Editor’s note: This article contains mention of murder and assault. Victim resources are available through North Carolina’s Victim Compensation Services website. Residents can also contact Debbie Cashwell, the Victim/Witness Coordinator for the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, at 910-677-5454. The Fayetteville Police Department’s Victim Services can be reached at 910-433-1849.
In 2024, Fayetteville had its lowest crime numbers in decades. The city saw just 16 homicides throughout the year. In the first month of 2025 alone, the city saw over half that number, several of which were of young women like Jakaira Ortiz and Heather Williams.
For Ken Brown, manager of TruFit Gym Hope Mills, the murders of the young women hit home. He has three daughters and sisters. As a resident, he was tired of seeing the back-to-back violence and doing nothing. That’s why he’s putting on a free self-defense seminar for women on Feb. 8 at TruFit Gym Hope Mills.
“If I have an opportunity to help someone who may become a victim, why not take advantage of it?” Brown told CityView. “And I wouldn’t want anybody to pay for their safety.”
The course has two main parts. First, participants will learn from detectives in the special victims and human trafficking units at the Fayetteville Police Department about situational awareness and ways to conduct themselves in public to limit their chances of becoming victims of a crime.
Next, they will learn practical self-defense skills from S. Valdez, a retired Fayetteville Police officer who asked not to have her full name printed because of her past work with the department. Valdez will teach participants to strike assailants using their palms, knees, and elbows — the hardest parts of the body — to limit self-inflicted injuries while fighting. The strikes are based on Japanese jiu-jitsu practice, which Valdez said is the premier martial art for self-defense.
Valdez said that not everyone will be immediately adept at the practice. But even without perfect form, Valdez believes the teachings will help participants feel confident in their ability to handle dangerous situations. That confidence is key to limiting the chances of becoming a victim of a crime, Valdez said.
“Three things that are needed in order for a crime to occur: You need the opportunity, you need the determination to make it happen and you need the will or the tools to make it happen,” Valdez explained. “We are responsible for the opportunity. If we take away that opportunity, then the triangle never occurs and we’re less likely to be victims of a crime.”
Conversation Location, a local counseling company, will also be at the seminar. Brown wanted to ensure therapists were available on-site since the seminar may be triggering for attendees who have been victims or have loved ones who were victims of crimes like assault and rape. Valdez emphasized that while the course may be triggering, the skills are important to learn and encouraged attendees to take the training seriously.
Valdez is donating her knowledge and time to teach the hands-on seminar. She didn’t even question volunteering to ensure all residents could learn self-defense skills.
“Once you’ve been a cop, you can’t undo the things you’ve seen and then the things you’ve seen people do to other people,” Valdez said. “So if you can help one person be a little bit more aware and maybe not become a victim, who wouldn’t want to help?”
Brown said he called in several favors, including from Valdez, to ensure no one paid for the seminar. The American Tattoo Society and Superior Bakery are also helping fund the event and provide snacks for attendees.
This weekend’s self-defense seminar is not the first TruFit Gym Hope Mills or Valdez has put on, but it’s the first in a while. Brown and Valdez said past classes have not been well attended despite the need for them in the community. Besides an uptick in homicides, the seminar comes as the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office has responded to 81 assaults on women in January. The office has responded to 413 assaults on women in the last five months.
The self-defense course starts at noon at TruFit Gym Hope Mills at 2485 Hope Mills Road on Saturday, Feb. 8. Those interested in attending can sign up online.
CityView Reporter Morgan Casey is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Morgan’s reporting focuses on health care issues in and around Cumberland County and can be supported through the CityView News Fund.
