene early Tuesday, police said.

Police Lt. John Brimmer said Cameron Sands, 19, was lying dead in the driveway when officers arrived at a home in the 2800 block of Garden Grove Road about 5:30 a.m.

The homeowner told police that the man tried to kick in his door and fired a shot at him.

Brimmer said it appears that sometime while trying to break in, the man shoved the small-caliber semi-automatic into his waistband and it fired, striking him in the lower abdomen. He then apparently staggered to the driveway, where police found him.

Police said he was dead at the scene.

The Tarrant County Medical Examiner listed Sands' address as an apartment in the 2800 of Alta Mesa Boulevard in Fort Worth.

Bound woman hops to get help after home invasion

A woman in Decatur, Ga., literally hopped to freedom Wednesday afternoon after home invaders taped and handcuffed her to a chair and she was able to escape.

Police say it appears two men were in the woman's garage when she arrived home with her three children. They made her call her husband and ask him to come home. He was tied up, too, when he got home.

After escaping, she was able to hop away from the home and flag down a motorist who called 911. The robbers fled in her van. All the family members are OK and police believe the robbers probably somehow knew the family.

-- Lance Murray

Couple flee home invaders, but leave 8-year-old son behind

Police in Palm Beach, Fla., say that a couple fleeing two armed home invaders ran from the house but left their 8-year-old son behind.

The boy was not injured in the incident, the Palm Beach Post reports.

During the 6 a.m. attack Tuesday, the home invaders shot the family dog when it charged at them. A second family dog survived.

Police say it was the second time Tuesday morning that the same two men had tried to rob the couple, Kevin Dummett, 35, and Kellin Hahn, 26. The gunmen approached Dummett in his driveway at 12:15 a.m. and unsuccessfully tried to rob him. He didn't report the attempt to 911, however. Then the gunmen returned at 6 a.m. and broke in through a back door, police say.

-- Lance Murray

Deadly home invasion still under investigation

Fort Worth police are continuing to investigate a deadly home invasion Sunday morning. One man was killed and two people were injured when a pair of gun-toting men kicked in the door of a Fort Worth home and opened fire. Read Staff Writer Alex Branch's report.

-- Lance Murray