Grandfather beaten until bloody over parking spot at Home Depot

Jason Oliveira Image
Sunday, November 3, 2019
Clovis grandfather left bloodied, bruised following dispute over parking spot
The 68-year-old victim had just finished shopping with his wife at The Home Depot and was ready to pull out of the parking lot when he became the victim of a brutal attack.

CLOVIS, California -- "They said my nose is broken, and my left cheek is fractured, and I have some kind of tear underneath my eye."

Joe Carrera says he now has trouble sleeping after he was physically assaulted this week following a dispute over a parking space at The Home Depot in Clovis.

According to the 68-year-old retired correctional officer, Carrera was trying to back out of a handicap stall when a man driving a Ford F-150 behind him became impatient.

"I got off to talk to the guy in his truck, and he says, 'Move your car,' but I can't, 'You got to move your truck back.' So once I told him that, he got upset and he started flipping me off," Carrera said.

That's when Carrera says the dispute escalated to physical violence.

"Before I know it, I see him lunging at me, and he struck me with both fists. I didn't have a chance to defend myself or anything," he said.

The altercation did not stop there. The grandfather of five says just as he was regaining his senses, the suspect came after him a second time, leaving him bloody and bruised.

"I'm trying to recover. He hits me again on my left cheek. At that moment, I hear my wife yelling, 'Stop hitting him, stop hitting him,'" Carrera said.

The man stopped and drove away, but not before he made one last threat.

"Before he got into his vehicle, he told me, 'The next time, I'm going to kill you,'" Carrera said.

The suspect's silver F-150 was caught on camera and showed a custom front grill and distinguishable stickers on the back windshield, along with a handicap license plate.

Detectives arrested a suspect, who was booked into jail on felony battery and threat charges.