Deputies: Guard shoots man trying to run over a family
An argument over a woman Tuesday ended with a hotel security guard opening fire on a man deputies say tried to run over a family outside a Wendy’s on Orange Blossom Trail.
It happened shortly before 8:30 p.m. when the guard, who was working at the Royal Inn hotel nearby, noticed a fight in the restaurant parking lot, according to the Orange County Sheriff ’s Office.
Two men were arguing after one accused the other of looking at his wife, an arrest report states.
The woman told investigators she was at the Wendy’s with her husband and children and “thought she was looking good” in her pink shorts, according to the report.
A man, later identified as Jonathan Mercado, 30, kept staring at her, so her husband confronted him, the report states.
Their argument quickly turned physical and several people, including the security guard, rushed over to help, witnesses told deputies.
The men eventually separated, and Mercado got into a black Nissan Altima, the report states.
Mercado’s sisters, who witnessed the incident, told deputies he got in the car to drive away, but the woman said Mercado drove straight at her and her kids, according to the report.
Deputies said the security guard “gave warning to stop the vehicle,” but Mercado kept going. The guard then opened fire, hitting Mercado once.
The woman told deputies that if Mercado had kept driving, her family would have been run over, the report states.
Medical crews took Mercado to Orlando Regional Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries. The other man was treated at the scene for minor injuries from the fight, deputies said.
Mercado was arrested on charges of aggravated assault with a motor vehicle and violation of probation, jail records show. He is being held without bail.
The Wendy’s is at 7095 S. Orange Blossom Trail, just south of Lancaster Road.