An Atlanta woman will be placed in front of a police lineup for the first time this week in hopes of identifying her attackers -- at least the ones who survived.
On Oct. 28, Tricia Miller was pulling out of her driveway when she was blocked in by a van. The three men inside the van forced Miller out of her car, and onto her porch, and tried to get the schoolteacher to unlock her house.
Fulton County Police Captain Terry Mulkey, in charge of the case, thinks the attackers knew Miller's daily routine. What they did not know at the time of the attack was that Miller's fiancee, Jerell Breedlove, had just gotten off the night shift and was in the house when Miller was leaving for work.
"They forced her into her home using a Chinese SKS, which is similar to the AK-47," Mulkey said. "They set the alarm off, and the commotion woke up Mr. Breedlove, who had just gone to sleep. He heard the commotion and got a .380 semi-automatic pistol out from the nightstand. One of the three men had gone upstairs to see if anyone else was in the house.
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"(Mr. Breedlove) opened fire on the guy, and the (attacker) fell dead. The other two ran back to the van."
The van had been stolen that morning, but was recovered later that afternoon by police.
While police have two suspects matching descriptions in custody, they are waiting to get absolute results from the lineup. "We might have to do a couple of lineups," Mulkey said. "Sometimes the information can take one week or up to a year to gather."
When identified, the attackers will be charged with kidnapping, burglary, attempted-armed robbery, and motor vehicle theft.
"We want to charge them with as much as we can," Mulkey said.
Miller did not suffer any permanent physical injury.
"She was shaken up at the scene," Mulkey said. "She was bruised a little on the wrists, but very visibly shaken up mentally."
Breedlove was taken into police custody, but was released that day without charges.
"He was defending his home and his fiancee," Mulkey said. "There was an armed intruder in his house. Actually, we commended Mr. Breedlove on being such a good shot."
The family of the deceased claimed the body that night, and told police they will not pursue any kind of legal action against Breedlove.
"They didn't seem a bit too concerned," Mulkey said. "They were aware of his lifestyle choices. For them to take any action, they would have to pursue some sort of civil suit, and they know it would never hold up in court."
Oddly, the local Atlanta news did not give much coverage to the story at the time it happened. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution printed one story, without a follow-up of any kind.
Mulkey said good news isn't always a hot story.
"This story might have just slipped through the cracks," he said. "But it isn't, per se, interesting because the good guys won. Good guys defending their homes just doesn't sell. But you can chalk one up for the good guys anyways.