With piles of snow still on the streets, Bethlehem residents are protective of their shoveled out parking spots. But police say one man took things a bit too far after he allegedly took revenge on a neighbor who dared to take his spot.
Police were called to Leibert Street on Wednesday around 8:40 p.m. by a man who claimed his car was surrounded by piles of snow.
The man told police he found a spot on the street and moved an orange crate to park his vehicle. The man later discovered however, that the crate belonged to his neighbor, 64-year-old Ernest Nemeth, according to investigators. Police say Nemeth angrily told the man that he had shoveled out the parking spot and that it belonged to him.
A short time later, investigators say Nemeth and an unidentified woman surrounded the man’s car with piles of snow as a form of revenge.
“He saw these two people shoveling the snow back,” said Nellie Morales, another Bethlehem resident. “Like, ‘hey, I shoveled my car out, now you’re gonna have to do it too.”
Nemeth was charged with disorderly conduct.
A spokeswoman for the Bethlehem Police Department told NBC10 that it's against city policy for Bethlehem residents to reserve spots.
Philadelphia Police also have a similar policy. Police say their officers can and will confiscate any item used to reserve a parking space on a city street, and residents can call 911 to report neighbors who are using items to reserve the spaces.
Photo Credit: NBC10.com