News

Jun 27, 2023

Houston man arrested over parking spot dispute, caught on camera

Share A dispute over a parking spot has left a Houston man under arrest and hoping to clear his name. The arrest was even caught on video. FOX 26's Damali Keith has the story only on FOX. GALVESTON,

Share

A dispute over a parking spot has left a Houston man under arrest and hoping to clear his name. The arrest was even caught on video. FOX 26's Damali Keith has the story only on FOX.

GALVESTON, Texas - A dispute over a parking spot has left a Houston man under arrest and hoping to clear his name. A customer at Galveston Party Boats was hoping to reel in a big fish but following the trip what he now has is a criminal case against him.

It’s hard to believe the arrest, which was caught on camera, started with a paying customer parking in the company’s spot.

"I feel like she retaliated to call the police because I didn’t listen to her," Alex Nguyen explains. Nguyen says after taking a fishing trip with Galveston Party Boats he typically parks in a spot by the boat to unload where a sign says "20-minute parking."

This time he says a woman who works for Galveston Party Boats told him it’s her spot and he has to move. When he refused, she said she was calling the police.

GALVESTON COUNTY: Fentanyl prevention efforts in Galveston County, man sets up Narcan vending machine

"So when the police came out they were on her side, automatically telling me to move because she said so. I was like no," says Nguyen and he adds "I explained to the officer, I said ‘hey, look there’s nowhere any sign that says no parking or reserved. So I can park there’."

A dispute over a parking spot leads to Alex Nguyen from Houston being put under arrest in Galveston.

Nguyen and his friend recorded a video as he was arrested. "He grabbed my arm, tried to lift me up. So he twisted my arm. I heard it pop. In the video, you can hear me say ‘you’re hurting me man’. He kept saying ‘stop resisting’ and I told him ‘I’m not resisting’. I wasn’t resisting," Nguyen explains. At one point in the video, an officer says "Hey you got your license on you man" and Nguyen says "Don’t talk to me."

MORE: Houston crime: Elderly man robbed inside hardware store, police searching for suspects

The 41-year-old says he thought the most he would get if indeed he committed a parking violation was a ticket, but he says in less than two minutes after Port of Galveston Police arrived he was arrested and taken to jail charged with Resisting Arrest.

"It just escalated so fast. I had to miss my son’s birthday. He turned 8," explains Nguyen.

*EDITORS NOTE: This video is from a separate story. FOX's Dan Springer has more on this horrific story.

"Don’t call the police to weaponize your own personal interests," adds community activist Quanell X.

"Is it to retaliate, discriminate, what’s going on," Nguyen asks.

This happened on the Fourth of July. "The irony is on the day America celebrates her freedom, his was unjustly being taken away. It is wrong. It’s a false arrest and those two officers should be fired. He was standing up for himself," Quanell adds. "If they tell you to move you better move, but he has rights also. He’s a citizen also. He committed no crime. The signage on the ground and the signage in the air showed no crime, no parking violations whatsoever"

SUGGESTED: Peak hurricane season begins in Texas with warm water temperatures in Gulf of Mexico

The Port of Galveston Police Department released the following statement:

"On July 4, 2023, the Port of Galveston Police Department responded to Galveston Party Boats, located at Pier 19. Witnesses reported Mr. Alex Nguyen verbally assaulted female workers after illegally parking his truck on their property, which was also partially blocking the roadway and preventing the flow of traffic. He refused to comply with the employees’ requests to move his vehicle.

When officers arrived, he further resisted their demands to move his vehicle and attempted to walk away from the officers who had detained him. Mr. Nguyen became physically confrontational, leading to his arrest for Resisting Arrest, Search, or Transportation."

Subsequently, Mr. Nguyen’s case was referred to the Justice of the Peace Court for further legal proceedings. As a result of the investigation, Mr. Nguyen currently has an active arrest warrant for the charge of Criminal Trespass. As this matter involves ongoing legal proceedings, we are unable to provide further details at this time.

FOX 26 Houston is now on the FOX LOCAL app available through Apple TV, Amazon FireTV, Roku and Google Android TV!

Nguyen says the video shows he wasn’t physically confrontational and he says he wasn’t verbally abusive to the female workers. Not only is Nguyen facing a year in jail for the Resisting Arrest charge, but after bonding out of jail the Port of Galveston has now added a Criminal Trespass charge and there’s a warrant for Nguyen’s arrest.

Nguyen has filed an Internal Affairs complaint.

The owner of Galveston Party Boats confirms the parking spot is leased by his business. Although it isn’t marked as such, he says it’s reserved for new customers who want to come into the building to ask questions.

All the news you need to know, every day

By clicking Sign Up, I confirmthat I have read and agreeto the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.