A dispute over a handicapped parking space turned deadly when a disabled senior reached for his gun and bear spray at a popular fishing spot in Sarasota, Florida.
Jonathan Lee Arias had driven down from Orlando for a weekend getaway with his wife and a friend. But moments after pulling into the parking lot of Hart’s Landing fishing pier on Aug. 3, he was confronted by 66-year-old Richard Minor.
Minor, who reportedly lived out of his car, was parked in the handicapped spot next to Arias and is a left-leg amputee. After he challenged Arias on whether he was genuinely handicapped, an argument broke out, according to an arrest affidavit via Law & Crime.
Before any shots were fired, witnesses claim Minor continued to harass Arias about the handicapped spot “from a distance, which made Arias upset,” per the affidavit.
The fisherman decided to cut bait on his weekend trip, pack up his gear, and leave the area with his wife and friend. Perhaps if he had kept going, he would be alive today.