RESTAURANT WORKER’S KILLER CAUGHT Second Suspect Sought
- BSO Case Number: OP09-08-01139
- PIO Number: 09-8-8 (Update)
- Date: August 10, 2009
- Time: 8:59 a.m. Jurisdiction: Oakland Park
- Place of Occurrence: Taco Bell, 593 East Oakland Park Boulevard, Oakland Park
Victim(s):
- Tikkitress Johnson, 39, female, 02/15/70, Ft. Lauderdale (DECEASED)
Suspect(s):
- Karari Ritchie, 20, 5/14/89, male, 4041 NW 16 St., Lauderdale Lakes
Description of Incident:
Broward Sheriff’s Office Homicide and Crime Scene detectives have arrested a 20-year-old man who brutally murdered a 39-year-old wife and mother at her Oakland Park workplace Monday morning.
Shortly before 9 a.m. Monday, Oakland Park Fire Rescue was dispatched to a reported fall injury at the Taco Bell restaurant at 593 East Oakland Park Boulevard. Coworkers showing up for work saw Taco Bell Manager Tikkitress “Tikki” Johnson on the floor, unresponsive, and they called 911. Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies also responded and confirmed the victim was deceased, not from a fall injury as first reported but from stab wounds.
The victim Johnson arrived for work to prepare the business for its 10 a.m. posted opening time. Working alone inside the eatery, Johnson heard a knock on the door and saw Karari Ritchie and another suspect standing outside. Ritchie is a former Taco Bell employee, so he knew Johnson, and he told her that he wanted a job application for him and his friend. Johnson unlocked the door and allowed the two to enter.
The suspects immediately forced Johnson to hand over an undisclosed amount of cash, then she was stabbed multiple times. Ritchie and his cohort fled the scene and left Johnson bleeding and dying on the floor.
BSO Crime Scene detectives processed the scene from 9 a.m. Monday until 3 a.m. Tuesday. One of the fingerprints, taken from a location that the suspect was video-recorded touching, was run through AFIS (automated fingerprint identification system) and by 11 pm Monday the print came back matching Karari Ritchie. A search warrant was obtained and detectives went to Ritchie’s Lauderdale Lakes home early Tuesday morning, woke him, and took him into custody.
Ritchie was in custody 21 hours after the crime and he gave detectives a confession. He said the crime was not a robbery gone bad – it was a planned robbery and murder. Ritchie said he knew that Johnson would be able to identify him and that he would have to kill her.
A second suspect, who cannot be identified at this time, is still being sought. Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS or online at www.BrowardCrimeStoppers.org.
- THIS REPORT BY: D-12, RID, Homicide, Crime Scene, Jim Leljedal /PIO Sgt. Bukata, Det. Champagne 08/12/09 1300
Suspect and Victim before murder - Suspect and Victim before murder- Suspect Karari Ritchie - Suspect Karari Ritchie
- Suspects leaving Taco Bell - Suspects leaving Taco Bell
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