New York, US: A man who joined a mother-daughter duo in an explosive Queens parking spot brawl surrendered to police this week, nearly two months after footage of the violent confrontation went viral. Twenty-five-year-old Matthew Nicola turned himself in to Queens Criminal Court on Wednesday, offering a candid, if unexpected, explanation for his delay: “I was going through a lot of things in my life,” he told reporters outside the courthouse.
Shocking Summer Clash Over a Parking Space
On the afternoon of July 7 in Ridgewood, Queens, Pace College student Jada McPherson, 21, drove into what she believed was an open spot on Putnam Avenue. Instead, she encountered 45-year-old Andrea Dumitru and her 21-year-old daughter, Sabrina Starman, who claimed they had “saved” the space. When McPherson insisted on taking the spot after briefly leaving to scout for another, the pair and an unidentified male assailant unleashed a torrent of racial slurs and physical violence.
Video captured the trio flooding McPherson’s car with insults—“You’re a monkey, bitch,” Dumitru sneered—before pulling her from the driver’s seat. In the melee, Nicola was seen raining punches on McPherson, who, outnumbered, fought back as neighbors watched in stunned silence.
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Mother and Daughter Nabbed, Brawler on the Run
Within days of the incident, Dumitru and Starman were identified, arrested, and charged with third-degree assault and second-degree harassment. Charges stemmed not only from the beating but from hateful, racially charged language directed at McPherson, who is Black.
Nicola vanished from public view after the melee, evading identification until the video’s widespread circulation prompted a citywide manhunt. His name surfaced only after The Post linked him to the attack—and then went dark.
Months of Inner Turmoil
“I honestly couldn’t turn myself in right away,” Nicola confessed this week. “I was dealing with a lot of personal issues.” He declined to elaborate on what those struggles entailed, saying only that he had “resolved it now.” Authorities charged him with third-degree assault, and a judge issued an order of protection for McPherson, barring any contact between the pair.
Victim’s Relief and Lingering Trauma
For McPherson, the final arrest provided a measure of closure. “Having that order of protection is such a relief,” she said after the hearing. “The whole situation was traumatic.” She relocated out of Queens shortly after the attack but remains wary that Nicola—or others emboldened by the viral clip—could threaten women in her former neighborhood.
Community Outrage and Calls for Accountability
Residents of Putnam Avenue say the parking-space wars had simmered for years, but nothing matched the July 7 violence. “People guard spots here like it’s their backyards,” said one neighbor. “But this level of brutality—three on one, racial slurs—it shocked the whole block.”
Bikash K., who once employed Nicola at a local restaurant, recalled the brawler’s temper. “He was always agitated,” Bikash said. “He looked up to Andrea like an aunt. This just shows how toxic that dynamic had become.”
Next Court Dates and Wider Implications
Nicola is slated to return to court on October 27. Dumitru and Starman have their next hearing on September 9. Legal experts say the case underscores growing concerns over entitlement and vigilantism in New York’s tight-knit neighborhoods.
As fall semester approaches at Pace University, McPherson hopes the arrests will deter future spot-guarders from taking matters into their own hands—and remind everyone that no one has the right to turn a public street into a battlefield.
