65-year-old punches woman in face in fight over church parking spot, Florida cops say
A 65-year-old man is facing charges after Florida authorities said he punched a woman in the face during a fight over a handicapped parking spot.
John Gaston Phillips of Orlando was arrested Feb. 10 on charges of aggravated battery, abuse of the elderly or a disabled adult and two counts of false imprisonment in connection with the September incident, court records show.
On Sept. 25, two women were picking up a 5-year-old girl from St. John Vianney Catholic School when Phillips blocked their vehicle with his truck and screamed at them for being parked in a handicapped space, investigators said.
The women said Phillips believed they arrived in separate cars and were using one handicapped placard for two cars, records show. Phillips told the women he would not let them leave until security got involved, authorities said.
One of the women, the child’s 22-year-old aunt, said she feared for the safety of her mother and niece and wanted to keep Phillips away from the car.
She got out and explained they arrived together in one vehicle and had no association with the second car he believed she had gotten out of, records show.
During the confrontation, Phillips struck the woman with her car door, authorities said. When she pushed him back, he punched her in the face and threw her to the ground, records show.
The second woman, the grandmother of the 5-year-old girl and mother of the 22-year-old victim, tried to intervene when Phillips grabbed and pushed her, authorities said.
School staff came out after hearing the women scream for help, and Phillips drove off, authorities said.
He was later identified by the women in photographic lineups, records show.
Phillips is due back in court Feb. 17, according to court records.
