A Florida woman who shot and killed a man during an argument over a parking spot at a Walmart will not face criminal charges after prosecutors determined she was protected under the state's Stand Your Ground law.
Melissa Payne will not be charged in the killing of Bart DiGuglielmo, who was shot after a parking lot dispute in North Lauderdale turned violent on June 30, 2026.
Stephen Zaccor, homicide trial unit chief at the Broward County State Attorney's Office, wrote in his decision that the facts of the case were "as tragic as they are absurd."
Prosecutors said Payne had a right to carry a firearm under Florida's open carry laws and was in a public place where she had a right to be. They also noted she is not a convicted felon, and said video evidence showed DiGuglielmo had threatened her, meaning they could not prove she was not in fear for her life had the case gone to trial.
How the confrontation began
The dispute began just after noon when Payne was driving her white Chevrolet Malibu with her niece and her niece's infant daughter as passengers. DiGuglielmo, driving alone in a white Kia SUV, tried to take the same parking spot. He abandoned his car and walked into the Walmart, and Payne parked in the space.
About a minute later, DiGuglielmo returned and told Payne, "I'm gonna f*** your s*** up," according to prosecutors. Two witnesses reported he also threatened to "mess her car up" before getting into his vehicle and driving off at high speed.
He then parked in a nearby handicap spot and smoked a cigarette. Witnesses told detectives he appeared "visibly angry" and was shaking as he watched Payne.
The shooting
DiGuglielmo then confronted Payne, who got out of her car holding her phone in one hand and a gun in the other. A witness said they shouted at Payne, "It's not worth it!" The same witness said Payne told DiGuglielmo, "If you keep coming up to me, I'm going to f***ing shoot you!"
Payne also warned him, "Don't come over here!", "Don't come near my car!" and "Don't try that!", according to prosecutors citing video of the incident. The two continued to face off as DiGuglielmo followed Payne around a nearby car, at one point gesturing with keys in his hand in what prosecutors said appeared to be a threat to damage her vehicle.
Payne then fired her gun, striking DiGuglielmo in the abdomen. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he later died. The Medical Examiner's Office ruled his death a homicide caused by a gunshot wound.
The investigation
Payne was taken into custody by the Broward County Sheriff's Office. Her husband was later questioned by investigators and confirmed he had been on the phone with her when the shooting happened. He testified that Payne told him, "Bae, I shot. Call the cops," before he rushed to the Walmart.
In his written decision, Zaccor said the video "does not demonstrate that MP [Payne] was in the right, rather it demonstrates that the State of Florida cannot overcome her claim that she was in reasonable fear of great bodily harm by clear and convincing evidence." He added that Florida is a Stand Your Ground state, so Payne did not have to wait to be attacked before using deadly force, and did not have to retreat as long as her fear was reasonable, and no evidence disproved that.
DiGuglielmo's family speaks out
DiGuglielmo's sister told CBS News in June that the loss of her brother, a decorated military veteran who served in Desert Storm, was devastating. "He was a Christian man and a very good person and would not hurt anyone," she said.
His daughter, Amanda Marie DiGuglielmo, shared a GoFundMe on Facebook to raise money for legal expenses following his death. She wrote that her father was a 62-year-old veteran who served the country for 20 years, including during Desert Storm and Desert Shield, and then spent another 20 years working as an ER trauma nurse. She said he "spent his life serving others, his country, his patients, his family, and the people around him," and that he "deserved to have someone advocating for him when he could no longer advocate for himself."
Calls for transparency
An online petition was launched calling on the Broward County Sheriff's Office and the State Attorney's Office to provide greater transparency and release all records related to the case. It also urged Florida officials to set a transparency standard for similar cases and to conduct independent reviews of comparable incidents.
The petition stated: "A veteran was killed in his own country, in a public parking lot, after a dispute that should never have ended in death."
Melissa Rodriguez, an attorney representing DiGuglielmo's family, told NBC6 South Florida that they were "disappointed" that Payne would not face charges. The Daily Mail said it had reached out to DiGuglielmo's family and their legal representatives for comment, and that Payne could not be reached.
