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Highlands Today

Man found dead in Wendy's parking lot

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By BRAD DICKERSON

Highlands Today

Published: June 5, 2009

AVON PARK - Police responded to the local Wendy's restaurant Wednesday after an employee found a 76-year-old man dead in his vehicle in the parking lot.

Avon Park Police Chief Matt Doughney said John P. McFadden had been outside in his truck for a few hours before the worker found him.

Information from Wendy's employees indicated that McFadden was a frequent customer, according to Doughney. He had been inside the restaurant, ordered and then went back to his truck.

"The food was still in his truck," Doughney said. "It looked like he was possibly in the process of eating it."

McFadden has been taken to the medical examiner's office so an exact cause of death can be determined.

Also on Wednesday, a Frostproof man was arrested for allegedly striking another person with the front bumper of his truck in the Wendy's parking lot a little after midnight.

William Shephard Perkins, 23, was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without the intent to kill and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

Perkins had reportedly been in an argument with a man at Sierras bar earlier in the evening over the suspect's girlfriend, according to the arrest report.

The suspect and another man later left the bar and drove north of the Polk County line. Perkins reportedly discussed how angry he was with the man at Sierras for having a previous relationship with his present girlfriend.

He then drove back to Avon Park to try and locate the man. He told his passenger that he was "not afraid to kill" the other individual, the report stated.

Perkins found the man driving south on U.S. 27 near the Avon Park Wal-Mart. He pulled his vehicle along side the other man's, started shouting at him and then pointed a loaded 12-gauge shotgun through the window at the man while still driving.

The passenger in Perkins' truck told him to hand over the gun. When the suspect refused, the passenger grabbed it and a fight started, the report stated. Eventually, the second man jumped from the vehicle and started walking east on Bell Street through the Wendy's parking lot.

Perkins drove quickly toward the man and allegedly hit him with the truck's front bumper, throwing the victim to the ground.

When authorities arrived, they found that the victim had multiple abrasions on his shoulder, cheek, knee and ankle, the report stated.

Avon Park Police Officer Lawrence "Dan" Schneider made the arrest.

Highlands Today reporter Brad Dickerson can be reached at 863-386-5838 or bdickerson@highlandstoday.com.

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