An 80-year-old Villager has been banned from a restaurant after his irate reaction to a fellow customer’s Bad Parking.
Don Reese Loftin Jr., of the Village of Tall Trees, has been barred from entering Cheng’s Chinese Restaurant at Buffalo Ridge Plaza as a result of his attack on a cancer patient who had recently wrapped up radiation treatment. Loftin has also been ordered to complete 12 hours of anger management training as part of a pre-trial intervention contract he was allowed to enter into this past week in Sumter County Court. In addition, the contract calls for him to perform 80 hours of community service, although he has the option of “buying out” of the service at a rate of $10 per hour. If Loftin completes the terms of the contract, the criminal charge of battery will be dismissed.
The cancer patient was picking up takeout food on Aug. 10 at Cheng’s and parked directly in front of the business with his hazard lights on, according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. He was standing at the register paying for his food when “an older white male entered the business and started yelling at him because he parked his vehicle in front of the restaurant,” the report said.
The man, later identified as Loftin, stood by the front doors “screaming” at the man who was picking up his take-out order. Loftin tried to start a “physical fight” and pushed the other man twice. He stumbled backward and knocked over a chair. He grabbed the chair to defend himself against Loftin, who “yelled at him a few more times and then left the restaurant.”
The man who was attacked over his parking was able to obtain the license plate number of Loftin’s white Honda Pilot SUV. There were also two witnesses who provided statements to deputies who responded to the altercation.
The man who was attacked told deputies he had “just received his last radiation treatment on his neck and shoulders” and explained that was the reason he had parked directly in front of the Chinese restaurant.
He picked out Loftin in a six-person photo lineup. A warrant was issued for Loftin’s arrest and he was taken into custody at his home.
