Head of Facebook charity group becomes victim of a home invasion
ESCAMBIA COUNTY, Fla. - The head of a charity group was the victim of a home invasion. Tina Conner runs “Helping Hands Pay It Forward,” a Facebook group with more than a thousand members in the Pensacola area. Conner takes donated items from people and gives them to families in need. She believes she was targeted through the Facebook group. Conner says a man broke into her house on Nov. 16 attacked her and her kids, wanting her prescription pills and cash. “He’s like where’s your purse?!” Conner described. She says there was about $800 and several bottles of prescription medicine in her purse at the time. "I have attention deficit and I also have panic attacks, and I had recent surgery, so I had pain meds in it. I had some attention deficit meds and I had Xanax,” she said. She says she recognized the armed man and believes he's connected to someone she's helped through the helping hand's group. "He saw that I had cash in my purse and he saw I had meds in my purse," she said. Conner is changing procedures on her charity. From now on she says she’s going to public places to meet with people who contact her through the group. She's also encouraging members to do the same. The man also threatened to come back for her family, so she’s lost sleep. “I'm awake all night long. I've slept maybe an hour, hour-and-a-half each day,” Conner said. The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is investigating.