A Villager has been ordered into anger management as the result of a parking battle at a Walmart in Florida’s Friendliest Hometown.
Charles Barry, 75, of the Village of Mallory Square, entered into a pre-trial intervention contract Thursday in Sumter County Court that will enable him to escape prosecution on a charge of battery. If he successfully completes 12 hours of anger management training, the charge will be dismissed.
Barry was arrested Oct. 7 at his home at 1662 Shell Point Ave. after Sumter County sheriff’s deputies examined surveillance footage from the Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market at Sarasota Plaza.
The New Jersey native and his wife on Sept. 5 traveled in their white SUV to the store and took a parking spot from a man who had been attempting to park in the same spot, according to an arrest report. The other man parked in the next available spot.
Both Barry and the other man exited their vehicles at the same time and began walking toward the store. The two men began arguing and the argument prompted Barry to push the man, using both his hands, according to the arrest report. The other man tripped over a cement curb and fell backward into an island of shrubbery. Barry and his wife, who purchased their home in the Village of Mallory Square in 2007, fled in their SUV prior to the arrival of law enforcement.
When interviewed at his home, Barry claimed the other man called his wife names. Barry said he felt “threatened,” so he pushed the other man, the arrest report said.
