Melissa Payne, the Florida woman who shot and killed army veteran Bart DiGuglielmo in June will not face charges.
The decision came from the prosecutors for the Broward county state attorney’s office on Thursday. Payne is walking free without facing charges due to the ‘stand your ground’ law in Florida. Under this law, a person can use deadly force if they fear an imminent threat to their life or the likelihood of serious bodily harm.
The video of Payne's encounter with DiGuglielmo has resurfaced after the recent decision.
One person sharing the clip wrote “This is a Case of a Florida stand, your ground ruling in which Melissa Payne fatally shot Bart DiGuglielmo during a parking spot dispute in Ft Lauderdale Fl. Here she is in her own words describing what happened. She states that he kept coming after her, and she kept telling him to back off, but as you can see from the video, he keeps following her around cars threatening her. He doesn’t want to let it go. She claimed self-defense and the Broward County State Attorney's Office announced she would not face charges.”
{{/usCountry}}One person sharing the clip wrote “This is a Case of a Florida stand, your ground ruling in which Melissa Payne fatally shot Bart DiGuglielmo during a parking spot dispute in Ft Lauderdale Fl. Here she is in her own words describing what happened. She states that he kept coming after her, and she kept telling him to back off, but as you can see from the video, he keeps following her around cars threatening her. He doesn’t want to let it go. She claimed self-defense and the Broward County State Attorney's Office announced she would not face charges.”
{{/usCountry}}Here's all you need to know about Melissa Payne.
Who is Melissa Payne?
The incident involved Payne and DiGuglielmo took place on June 30. Melissa Payne is a South Florida woman who shot the army veteran after a dispute over parking space at a Walmart in North Lauderdale.
The confrontation began shortly after noon, when Payne and the army vet tried parking in the same spot. The former was driving a white Chevrolet Malibu and the latter a white Kia SUV.
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Payne was accompanied by her niece and niece's infant daughter at the time. DiGuglielmo was alone. She was also on the phone with her husband when the incident went down. Payne had initially warned DiGuglielmo before firing one shot which struck his abdomen.
The army vet died after he was taken to the hospital. Prosecutors in Payne's case concluded they could not prove by clear and convincing evidence that she did not reasonably fear imminent death or great bodily harm.
What happened between Payne and DiGuglielmo?
When they first clashed over the parking space, Payne and DiGuglielmo got out of their vehicles during a brief stalemate. The army vet then left his SUV in a driving lane, got a shopping cart and headed into the store. Payne parked in the parking spot.
He then returned and threatened to damage Payne's car, as per reports. While one witness reported the army vet threatened to ‘mess her car up’ two others claimed he had made a more explicit threat.
DiGuglielmo then drove away at high speed, and parked in a designated handicap space two aisles from Payne’s vehicle. Once he got out, he headed towards the aisle where Payne's vehicle was located, and where the woman was with the infant on board. As the army vet walked towards her, Payne got out with a mobile phone in one hand and the gun in another.
She reportedly warned him not to approach her or her vehicle. She also reportedly told the vet she would shoot if he kept coming. However, DiGuglielmo kept advancing, the prosecutor's office said. He also followed Payne around the vehicle.
At one point, DiGuglielmo walked towards Payne's car holding his car keys motioning he'd damage the vehicle. He then turned and approached Payne again, at which time she fired one shot. Payne then placed the gun on the roof of the car and was briefly detained by Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies. Payne's husband also added that she had told him she shot someone and had asked him to call the cops.