Robberies' planner sentenced

"I am the queen. I am here to reign,'' said Richell Denise Bradshaw, who calls herself Queen Shahmia.

By JOUNICE L. NEALY

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 10, 2000

FORT MYERS -- A woman claiming to be God's only begotten daughter smiled and blew kisses Wednesday after she was sentenced to 25 years in prison for orchestrating robberies committed by her followers.

Willing to "go to prison with a beautiful smile on my face," Richell Denise Bradshaw, who calls herself Queen Shahmia, seemed to glide across the courtroom after the sentencing.

On her way to the fingerprinting stand, she acknowledged her so-called maidservant and husband, whom she smiled at frequently during the hearing. Bradshaw twice made a fist with her right hand and placed it over her heart as a gesture of the bond between them.

"God's going to have his way," she told Lee County Circuit Judge Thomas S. Reese before she was sentenced. "I am the queen. I am here to reign."

Bradshaw was convicted in July and faced between 51/2 and 85 years in prison under state guidelines. Her defense attorney, Mark Ahlbrand, asked for leniency because, among other things, Bradshaw had no prior record and did not participate in the robberies.

Judge Reese said the case had nothing to do with religion.

"I am only concerned about the activities of your group and you," Reese told Bradshaw.

He gave her 15 years for each of the five counts of robbery, which will run concurrently. She also was given consecutive sentences of five years for conspiracy to commit robbery and another five years for grand theft.

"Oh, we will definitely appeal," Bradshaw told Reese.

Bradshaw, 34, is the third member of the group to be convicted in a string of robberies that occurred between Orlando and Fort Myers in December and January. The group often stayed in plush hotels, including St. Pete Beach's Don CeSar Beach Resort and Spa and an Embassy Suites in Tampa.

Bradshaw and her husband, Phillip, were traveling with four adults and eight children. Three of the children were biologically theirs; the others belonged to her followers. All of the children are in state custody.

One of her three manservants, 26-year-old Ismael Castilleja, was sentenced last month to two years in prison for the robberies. He testified that Bradshaw told them to get more aggressive in collecting finances and around Thanksgiving passed on a message from God that it was okay to "plunder the Earth."

Two of her other servants -- Anthony Menendez, 21, and Lawrence Joseph Ansaroff, 20 -- are awaiting trial, scheduled for September. They are charged with robbing two convenience stores, two restaurants and a theater.

Bradshaw's maidservant, Christine Ramirez, who now goes by only Nirishi, already has served 61/2 months in Orange County Jail for strong arm robbery. On Wednesday, she said she would give up custody of her children to stay loyal to Bradshaw.

"I will do anything for God," said Ramirez, who also told the judge that Bradshaw never ordered robberies.

Phillip Bradshaw, who already has drafted an appeal for his wife, said he wants custody of their three children. He plans on staying married to the "queen bee."

Behind bars, the trio of servants also have remained loyal to Bradshaw, who said in court that other inmates secretly seek her while she remains in solitary confinement because she is said to have brainwashed her followers.

"I have not deceived. I have not lied. I am Queen Shahmia," Bradshaw told the judge.

Before her arrest, Bradshaw's followers would peel her fruit, soothe her feet, comb her hair and bathe her. They escorted her around and spread flower petals in her path.

Ansaroff's father, Joseph Ansaroff, said his son had been a victim of Bradshaw's brainwashing, giving her all his savings and using his credit card to pay for hotel rooms. Since his son began following Bradshaw, Joseph Ansaroff has gone to cult awareness conferences and said the group's activities match those of cults.

"I don't think they're bad people. I want help for him and her," Ansaroff said. Bradshaw manipulated his son, and now "he's a different person," he said. He wants Bradshaw to help bring his son back to their family.

But Assistant State Attorney Felicia Wilcox said Bradshaw has never shown remorse for even the robberies.

"She is just as responsible. She's not an accomplice, she's responsible," Wilcox said.

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