Black Woman Who Stood Her Ground In Florida Walmart Parking Lot Will Not Be Charged

A Black woman who was shown shooting a white man who was menacing her in the parking lot of a North Florida Walmart will not face charges in his death, prosecutors say. 

In a memo addressed to State Attorney Harold F. Pryor on Thursday, Homicide Trial Unit Deputy Chief Stephen J. Zaccor wrote that by the standards set in Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” laws, the woman identified as Melissa Payne had no duty to retreat and was within her rights to use lethal force to defend herself against what she perceived as an imminent threat from Bart DiGuglielmo during the June 30 incident. 

Zaccor wrote, “A dispute over a parking space. In a Walmart parking lot. The facts surrounding the June 30, 2026, homicide of Bart DiGuglielmo are as tragic as they are absurd. There is relatively no dispute about what actually happened because the entire incident was captured by various video recording devices. As such, there is a video timeline of the events preceding and following the use of deadly force.”

Indeed, the widely circulated video showed DiGuglielmo repeatedly advancing toward Payne even as she continued to back away from him while still pointing a gun at him. 

Zaccor’s memo notes that the incident started shortly after noon on June 30, when both Payne and DiGuglielmo attempted to park in the same parking spot at the local Walmart. 

As NewsOne previously reported, “DiGuglielmo used his car to attempt to block the parking spot and went into the store. The woman was still able to get her car into the spot, and when Diguglielmo returned, another argument ensued.”

Zaccor’s memo notes that DiGuglielmo never actually entered the store. He walked toward the store and grabbed a cart, then returned to his vehicle 90 seconds later and, according to multiple witnesses, told Payne, “I’m going to fuck your shit up.”

He then moved his car, parked two rows away from where Payne had successfully parked in the stall he tried to block, and then returned to threaten Payne again. 

Payne’s description of the events leading up to her shooting DiGuglielmo aligned with both the multiple videos of the incident as well as witness statements. 

Zaccor’s memo notes that it is not up to Payne to prove that she is immune from prosecution under the “Stand Your Ground” law, but rather it is up to the prosecution to prove she is not immune, and Zaccor’s ultimate determination is that Payne was covered by “Stand Your Ground” and therefore immune from prosecution. 

From the memo:

Analyzing “the facts and circumstances as they appeared and were known to” MP, the State cannot prove, by clear and convincing evidence, that MP’s fear of great bodily harm was not reasonable: BD threatened to damage her vehicle when he first got out of his car; he acted very irrationally when he abandoned his car in the through lane of travel and entered the Walmart; BD again threatened to “fuck her shit up” before driving away at a high rate of speed; he reapproached MP after the dispute was over rather than just walking into Walmart and tending to his business; BD walked directly to MP when there was no rational reason for him to do so other than to confront her; multiple witnesses describe BD as “visibly angry” and “shaking” as he was standing outside of her car; BD continued to pursue MP even after she produced a firearm when that would cause a rational person to walk away; BD continued to pursue MP even as she backed up into the space created by the departing minivan; BD made aggressive hand gestures while pursuing MP; BD continued to pursue MP around a parked car; BD again threatened, by word and act, to damage MP’s vehicle; MP’s infant great-niece was in the car; BD again approached MP before she fired one time.

The entirety of what is described above was captured on video. The video does not demonstrate that MP 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. Florida is a Stand Your Ground State. MP did not have to wait to be attacked before resorting to deadly force. She did not have to retreat as long as her fear was reasonable and no evidence has been presented to disprove that.

SEE ALSO:

Black Woman Shoots, Kills Man Repeatedly Advancing On Her In Video

The Media Is Villainizing A Black Woman Who Stood Her Ground