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But by Sept. 27, he was wet and naked, lying face-down and praying in the middle of a Grays Ferry street, waiting to be arrested for murder.
It was the street in front of Anthony Williams' house, a man who, for as long as anyone can remember, opened his door to homeless children and adults.
And Armstrong, 31, a friend whom Williams called his "little brother," was one of them.
But when Williams, 37, opened his door for Armstrong on Sept. 27, it would be his final act of kindness.
"When Anthony opened the door for Ray that night, he opened the door to his death," said Williams' friend, Olga Crespo.
Williams and Crespo worked together at Central City Toyota in West Philadelphia, a job that Williams, a Bartram High School graduate, began at age 18.
"He was perfect with everybody - like a glove, he'd fit on anybody's hand," Crespo said. "And he just insisted on you smiling."
About a year ago, service manager Jamie Haberle promoted Williams to service adviser.
"He always strove to become a service adviser because he knew so many clients and he wanted to experience a different level with them on a peer-to-peer basis," Haberle said.
Williams often worked six-day weeks and up to 11 hours a day, but he never complained, Haberle said.
Ashley Nichols, a Central City customer-service representative, said: "He was one of the first people to embrace me, to ask me where I was from and to make me comfortable. Anthony wanted everyone to like him. It even bothered him when the guy at the corner store wasn't nice to him."
Williams' talents ranged from interior design to singing in his church choir, but his friends say it was through his love of photography that Williams met Armstrong, a model whose credits include Kenneth Cole print ads and iPod TV commercials.
But, according to Williams' neighbors and friends, Armstrong marketed himself in other ways as well.
"Ray always had 20 different professions," Nichols said. "His card said model, actor, dancer, stripper, photographer."
Armstrong seemed to switch up girls as often as he did careers, and whenever he was between women, he'd stay at Williams' house, friends said.
"Anthony gave Ray extra cell phones, clothes, whatever he needed, and he let him stay with him," Nichols said.
Williams' next-door neighbor, Tonja Bell, estimated that Armstrong had been living on and off at Williams' home for four years.
"Anthony always opened his house to people," she said. "He was not going to see you homeless."
But Williams recently began remodeling his house and found himself without the room or patience to help an often "troubled" Armstrong, Bell said.
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