Man interrupted dinner date to kill parking lot scammer over $40, police say

theblaze.com ^ | April 29, 2023 | MICHELE BLOOD

[kiryandil]

He was just turning his life around...

[BipolarBob]

Other than the murder, how did the date go Melanie?

[Peter ODonnell]

What if the restaurant guy was wrong and the guy parking cars was legit? Who pays 20 bucks for a 2 to maybe 5 buck service, imagine how much you would make parking cars at 20 bucks a pop, why would this scammer run a scam, he could make a fortune doing it right. And what was the scam, stealing the cars? Surely that wouldn’t last more than a day or two?

A lot of unknowns in this story, including, who will Melanie be dating now?

[SomeCallMeTim]

Damn. I ate there a few weeks before that

[Salvavida]

The woman shown in the picture in the article is quite a bit chubbier than the one shown in the photo you posted.

---

It may have been taken before dinner.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

#14: Was the guy stealing the cars or just acting as a unauthorized parking attendant?"

We don't use that word "unauthorized" any more. That stigmatizes the person. The preferred designation is "undocumented" parking attendant.   /sarc

In any case, the point is moot. The parking attendant is now an unliving parking attendant.

[FoxInSocks]

And what was the scam, stealing the cars?

The scam is probably walking up to people parking in a free public parking spot and then telling them they need to pay to park there. Then he takes the money and walks off and spends it at the smoke shop.

The guy probably stole thousands and thousands of dollars over the years before his career as parking tycoon was brought to an end.

[pierrem15]

With no video, the defendant has a possible way out using 9.42. He says they guy tried to escape or threatened him. To convict, you need “beyond a reasonable doubt” that Section 9.42 does not apply.

[moviefan8]

I would like to date her. She is good.

[TigersEye]

Wow, he looks like a criminal.

That's possible. He did murder a guy in cold blood over $40 bucks.

[ocrp1982]

“Seriously ? You’d be for hanging for horse theft?”
100%! When crime resulted in forfeiting your life life was 100% safer for the law-abiding than it is currently. Currently, the Law Abiding are victims and Criminals are given a pass. Rinse, lather, repeat. with no consequence.
The result of oh-so-understanding and empathetic policies toward criminals is a serious downward spiral in society. Streets are unsafe to walk. Committing crimes should have harsh results.
Unfortunately, human stupidity often results in a Pendulum Effect. Where the result of human stupidity results in extremes. This result is inevitable. Like the sun rising in the east and setting in the west.

[null and void]

You have to feel real sorry for Melanie. Just imagine your date says “I’ll be right back” and, next thing you know, you see yourself on the news and learn you are a person of interest in a killing. She sure didn’t deserve that.

ESPECIALLY if he 'got lucky' after dinner!

[HereInTheHeartland]

The scammer just identified as a parking attendant .

[windsorknot]

[absalom01]

He’ll have to base his defense on that. I don’t much like his chances, but it’s what the gangsters in Cali used to call a 13 1/2. 12 jurors, one judge, half a chance.

[wardaddy]

He deserves time killing someone over 20-40 dollars.

So far it’s just me and you don’t see him as a hero

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Very true. Ugh, that would be a nightmare for her.

[windsorknot]

So far it’s just me and you don’t see him as a hero.

And me.

[DesertRhino]

Someone saw that mug and thought he would be a great target for a scam that would be exposed 10 or 15 minutes later.
SMH....

He doesn’t look like someone I would scam.

[DesertRhino]

It’s not just over the 40 dollars. It’s the principle of the thing. Some things you do in Texas, and you’re gonna get your lamp blowed out in return. So don’t do those things.

It has always been thus....