A 39-year-old man has been charged with felony assault for punching a man over what state police called a “parking spot dispute” Tuesday.
Court records obtained by Delaware Online/The News Journal show the man was punched after reportedly calling the 39-year-old a racial slur.
Police said they were called at 10:09 a.m. Tuesday to the medical complex at 700 Prides Crossing in Newark, where they found a 71-year-old white man on the ground with a head wound. The 71-year-old and the 39-year-old Black man had tried to pull into the same parking spot, according to police, and had gotten into a “verbal argument.”
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Court records show that the 39-year-old was waiting for a handicapped parking spot and that the 71-year-old tried to pull into the spot in front of him. The 71-year-old eventually drove off to find another space, but police said the 39-year-old ran after the car and started punching the window.
The 71-year-old then got out of the car and asked the 39-year-old to leave him alone and threatened to call police, according to court records. The 39-year-old punched the 71-year-old in the head once, knocking him to the ground and causing him to lose consciousness, court documents show.
Police said the man was taken to the hospital in critical condition.
The 39-year-old fled the scene, but police said he later turned himself in. Court documents show he told officers that the older man called him a racial slur during their argument.
Because of the 71-year-old’s age, the 39-year-old man was charged with felony assault first degree.
Send story tips or ideas to Hannah Edelman at hedelman@delawareonline.com. For more reporting, follow them on Twitter at @h_edelman.
