So right here you can see he has a knife in his right hand.
Stop recording!
I never touched nobody.
You've got the knife, you're throwing things at him.
Don't say no.
I'm a Christian, I don't like fighting.
Are you delusional?
You have a knife in your hand.
[announcer] Today on Tribunal Justice.
[theme music playing]
[announcer ]This case was filed in Long Beach, California.
Your Honor, this is case number 1038 on the calendar
in the matter of Palacios versus Garcia.
Parties have been sworn in. You may be seated.
-[Tanya] Thank you, Byrd. -[Byrd] You're welcome, Judge.
Mr. Palacios and Mr. Garcia.
The two of you live in the same apartment building.
Mr. Palacios, your lawsuit is for $9,600.
And that's for medical bills and lost wages
that you say you incurred as a result of a fight between the two of you.
The fight appears to have arisen from a parking spot.
Mr. Garcia, your position is that you rented the spot
from the neighbor to whom it does belong,
but Mr. Palacios, you parked there.
And in your complaint, you refer to a first incident.
June of 2022, you parked in this disputed spot,
the defendant came to your door, asked you to move, and you fell asleep.
There was nothing that happened, nothing untoward that happened
as a result of this first encounter between the two of you.
-Is that accurate, sir? -Uh, yes.
[Tanya] And in fact, Mr. Garcia, you submitted a text message
dated June 3rd...
[Eric] That's actually to my neighbor.
Terry is our neighbor, he was the witness that was involved
in separating us from our dispute.
-This is a message from you to Terry... -[Eric] Yes--
Who's not here, so what's the point of this message?
You're telling Terry that you rented out the spot.
Yes, the reason why is 'cause I rented out that spot.
Terry was the first one to initially park in that spot,
and I told Terry that it's fine,
he can park there for a couple of weeks until I get my car back
and then I'm gonna need him to move.
[Tanya] To whom does the spot belong?
It's my neighbor in 102.
Do you have any evidence that would establish your entitlement to the spot?
[Eric] I have receipts from my neighbor.
When I started renting them out, I provided two receipts here from June 1st
till July 1st and then I paid again for July 1st to August 1st.
So here is evidence of the payments that you made
-to Mr. 102 to park in the space. -Correct.
Back to June 24th, Mr. Palacios,
may I ask why you felt free to park there since it wasn't your spot?
[clears throat] Of course, I want to explain.
I never moved the car.
The first time when I parked, we leave it because
I have one problem, I have diabetes,
and the sugar all the time is so high.
And the consequence to my work delivering food,
I need a lot of energy. When you have diabetes--
I'm going to interrupt you because I don't want to revisit why you fell asleep.
-Okay. -[Tanya] My question to you is,
on June 24th, you were parked in a spot
that you know does not belong to you, correct?
-That's correct. -[Tanya] According to your complaint,
Mr. Garcia comes to your home and physically assaults you.
So tell us what happens when he comes to your home.
He told me he already warned me to move my car the last three days.
And this time, he's coming to knock on my door, June 24.
I was sleeping with the same problem-- all the time sleep.
And he's really mad, and he said, "I already told you,
take your car out from my spot."
And I said, "Okay, just give me one hour
because I'm feeling lazy for the diabetes."
He said, "No, last time I told you nicely,
this time, I'm not coming to tell you nicely." What do you mean?
And he slapped me three times.
My feet are now inside of my house and it surprised me.
It surprised me because we tried--
He's new, we tried cooperation with him
to be helping with whatever he needs
because he complained when somebody stole his tools.
Sir, sir, I want you to really stay focused on these facts.
-[Luis] Yeah, sorry. -So according to you,
the defendant comes to your door. He says, "I asked you nicely before.
I'm not going to ask you again." And he slaps you three times.
-Right, nicely.
[Tanya] Mr. Garcia, I would like you to respond to that.
I was upset but I was being very respectful,
I never raised my voice to him at all.
He started getting really aggressive, he told me he wasn't going to move the car
and what do I want to do about it.
He started saying some homophobic slurs, he was saying things about, you know--
Because I train martial arts
and him and his family clean the gym that I train at.
So he was saying things like, "Your kung fu is not gonna work on me."
Obviously, he was just trying to get a reaction out of me.
[Tanya] Okay, I'm just gonna stop you right there
because according to you, Mr. Palacios,
the defendant starts slapping you while you're in your home.
According to you, Mr. Garcia,
-you did not engage in any physical... -Not at all.
...assault of the plaintiff.
[Eric] Yes, I went downstairs--
Obviously seeing this was getting really volatile, I didn't want a situation.
He's at least two times my size.
We're on the third floor, up where his apartment is.
I would never try to attack somebody in front of the door,
knowing that they could easily ragdoll me
and throw me off the third floor. I would never do that.
I walked down the stairs and as I was walking down the stairs,
he was getting more emboldened.
He was getting more confident as I was walking down,
so he starts trailing me down the stairs
and continuing to smack talk to try to provoke.
And so, Mr. Palacios, after the three alleged slaps,
while you were in the home, what happens next in the course of this assault?
Well, myself, I feel so bad
and I tell him, "For what you do, you have to go to jail."
[Tanya] So, wait, before the police are called,
I'm interested in knowing what happened prior to that.
-I understand you have a video, sir? -[Luis] Yeah.
Let's look at your video.
[indistinct chatter]
[Eric on video] Let's go. Let's go.
[clattering and banging]
[Tanya] What is this?
Mr. Garcia, is this you and the plaintiff?
[Eric] No, it's not.
-Can I explain what's going on right here? -[Tanya] Sure.
-[Eric] Uh, so what you see in the video-- -[Tanya] Okay, hold on, hold on.
Let's just see.
I--I'm very confused by this evidence
because you're not in that video, what am I looking at?
Yeah, he love fighting with people,
-but I don't love fighting. -[Tanya] Okay, you know what, sir--
[laughs]
-When-- -I'm a Christian, I don't like fighting.
[Tanya] I'm going to tell you something...
I never hurt nobody.
How did you get this video?
He give it to me before.
[Tanya] So the defendant sent you this video.
Your Honor, I--
Why did you send that video to the plaintiff?
Before we had an altercation and we went on bad terms,
I lived there since April of 2021
and I got my work truck broken into more than ten times.
-I've called police, there's no response. -[Tanya] I don't doubt it.
Okay, so it's a big problem over there. I've talked to all my neighbors.
I talked to my landlord and asked if I can put up cameras in our garage
-to protect my property. -[Tanya] So the people with whom
you were engaged in that physical altercation...
-Are thieves. -You were showing your neighbors...
-[Eric] Yes. -"Hey, these guys are trying
-to break into our parking lot." -Yes.
-[Tanya] "Here's what happened." -Exactly.
[Tanya] And you sent that to the plaintiff during a time when you were still cordial.
I sent it to him because these guys were trying to break into his car.
So that's what--So you, Mr. Palacios, are using that video
for the purposes of trying to prove to me
that he has violent tendencies.
What, did you think I was going to say, "Oh, my gosh, he's just beating people up.
You get $10,000." Do I look dumb?
No.
[Tanya] So, I'm going to ask again,
is there video of the two of you in an altercation?
-Sir? You have that video. -I do have it.
I do, but it's not the one of this incident.
I actually have another video--
-[Tanya] After June 24th. -[Eric] Exactly.
Let's look at the video and you can tell us what we're going to see.
So right here you can see he has a knife in his right hand.
Stop recording...
[Eric on video] What you got?
[Eric] And you can see he has no cast on, he's walking perfectly fine.
You're going to jail, you know that.
[Eric on video] You just attacked me right now.
Ah, attack you, I will attack you.
[indistinct chatter]
[Eric] He did throw that at me, by the way, it did hit me.
Turn around and face the opposite direction.
[indistinct chatter]
I was the one that called the cops.
Interlace your fingers behind your head.
-[Eric] That was right after the incident. -[Tanya] This is you and the police.
[Eric] Yes, I'll explain what happened right here, it's, uh, quite a story.
Yes, multiple people called the cops.
[Eric] This was about 30 minutes after the first video you've seen with the knife.
[Tanya] And we've got the crutches and the cast back.
[Eric] All of a sudden. he's walking with the limp and he's got crutches
and a cast and he can't walk.
Twenty minutes earlier, he moved from one location to another
pretty fast and obviously was not then, you know.
Did you call the police after that incident that we saw?
-Yeah. -[Tanya] You called the police.
Did you tell the police that the defendant was armed?
Yeah.
Did the defendant ever show you a gun at that time?
Did he display any weapons?
-I did not... -[Tanya] I didn't see that,
I saw you waving a knife, and when you had the knife,
why didn't you have your crutch?
[Luis] Because before he tried to attack me again.
So your crutch all of a sudden wasn't necessary,
nor was the cast necessary?
Mr. Garcia, were you carrying a weapon at the time?
Absolutely not.
[Tanya] Were you ever advised that the police were told that you had a gun?
After they arrested me, they told me
that he had told them that I brandished a weapon on him.
-So you were arrested. -[Eric] Yes, Your Honor.
I told them that's absolutely false and I'm not sure why he would say that.
I told them, "Please, search my house, search my vehicle.
You know, it just happened 30 min-- There's nothing for you guys--"
[Tanya] So on the day that you took this video,
the police came and they told you that the plaintiff had advised them
-that you were carrying a firearm. -[Eric] Exactly, yes.
You understand that he could have been killed?
He tried to kill me first. I don't--I don't feel--
[Tanya] Do you understand that when you call the police, sir,
and tell the police that someone is carrying a weapon,
and they are not, that you are putting that person in danger
of being killed by police officers.
-You understand that? -[Luis] Yes.
Can I say something?
[Tanya] No, I don't think I need to hear anything further,
but I think Judge DiMango might like to.
I actually probably don't want to hear a word out of your mouth,
'cause every word that comes out is a lie.
[announcer] Coming up on Tribunal Justice.
I have a bunch of questions about the injuries
because here's a picture that you provided.
That's a real doozy of a black eye.
Did you do that?
[theme music playing]
[announcer] Luis Palacios claims his neighbor, Eric Garcia,
assaulted him over a parking space.
Eric says he fought Luis in self-defense.
You're here in this photograph
after this alleged incident,
with no cast, two weapons.
You were the one that should have been arrested.
You were the one that should have been frisked.
You, not him.
And you can sit there with that face on all you want.
And you shake your head no
when you see a picture of you with no cast,
a knife, and something that you threw.
-Are you delusional? -[grunts]
Who paid for the camera in the garage?
-You said you did? He paid for the camera! -[Eric] I did. I paid--
And one of the people he was protecting was guess who?
You! For what?
So that you could have him searched and frisked by the police?
And the pictures that you submit, with your bruises and the unhealed wounds,
that's from your diabetes, that's not from him.
Don't say no. You think we were all born yesterday?
We look young, but we weren't.
[laughs]
And I'm gonna tell you, what nerve you have,
parking in his parking space.
You know half of the murders in Brooklyn are over parking spaces?
What gives you the right to park in his space?
[Luis] Nobody give me right--
That's right, you had no right to park in the space,
no right to wanna attack him with a weapon,
no right to call the police.
I think you should switch sides
and he should get the $9,600,
and you should be thrown out of that apartment building.
And the truth is, you don't have anything to say.
The bottom line here is,
where do you come across, asking us for $9,600,
and then claiming that this is because you lost wages.
[Luis stammers]
Terry is my only witness when I tried to stop him to attack me.
And he continue to attack me.
He broke my leg intentionally, and I haven't--
When I got to the doctor in emergencies,
and they find the broken bones.
So, I'm not coming to lie, I know it's a fraud.
I can go to jail for fraud, I don't do that.
-Perjury. -[Luis] My father is lawyer from Mexico.
-[Patricia] Mm-hmm. -See, I know the law a little bit,
and I respect that, I respect people.
And my first time somebody hurts me, I never touch nobody.
-I know you touched somebody... -One, you don't respect the law
and you don't respect people
because you didn't respect his right to park in his own space.
Two, you didn't respect him
giving you the video that was there to help you,
so you came in here with false evidence.
-You do not have the respect-- -[Luis] Did not respect.
-I don't know what that is. -A contract.
[Patricia] What kind of contract?
Only a property manager have the right to a single space--spot.
And he don't have a permit for the property. He still--
You don't have any right to this space.
He has the permission of the prior owner of that space.
You, who have no parking space,
you are violating the rules.
[indistinct] ...broke me my leg.
You know what, the evidence speaks for itself.
Judge Levy.
[Adam] Okay. Explain to me what happened, Mr. Palacios, on the 24th of June.
How was it that you claim you received these injuries?
After slapping my face,
he tell me he go broke my car if I don't go down to move.
So hold on. Stop. So upstairs, you claim that you were slapped three times
-while you were in your apartment. -Yes, sir.
And the only reason why you left was because you claim the defendant said,
"If you don't come move your damn car,
-I'm going to damage it." -Yes, sir.
-[Adam] Is that true? -No.
[Adam] By the way, when that happened, on June 24th,
was that the first video we saw that you produced for us here
in an effort to suggest to us
that the defendant was a violent and explosive person,
beating up the guy that was trying to break into your car?
Was that before June 24th or after June 24th?
-Yeah, before. Yeah. Yes, sir. -[Adam] It was before. Okay.
So now you see that the defendant is the type of person,
-at least in your mind... -Right.
...who is ready, willing, and able to beat people up.
-Right. -[Adam] On June 24th,
you go downstairs after being smacked, according to you,
by the defendant, to move your car.
Yeah, to cooperation, because we feel like he's a hero.
Because he-- Before, all the neighbors
complain somebody come to stole...
Right, and now everyone says he's a hero for catching the guys who did it.
-And you, too. -Cooperation because he no want put camera
-and he tell the owner, "Please do it." -[Adam] Right, okay.
So--So now he smacks you and you go downstairs to move your car.
Right, to cooperation. To help him.
[Adam] What do you say happened when you got downstairs?
When I finished, I go down, he starts pushing me
and telling me, "Come on, Lu. Come on and fight."
"No, I no gonna fight with you, I know you know fighting."
I'm not--It's not a solution all the time, fighting.
And he continues to push me and push me and I start telling him loudly,
"Don't do that, you go to jail for fight. You know it's not right."
[Adam] So, that's when you said, "You're gonna go to jail
if you fight with me, so you shouldn't do that."
-Yeah, because we know. -[Adam] Okay.
-And then what do you say happened? -He don't care.
The neighbor, Terry, comes down.
Telling Terry, "Terry, can you make the arrest?"
"Why?" "He slapped me in the face at my door." "I don't see that."
Did you ask Terry to provide you with a statement,
outlining and supporting what you claim happened?
-Yeah, yeah, he said you can call-- -[Adam] Do you have it?
-He say-- -[Adam] I'm not interested in calling.
You're claiming that he, Terry, would corroborate
what you're telling me as far as the aggressiveness of the defendant
and him being the one who escalated the incident on the 24th.
Do you have a statement from Terry?
-No. -I do.
-[Adam] You do? -I do.
Okay, I don't even have to see it.
You don't have a burden of proof here, he does.
All right.
[Adam] You know, I have a bunch of questions
about the injuries because here's a picture
-that you provided. -[Luis] Yeah.
[Adam] That's a real doozy of a black eye.
Did you do that?
-Yes, Your Honor. -[Adam] Okay.
How long after June 24th was it that you took that?
Next day, I guess.
And you called the police on June 24th after the incident?
-Right? -[Luis] Of course.
And you called the police and the police and the EMTs respond?
Yeah, the police coming.
[Adam] The police come, and you speak to the police, right?
-Yes, sir. -[Adam] You told them what happened?
You told them about the injuries that you sustained,
and they saw the injuries that you sustained, right?
Yeah, 'cause the ambulance carried me out for the leg.
[Adam] And they took you to the hospital, right?
Yes.
And that's when, I think that the other photograph
that you gave to us here was an X-ray.
-[Luis] Yes. -That's your leg that got all busted up?
[Luis] The same day, they said they over there. And, uh...
-Do you know how that happened, sir? -[Eric] Yes, Your Honor.
When, uh, when he was attacking me, he was pushing me.
Um, before that, the neighbor was trying to get in between us,
and at that point, he had already grabbed my shirt, my arm,
and he was pushing me.
Um, at first I told him to stay out of my space.
Pushed me again, I told him again, "Stay out of my space,"
and he came to push me the third time,
but as he came close, I elbowed him in the face.
When he fell, he just crumbled down
and he just fell on top with all his weight,
and I'm assuming that's how he damaged his leg.
How do say that your leg got busted?
Because he continued to kick me in my leg
one time when we got down-- Go down.
He hit me here, like, boom!
And then, "Give me... [indistinct]."
Boom!
[Adam] All right, so you're claiming that he stomped on your leg
on purpose as though he intended to break it.
Yeah.
[announcer] Coming up on Tribunal Justice.
What I'm finding hard to believe, sir,
is that you got knocked out and you forgot to mention
about how he intentionally stomped on your leg,
causing it to break, but my concern is that you're lying.
[theme music playing]
You know, it's funny, 'cause I'm looking at the narrative
in the police report that you provided us as part of the evidence,
and it doesn't say that he stomped on your leg.
-No, because I'm knocked out-- -[Adam] Can you explain why?
I'm knocked out. I tell it to the cops. I'm knocked out.
-Knocked out? -[Luis] Yeah.
When you-- When me gets heavy...
How do you say...
-[Adam] But hold on-- -I hurt.
[Adam] What I'm finding hard to believe, sir,
is that you got knocked out and you forgot to mention
about how he intentionally stomped on your leg,
causing it to break,
but you specifically remembered
that he slapped you with an open hand three times.
I tell you, Terry, he come to me, he try to feel my leg
and explain to me exactly what he seen.
And it surprised me, and I tell him, "Really?"
He already seen me on the floor and continue to kick my leg.
Said, "Yes, I stopped him because he's already on the ground."
And I said, "Thank you. Why you not get him. Arrest him.
I have family. I have a little baby."
But my concern is, that he didn't do that on purpose
and that you're lying.
And now what you tell me is that on June 24th, you were kind of out of it.
That's the reason you forgot to mention to the police,
in the police narrative that you provided to them.
Right.
But on August 10th,
you went back and you provided them with a written statement.
-[Luis] Right. -[Adam] Again, this is your evidence,
-I didn't make this up, right. Yeah. -I agree...
So now you have the time to think, you've got time to remember,
you're not out of it anymore, and here describe the harassment.
"Eric Garcia came to my apartment, 5:00 pm, demanding I move my car.
Told him I would move it. He responded, 'No, it's the last time.
I'm not being nice anymore.'
And he slapped me four times."
And guess what's not contained anywhere in that statement?
Anything about you claiming that he intentionally stomped on your leg.
-Can you explain that to me? -[Luis] Sure.
I collect information with Mr. Terry.
No, no, no, no. Why did you not tell that to the police?
Because we already collect information what happened
-with my witnesses, Mr. Terry. -[Adam] I got it.
-Sir, the police came on June 24th... -[Eric] Yes.
[Adam] They took a report and they indicated that they identified this
as a violation of "California Penal Law 243(d) PC,"
which is aggravated battery
-causing serious bodily injury. -[Eric] Mm-hmm.
-That's what they wrote up on June 24th. -[Eric] Okay.
Did anyone come to you after June 24th and say,
-"Sir, you're under arrest for..." -No.
-No? -No, never.
[Adam] Mr. Palacios, can you explain why it is that the police--
-If you know. -Yeah, I know.
-[Adam] Why? Tell me. -I am making my own investigation.
I called so many times to the police department,
but they say the people employing the police, the detective,
that it took a long time to get the case on detective,
so you have to wait. That's what they told me.
[Adam] This is all the way back in June of 2022,
and he still hasn't been charged with any offense.
Can you explain that?
-I call every day to the detective... -[Adam] Can you explain that?
No, I can't explain why, but I will tell you,
I've had many encounters with the police because of theft.
It's still going on to our apartment to this day.
Never heard about anything.
-Never came up. -[Adam] It makes sense. Yeah.
I'm good, thank you. I have nothing further.
[Tanya] I just--Quickly. I want to make sure I'm clear
'cause I couldn't quite see. Show me how he was kicking you.
[Luis] Oh, yeah, he punched me.
No, just, yeah-- With the leg he was kicking you.
Pushed me here and then kicked me in the lower...
-[Tanya] Yeah. -One time me go to the floor.
-He do it, bam, like here. -[Tanya] Yeah.
And then he... [indistinct]
Do that again. So he did what with his leg? With--
-[Luis grunts] -[Tanya] Your leg's not hurt.
-It--It-- -You don't need that cast.
[Luis] No, it's two months ago.
I understand perfectly. Judge.
[Luis] I have a zero here.
Sir, we're going to retire to deliberate at this time, thank you very much.
[Byrd] Court stands in recess, parties are excused.
[theme music playing]
Well, for my part, friends,
I would like to dismiss this case as quickly as we can.
Sure, I think there was some physical dispute
between the two of them.
I believe the plaintiff played a substantial role in it,
not simply because of the fact that he parked in a parking spot
that didn't belong to him, right?
We will all agree that that doesn't justify any physical assault.
But I do think that there was a provocation
in which he engaged.
I did not find him credible in the least.
I think both of you pointed out problems with his evidence and his testimony.
And I just don't think he's hurt. I'd like to get rid of this case.
I want to dismiss it as quickly as possible as well.
I think that any of the injuries that he submitted
are in part due to his diabetes.
He certainly is not injured because I picked up the same thing.
He actually fudged it a little bit better when you asked
because I noticed and I marked down, when you asked,
he was going... and I'm like... -Really going at it.
...what kind of broken leg does this guy have, with a broken tibia?
Plus, three and a half months later that he still has a cast on,
he's milking this for whatever.
Also, I found him an individual who wrongfully, really wrongfully
had this poor man arrested, frisked, searched,
and now on record as perhaps having done something, so I'm totally with you.
And he doesn't work, he doesn't make $5,600
over seven weeks, he doesn't drive.
He's got a right foot that he can't even use, according to him.
Except when he's playing charades in the court room.
Listen, if in fact the defendant
stomped on his leg, I would rule differently.
I would say that he'd be entitled to money.
But that's not what his own narrative,
which was memorialized in the police report
that he supplied to us as evidence, said.
And then when he went back a couple of months later for whatever reason
and he wrote up another supplemental,
again, he forgets to mention it.
You don't forget something like that, especially when you remember
the other details, like getting slapped in the face with an open hand which he did.
And the defendant admitted that, "I caused that black eye."
But there's no doubt in my mind
that the defendant did not stomp on his leg as testified to.
And the last thing is that it was horrible for the plaintiff
-to supply us with a video... -Oh, my.
...that the plaintiff purports to show the defendant acting aggressively,
fighting someone off, when the plaintiff was well aware
that that was not the truth
and instead, it was really the defendant protecting the plaintiff's car
that was being broken into.
-I think it's unconscionable. Yeah. -That was really shameful.
-All right. -So we're unanimous.
-Thank you. -Yup.
[theme music playing]
The court is back in session.
Parties are reminded you're still under oath.
-[Tanya] Thank you, Byrd. -[Byrd] Mm-hmm.
We have deliberated and we've reached a unanimous verdict.
Well, Mr. Palacios, you shouldn't be fighting over parking spaces.
-And this dispute became... -I'm not fighting.
...much more than that.
I don't know if it's about your entitlement,
but whatever is going on, it must stop, you put his life in danger.
And then you weaponized these proceedings, wasted our time,
in order to try to get $10,000
after you put together this farce.
We couldn't dismiss this complaint quickly enough
and frankly, sir, Mr. Garcia,
we wish that there were more consequences for this plaintiff
for engaging in this shameful behavior.
Thank you, Your Honor.
[Tanya] Good on you for being a good neighbor.
Your case is dismissed, Mr. Palacios.
[Byrd] This case is concluded, parties are excused, you may step out.
Well, the police all the time say call the police when you have problems.
Call authorities if you can, but don't be afraid to defend yourself.
I--people, I'm Christian, I don't hurt nobody.
It was just a mess.
Honestly, honestly, and inside, so scared.
So scared.
Oh, it was so embarrassing.
I try to continue to be nice with people.
It's crazy, but I've dealt with it before.
-I can continue my life, so... -I'm happy.
[announcer] Are you the victim of a scam?
Let Tribunal Justice decide your case.
Find us on social media at Tribunal Justice.
[theme music playing]