But the two other boys gave a different account, one in which Heflin was the aggressor. The two 15-year-olds said they had come to the Strafford Place Apartments on Guenther Road to visit one boy’s sister and use her phone. They said Heflin confronted them in the parking lot and told them to leave. When they refused, Heflin reportedly pulled a knife and told them to empty their pockets. They said when they tried to leave, Heflin stabbed Martin-Sydnor.
Heflin has a long criminal record. Heflin was sentenced to eight to 25 years in prison in 1983 for aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary. He was released in April 1993 after serving a little more than seven years.
Within months, he was convicted of felonious assault for shooting three people and sentenced to 30 to 48 years. He was released in February 2008 after serving 15 years. According to court records in that case, Heflin had confronted his 22-year-old girlfriend at her mother’s house during a family barbecue. Heflin left after a fight, but returned minutes later. He pulled a .25-caliber pistol from his pocket, pointed it at the woman’s head and pulled the trigger. The woman was able to duck and turn, with the bullet hitting her in the right ear. According to testimony, Heflin fired a second shot that hit her in the arm.
The woman fled into the backyard with Heflin in pursuit. There, Heflin shot at one of the men at the grill, hitting him in the wrist and severing an artery. Meanwhile, the girlfriend sought shelter at an aunt’s house a block away. Heflin went to her door, and when the aunt opened the door, Heflin shot her in the hip. She grabbed a .22-caliber rifle she had placed by the door and returned fire, hitting him twice.
Heflin also had a breaking-and-entering conviction in 1973.
Dayton homicide Sgt. Dan Mauch said Heflin was arrested in another person’s apartment at the complex and refused to speak with detectives. Both 15-year-olds spoke with detectives at the scene of the stabbing.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2290 or dpage@Dayton DailyNews.com.
About the Author