AZ - Man who followed teen into Phoenix restroom beaten to death by girl's father, 2 Aug. 2018

  • #21
nobody really knows what happened in the bathroom??!!
what exactly happened that warrants a BEATING to death?
cops can't even do that
so it's ok for this guy to be judge, jury and BEATER??
..this seems like the elevator beating death where the crowd cheered for the beater at the courthouse
it is not self defense at all
the beater did not even know if a crime was committed--he saw nothing
here--the '''would be rapist'''--but the beater saw nothing/knew nothing
Bronx man charged with assault after beating wife's would-be rapist to death with tire iron - NY Daily News
caps for emphasis only
 
  • #22
MELVIN HARRIS

Case Activity

Date Description Party
11/5/2018 Comprehensive PreTrial Conference D 2
11/5/2018 Comprehensive PreTrial Conference P 1
9/28/2018 Initial Pretrial Conference P 1
9/28/2018 Initial Pretrial Conference D 2
8/17/2018 Original Arraignment Hearing P 1
8/17/2018 Original Arraignment Hearing D 2

Public Access Case Lookup
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(Leon Armstrong)
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  • #23
nobody really knows what happened in the bathroom??!!
what exactly happened that warrants a BEATING to death?

Exactly right, IMO.
 
  • #24
I think, at this point, the daughter’s experience of what happened should carry some weight, too.

And FYI, those bathroom doors are often made of things like steel. Easier to clean and maintain, strong, don’t break easily.

I’d like to know what the door at this convenience store was made from, tbh. Has it been said?

ETA: The story posted below says it’s a QuikTrip. From experience, they’re usually clean and relatively well-maintained. Good staff. The company’s been named one of “the best” to work at for years. And their restrooms usually have strong, stainless steel doors.
 
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  • #25
Heartbreaking.

Arizona Teen Defends Father Accused of Fatally Beating Man Who Tried Entering Her Bathroom Stall

Melvin Harris was held on suspicion of second-degree murder after police said he punched, stomped on and kicked Leon Armstrong, who had allegedly tried to get into a locked stall she was using at a QuikTrip convenience store in Phoenix on Aug. 3.

“Protecting me,” the unnamed 16-year-old girl said when asked about what her father allegedly did.

But she noted she regretted telling her father what happened in the convenience store.

“Now someone's dead,” the daughter told "CBS This Morning." “And now everyone's coming at me like I did something to him.”

Harris was waiting in his car as his daughter and her two friends stopped inside the convenience store, a probable cause statement said.

...

ETA (from the CBS This Morning hyperlink) bbm

"Security was like, 'Oh, yeah, we don't play that. That's the third time he did that. We're gonna eff him up if you don't do it,'" the daughter said.

 
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  • #26
Weird...
 
  • #27
  • #28
I wonder how many girls are now safe from molestation thanks to the father's actions. I have no sympathy and I think murder is too harsh. Involuntary manslaughter would be a better charge, if something has to be charged.
 
  • #29
I have a feeling there is a lot more to this story that is not being told.
 
  • #30
I have a feeling there is a lot more to this story that is not being told.

I think the guy who tried to break into the bathroom probably has a history of doing things like that at and around that location. Seems like he was known by the staff to be a problem. I imagine he’s also likely been asked or told to leave on prior occasions, imo.
 
  • #31
I love the dad. He's a hero.
 
  • #32
..it's not like a cop was telling a criminal/person who could be a threat to comply/get down/drop the weapon/etc
...this does not look like self defense at all but a revenge/hate murder
 
  • #33
I don't think anyone's calling this self defense. Are they?

..it's not like a cop was telling a criminal/person who could be a threat to comply/get down/drop the weapon/etc
...this does not look like self defense at all but a revenge/hate murder
 
  • #34
I don't think anyone's calling this self defense. Are they?
I see a lot of posters praising the guy/saying they would vote not guilty
posts 2, 3, 4, 5
 
  • #35
I see a lot of posters praising the guy/saying they would vote not guilty
posts 2, 3, 4, 5
and #9.......I just read an article, will have to look for it again, it said Leon has schitzophrenia (sp) and wouldn't have been intending harm to the girls. Besides, they were no longer in harms way, he obviously let them out of the bathroom without issue.
 
  • #36
  • #37
if a criminal gets shot and killed, I feel safer..I have no problems with that
this case has many unknowns
 
  • #38
At the time the beating occurred, it doesn't appear that daughter was in any danger, as reportedly this man left the bathroom. I don't think we want to allow someone to be a judge, a jury and an executioner. What if father saw a wrong guy outside the gas station, and beat a wrong guy (which could have happened easily as the man left the gas station at the time he was confronted), would that be o'key? If this happened in the bathroom as the guy was trying to break into the stall, I wold feel that was justified, but not after the man already left.
 
  • #39
Not trying to pick sides here but of course the family of the deceased are saying he wasn’t trying to harm the girl. Their family member was just killed. It’s not surprising that they would come out and speak on his behalf. That doesn’t mean they really have any idea of how the man acted when they weren’t around. They have no way of knowing what his intentions were during the incident. JMO.
 
  • #40
The reason we have a legal system is so people can't just kill people because they suspect someone did something or are told someone did something but have no evidence. It can't be condoned. Maybe this guy was awful but maybe he wasnt. And what if you get the wrong guy and your vigilante justice is misdirected at an innocent person? Slippery slope.
 

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