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80-year-old man dies after argument over grocery store parking spot turns violent

Earl Hollins, an 80-year-old military veteran, and Anthony Ray Boyce, 57, were both regulars at the Food Town store in Harris County

Madeline Sherratt
Tuesday 10 December 2024 08:01 EST
Anthony Ray Boyce, 57, (pictured) was arrested and charged with aggravated assault
Anthony Ray Boyce, 57, (pictured) was arrested and charged with aggravated assault (Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez)

An 80-year-old man has died after an argument over a parking spot outside a Texas grocery store turned violent, according to authorities.

Earl Hollins, an 80-year-old military veteran, and Anthony Ray Boyce, 57, had both gone to a Food Town grocery store in north Harris County, Houston, on Friday afternoon, according to court documents seen by Click2Houston.

Boyce and Hollins were both store regulars and acquaintances, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said Saturday.

Police said the two men got into an argument over a parking spot and, during the altercation, the 80-year-old was struck in the head.

Boyce fled the scene in a maroon Ford F150 truck with distinctive tan or white running boards, reported Click2Houston.

Meanwhile, Hollins was rushed to hospital with head trauma, where he hell into a coma.

Anthony Ray Boyce, 57, (pictured) was arrested and charged with aggravated assault
Anthony Ray Boyce, 57, (pictured) was arrested and charged with aggravated assault (Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez)

Hollins’s niece Alma Hollins-Washington told ABC13 that her uncle was left brain dead from the attack.

The family turned off his life support on Saturday night, she said.

Hollins-Washington slammed the alleged attack saying “it wasn’t right... it wasn’t human.” “[Hollins] was one of a kind. I mean to know him you have to love him. He was an easygoing person. He was friendly,” she said.

Boyce was arrested and charged with aggravated assault, serious bodily injury.

He was booked into Harris County Jail with his bond set at $200,000. He is scheduled to appear in court on January 14.

Police said that he could now face additional charges following Hollins’s death.

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