Banana Brouhaha Leads To Man’s Arrest

NEW PORT RICHEY, FL — A Monday morning dispute between two men took a violent turn when Pasco County deputies say one revved his engine, moved his vehicle forward and pinned the other.

The incident that led to the arrest of 73-year-old Nelson Eugene Doland of New Port Richey began to unfold around 11 a.m. Sept. 18 in the 8000 block of Congress Street. Doland and another man got into a verbal spat at that time, an arrest report said. (For more local news from Florida, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from New Port Richey Patch. Click here to find your local Florida Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

At some point during the dispute, the victim “placed a box of bananas on the defendant’s vehicle,” the report said. That act allegedly set Doland off, causing him to accelerate his vehicle, "striking the victim.” The man was allegedly pinned between the two vehicles.

Prior to his arrest on aggravated battery with a deadly weapon charges, deputies say Doland told them he hit the man, “because the victim slammed a box of bananas on his vehicle.”

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Following his arrest, Doland told deputies he “revved the engine of his vehicle to put the victim in fear,” the report said.

Doland remained in the Pasco County Jail Tuesday in lieu of $10,000 bond, jail records indicate. It is unclear if the victim suffered an injury during the dispute. Further information is not yet available.

Booking photo courtesy of the Pasco County Jail