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Former Elvis Presley bodyguard turned drug smuggler releases book dishing on conviction, the real Miami Vice
If ever you’ve looked to crack open a nonfiction book detailing the tales of one man, a former bodyguard of Elvis Presley, who earned himself both a super middleweight kickboxing championship and a drug smuggling conviction, the pages are now hot off the printers.
Ted Pryor, formerly refereed by Chuck Norris and training partner of Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran and Don “The Dragon” Wilson, was hired by Presley following his world championship win. He details the job in his newly released book, “Three-Time World Champ: The Death-Defying True Story of a Kickboxer Turned Drug Smuggler . . . Turned Business Icon.”
Pryor’s stint as Elvis Presley’s bodyguard
“Elvis, when he was younger in the service, he learned a little bit of martial arts, and he was infatuated with it,” Pryor told Fox News Digital.
At the time, Pryor and his friend Joe were training Florida law enforcement, the FBI and DEA on the basics of self-defense to use as anchorage amid a physical encounter with an assailant.
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Ted Pryor, former bodyguard for Elvis Presley, said he was hired due to his kickboxing expertise and Presley’s love for martial arts. (Jack Randall; Getty Images)
The work was steady until Pryor and Joe received a call from Presley to piggyback as bodyguards on what would be the final tour before his death.
“Unfortunately, no one knew it then, but he was broke,” Pryor said. “He had to start touring, because his manager gambled his money away.”
Pryor’s responsibilities included warding off zealous supporters of Presley who dreamed of reaching the stage and crowding him.
“The women used to rush the stage,” Pryor said. “It was interesting, because you’d have a chokehold around their waist. We would take them to the floor slowly and our junior bodyguards would take them away.”
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Ted Pryor told Fox News Digital he fought all over the world, including locations like China, Thailand, Hong Kong and Japan. (Ted Pryor)
Pryor said the men would fend off three to four women at a time with takedown techniques and that one woman, who gad been given a scarf by Presley himself, used the accessory to choke Pryor with it.
“She was trying to get to Elvis,” he said. “She put it around my neck and started choking me.”
Parts of Florida, Memphis, California and New York, among 20 to 30 other locations later, Pryor said the fun came to an end when he received the call that the King of Rock and Roll had passed away.
“It was kind of shocking,” Pryor said. “I think the whole world was shocked when that happened. He always treated me and Joe really well.”
Pryor was also previously hired by Don Johnson during the time he was married to Melanie Griffith, though he reminisces that Johnson was “moody.”
“And that’s putting it nicely,” he said.
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Pryor was 20 years old when he was shackled and cuffed by Florida police officers when they seized 32,000 pounds of marijuana from his car and boatyard, the largest weed bust in the U.S. at the time. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)
Earning $5k per marijuana drop at 20 years old
Not long after the unexpected loss sent shockwaves around the world, Pryor was working as a correctional counselor for a Florida state prison when he was offered $5,000 to drive a car across Alligator Alley, a swamp sanctuary in the Sunshine State.
“I wasn’t totally naive,” Pryor said. “I knew there was something in the car.”
Pryor detailed to Fox News Digital how, at 20 years old, he’d transport 500 pounds of marijuana at a time, earning a $5,000 cut from the $20k to $30k deals.
“I thought I was Rockefeller,” he said.
As the cash rolled in, Pryor sought to reap a greater financial benefit from his work and acquainted himself with a drug dealer for whom he acted as a bodyguard, offloader and “intimidator.”
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Pryor was initially set free by a judge after his lawyer argued there hadn’t been enough probable cause for law enforcement to pull him over. He was re-indicted and served 90 days of his 18-month prison sentence. (Ted Pryor)
“I had a reputation,” he said. “I was one of the best fighters in the world. I was on the cover of magazines. I was really well-known in Florida.”
“He wanted someone that could protect him that didn’t need a gun,” he said.
Pryor added that he maintained a fit but lean physique at the time and weighed only 170 pounds, but bystanders feared him.
“Ray wouldn’t ever let me get into the business,” he said. “He wanted me clean. Not that he was a loving, caring guy. He wanted to have someone clean in his life.”
So, Pryor got greedy and took matters into his own hands.
He told Fox News Digital that his work started with “little” 2,000-pound runs on midnight express boats for buyers from New York, Chicago and Michigan.
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Ted Pryor, super middleweight kickboxing champion, was hired as one of Elvis Presley’s bodyguards for what would be his final U.S. tour before the king away suddenly. (Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
“We started our own little enterprise doing it on the side without him knowing it,” he said.
Until one day, Pryor sought to move 15,000 pounds of marijuana from a boatyard.
“I got pulled over,” he said. “Guns came out. These are the guys that I trained for three to four years. They couldn’t believe it was me.”
Pryor said he was cuffed, and his feet were shackled, before the team of officers located the weed in his car, which they considered probable cause to raid the boatyard. Law enforcement seized 32,000 pounds of marijuana, the largest seizure of weed in the U.S. at that time, and interrogated Pryor.
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Pryor wrote “Three-Time World Champ: The Death-Defying True Story of a Kickboxer Turned Drug Smuggler . . . Turned Business Icon,” which details his time as a drug smuggler in Florida. (Cover designer Sarah Avinger; Cover illustration Sean Hsiao)
A second indictment comes crashing down
After being put in front of a judge, Pryor’s lawyer argued that the police had not had enough evidence to pull him over and search the vehicle.
Pryor was let go.
“He did the right thing by law, but he knew I was guilty,” Pryor said.
Former President Ronald Reagan was in office at the time, and his wife, Nancy Reagan, led a youth antidrug campaign at the time, “Just Say No,” which implored children to refuse drugs when offered.
“The Feds came in and had the Supreme Court of Florida overturn the state case,” Pryor said.
He was re-indicted and believes it was due to both state and national pressure to save America from a drug epidemic.
Pryor accepted an 18-month prison sentence and was back on work release in 90 days.
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After being released from jail, Pryor took $1 million, which the Feds had not seized from him, bought car washes to clean it and paid taxes on it before founding Children of America. (iStock)
“Believe it or not, where did I go?” Pryor said. “I go back to the place where I started; the state correction facility.”
However, this time, Pryor was on the other side of the program as a former prisoner.
Founding Children of America
After he served his time, Pryor started a car washing business to clean $1 million by laundering money that the Feds had never seized.
Trouble was never Pryor’s dream, though, so once he paid taxes on the money, he founded Children of America in 1997, an educational childcare provider, operating 70 locations in over 10 states and caring for nearly 10,000 kids.
“It’s been my life, and I’ve enjoyed it,” Pryor said.
As for his background, 40 years later, Pryor anticipates it doesn’t cast a shadow over the positivity and opportunities that families and children are presented with by way of Children of America.
“Parents read the book and were asked if they’d bring their children there,” he said. “Ninety-eight percent of the people didn’t have a problem with me taking care of their child, because they’ve had some kind of experience with marijuana.”
Today, his son runs the company, but Pryor reminds that he will always be the founder.
“You can’t change that,” he said.
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The suspect accused of plotting a New Year’s Eve attack on a grocery store and fast-food restaurant in North Carolina worked at a Burger King and hid knives and hammers under his bed despite his grandparents trying to secure the potential weapons, prosecutors revealed Friday.
Christian Sturdivant, 18, of Mint Hill, a town outside Charlotte, was arrested and charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina Russ Ferguson said.
“What we do know is that the grandfather secured the knives in the home, secured the hammers, tried to make sure that Mr. Sturdivant did not have them. And, yet, when we executed the search warrant, they were found under his bed,” Ferguson told reporters at a news conference Friday.
Ferguson added the attack was planned to take place in Mint Hill, and the suspect worked at a Burger King.
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Christian Sturdivant, the 18-year-old suspect from Mint Hill, N.C., accused of plotting an attack on New Year’s Eve in support of ISIS. (Gaston County Sheriff’s Office)
“He was preparing for jihad, and innocent people were going to die. And we were very, very fortunate they did not,” Ferguson said. “I can tell you from his notes he was targeting Jews, Christians and LGBTQ individuals.”
James C. Barnacle, Jr., special agent in charge of the FBI’s Charlotte Field Office, said Friday that Sturdivant first caught the bureau’s attention in January 2022, when he was still a juvenile.
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Prosecutors said “law enforcement seized from Sturdivant’s bedroom a blue hammer, a wooden-handled hammer and two butcher knives hidden underneath the defendant’s bed.” On the right is a note titled, “New Years Attack 2026,” that prosecutors said law enforcement found during a Dec. 29, 2025, search of Sturdivant’s home in Mint Hill, N.C. (United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina)
“He was in contact via social media with an unidentified ISIS member overseas. Sturdivant received direction from this unidentified ISIS member to dress in all black, knock on people’s doors, and attack them with a hammer. In fact, Sturdivant did dress in all black. He left this house with a hammer, and fortunately his family stepped in,” Barnacle continued. “No charges were filed at that time. He was referred for psychological care, and he underwent psychological care.
“Christian Sturdivant pledged his loyalty to ISIS and committed himself to commit to killing Americans on New Year’s Eve.
“Law enforcement also seized from Sturdivant’s bedroom a list of targets, as well as tactical gloves and a vest, acquired as part of the defendant’s planned attack,” prosecutors said. (United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina)
“We do have some intelligence that he was looking at a grocery store because there would be a lot of people there. He knew there would be a lot of people there grocery shopping. … He was looking for a high-profile place,” Barnacle added.
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“There’s a couple grocery stores in Mint Hill. He wasn’t set on just one. He was looking at multiple, whichever one had the most people in it.”
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Southeast
Georgia teen charged with murdering Uber driver in suburban carjacking, leaving him to die
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A 15-year-old boy has been charged as an adult with murder after an Uber driver was found shot to death early New Year’s Day after a carjacking in a suburban Atlanta community, authorities said.
The victim was identified as Cesar Tejada, 58, of Grayson, Georgia, who was working as an Uber driver at the time of the shooting, according to a release from the Lawrenceville Police Department. Authorities said that Tejada was a father of two.
Police responded around 5:20 a.m. Jan. 1 to a report of a person lying in the roadway in the suburban community of Lawrenceville, which is approximately 30 miles northeast of Atlanta. Officers found Tejada suffering from a gunshot wound, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators determined that Tejada had picked up the suspect around 4:13 a.m. and transported him to Groveland Parkway. Police said the suspect exited the back seat, shot Tejada and left him in the road before fleeing the scene.
An Uber driver was found shot to death in the roadway of the nearby 600 block of Groveland Parkway in the Meadow Grove subdivision Jan. 1, 2026. (WAGA-TV)
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Using FLOCK camera technology and working in partnership with Uber, detectives tracked Tejada’s vehicle back to the area where the trip originated. Officers later detained the suspect, identified as 15-year-old Christian Simmons, after observing him walking in the roadway near his residence, police said.
Simmons has been charged as an adult with murder. Police initially withheld his identity due to his age.
Christian Simmons, 15, was charged with murder as an adult after Uber driver Cesar Tejada, 58, was found shot to death in Lawrenceville, Georgia, on New Year’s Day. (Lawrenceville Police Department/Facebook)
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In a statement to Fox News Digital, an Uber spokesperson said the company is saddened by Tejada’s death.
“We’re saddened by this devastating loss, and our condolences go out to the driver’s family during this incredibly difficult time,” the spokesperson said. “We’ve been in contact with the Lawrenceville Police Department to help support their investigation.”
Uber confirmed the rider account associated with the incident has been permanently banned. The company said it employs former law enforcement professionals to assist with investigations and offers in-app safety features such as an emergency assistance button, GPS trip tracking and rider verification.
The Lawrenceville Police Department discovered a deceased Uber driver in the roadway of the nearby 600 block of Groveland Parkway in the Meadow Grove subdivision Jan. 1, 2026. (WAGA-TV)
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Police described Tejada as a husband and father of two and extended condolences to his family. The investigation remains ongoing, and anyone with information is urged to contact the Lawrenceville Police Department.
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In 2025, idyllic small towns across America were interrupted by acts of violence from Mississippi to Montana, Arkansas to Washington state.
The murders struck during homecoming weekends, inside neighborhood bars, at campgrounds and along hiking trails.
Together, the cases exposed vulnerabilities in small-town America: unresolved personal disputes, untreated mental health crises and domestic violence.
Clinton and Cristen Brink were murdered at Devil’s Den State Park on Saturday, July 26, 2025. (GoFundMe)
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Devil’s Den, Arkansas:
In northwest Arkansas, a visit to a state park ended in a double homicide.
Clinton Brink, 43, and Cristen Brink, 41, the parents of three children, were stabbed to death while hiking at Devil’s Den State Park on July 26.
The couple had recently moved to Arkansas to be closer to family and begin a new chapter. Friends described them as gentle, active and devoted parents.
“They loved to take the girls and go hiking,” said Mary Hinebauch, a friend from their former church in Montana. “That wasn’t an unnatural place for them to be.”
The Arkansas State Police arrested Andrew James McGann, 28, charging him with murdering the couple. Investigators said the killings appeared unprovoked. The arrest came a day after police released “a composite sketch of a man” they were “seeking to identify for questioning in connection with the double homicide.”
“This was a very safe place to be,” Hinebauch said. “It’s pure evil.”
To read more about this case, click here.
The FBI’s Jackson Field Office released this “seeking information” poster featuring four suspects wanted in connection with the Oct. 11, 2025, mass shooting in Leland, Mississippi, that left six people dead and 20 injured. (FBI)
Leland, Mississippi:
On Oct. 11, 2025, just after midnight in Leland, Mississippi, a small city in Washington County where the population hovers around 3,700, the excitement of homecoming weekend was shattered when a shooting broke out following a football game.
At least six people were killed and at least 19 others wounded.
The FBI’s Jackson Field Office announced that four people were arrested in connection with the shooting.
Three men, identified as Teviyon Powell, 29; William Bryant, 29; and Morgan Lattimore, 25, were charged with capital murder. A fourth suspect, Latoya Powell, 44, was charged with attempted murder.
MUGSHOT OF RURAL MONTANA BAR MASSACRE SUSPECT RELEASED AFTER WEEK-LONG MANHUNT
Investigators said they believe the violence stemmed from a personal dispute, though no final motive has been confirmed.
“This is not who we are as a community,” Leland Mayor John Lee said. “Our hearts are broken for these families.”
To read more about this case, click here.
Main Street in Anaconda, Montana, leads to the Deer Lodge County Courthouse with mountains in the background on Aug. 8, 2025. (Peter D’Abrosca/Fox News Digital)
Anaconda, Montana:
In Anaconda, Montana, a quiet bar in a former mining town with about 9,000 people was interrupted when a man opened fire on Aug. 1, 2025.
Authorities said that Michael Paul Brown, 45, an Army veteran and longtime local resident, entered The Owl Bar around 10:30 a.m. and opened fire. Authorities said Brown lived next door to the bar and was known to the patrons inside.
Four people were killed: Daniel Edwin Baillie, 59; Nancy Lauretta Kelley, 64; David Allen Leach, 70; and Tony Wayne Palm, 74. Kelley was working as the bartender; the others were regular customers.
Brown fled, sparking a massive weeklong manhunt involving more than 130 local, state and federal law enforcement officers. The FBI, ATF, U.S. Marshals Service and Montana National Guard all assisted, deploying helicopters, air patrols and ground teams across rugged terrain.
The Department of Criminal Investigations in Montana released a photo of Michael Brown fleeing the scene after allegedly shooting and killing four people at a bar on Aug. 1, 2025. (Department of Criminal Investigations)
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Residents told Fox News Digital that fear settled over the town as the search dragged on.
“The town is just scared,” one bartender said. “Everybody’s on edge.”
Brown was captured Aug. 8 near a barn about five and a half miles from the bar. Authorities said he was armed.
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen called the killings “cold-blooded.”
To read more about this case, click here.
Travis Decker was suspected of murdering his three daughters before disappearing into the Washington wilderness. (Chelan County Sheriff’s Office)
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Wenatchee, Washington:
In May 2025, a manhunt was launched for the fugitive father of three accused of murdering his three daughters before disappearing into the wilderness.
The Chelan County Sheriff’s Office said Travis Decker, a military veteran and wilderness survivalist, failed to return his three daughters from a court-mandated custody visit in late May 2025. Days later, the bodies of Paityn Decker, 9; Evelyn Decker, 8; and Olivia Decker, 5, were found at a Chelan County campground.
According to police, the girls had been bound with zip ties and suffocated.
This undated photo provided by Whitney Decker shows Paityn, Olivia and Evelyn Decker. (Whitney Decker via AP)
A manhunt followed, spanning rugged mountain terrain and involving multiple law enforcement agencies. In September, human remains were discovered on Grindstone Mountain, less than a mile from where the girls’ bodies had been found. DNA testing later confirmed the remains belonged to Decker.
“This will bring a close to our case,” Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison said after the DNA results were confirmed. “We wanted to show honor to them and let them know we haven’t forgotten.”
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Court records showed Decker’s ex-wife had previously petitioned to modify the parenting plan, citing his worsening mental health and unstable living conditions.
To read more about this case, click here.
Fox News Digital’s Peter D’Abrosca, Julia Bonavita, Michael Dorgan and Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
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