Don’t steal Fred Smith’s bingo seat. A woman in Lake Wales, Florida definitely understands that now after an incident at the bingo hall led to her having a set of flat tires on her van. Smith, 82, is apparently a frequent player in the weekly bingo game at the Lake Ashton Retirement Community Club House; but, at a recent game, when he found out that the seat he usually sits in was already taken, he just couldn’t handle it.
According to police, when Smith discovered that 88-year-old Ethel Britt was sitting in his favorite seat, he stormed out of the bingo hall and into the parking lot, where he proceeded to use an ice pick to slash the tires on her van. The incident was captured on surveillance video. The footage shows an angry Smith retrieving something from his own vehicle before walking over to the van and puncturing the tires.
Britt says she was very surprised that someone would do something like this to her. “I didn’t think anyone would be low enough to do that to my car because I didn’t know I had any enemies in my life,” she told My Fox Tampa Bay. “I thought everybody was my friend, but undoubtedly I have one enemy.”
The police say Smith has admitted to the crime and “expressed regret.” Still, he will have to face a judge on June 17 and could have to pay Britt up to $500 for the damage. Deputy Police Chief Troy Schulze called it a “childish” crime but still gave Smith credit for owning up.
