Woman who pulled gun to save parking space drops self-defense claim and pleads no contest in assault case

© Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel/TNS A woman who pulled a gun to hold a parking space at Fort Lauderdale beach changed her plea from self-defense and pleaded no contest to an aggravated assault charge. She was sentenced to two years of probation and a 13-week anger management course.

The woman who pulled a gun to save a parking space at Fort Lauderdale beach withdrew her claim of self-defense Monday, accepting a sentence that will keep her out of jail as long as she stays out of trouble.

Earlisha Harris, 24, pleaded no contest Monday morning to one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. As part of an agreement with prosecutors, Broward Circuit Judge Gary Farmer sentenced Harris to two years of probation and a 13-week anger management course.

A no-contest plea accepts the consequence of a conviction without an admission of guilt. Harris also cannot carry a gun while she’s on probation, Broward State Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Paula McMahon said in an e-mail. ““If the defendant successfully completes the terms of her sentence, adjudication will be withheld.”

The same deal had been offered to Harris in October 2021, McMahon said.

The plea was acceptable to the listed victim in the case, identified by her lawyer as Mariam Rashwan. “Jail time is not something that my client was looking for,” said the attorney, Omar Saleh.

The plea came before Fort Lauderdale police released additional information about the confrontation between Harris and Rashwan at a beach parking space on May 2, 2021.

According to official reports, Harris told police that she prevented Rashwan from parking in the first space, then moved to block Rashwan from parking in a second space. Rashwan insisted on parking, with the car “nudging” Harris, she said.

“Harris stated that she immediately entered her purse and grabbed her firearm for protection and ran to the driver`s side window to approach [Rashwan],” Fort Lauderdal Police Officer Timothy Scaggs wrote in his report. “Harris stated that she began to yell at [Rashwan] for hitting her, while advising her to open the door. Harris stated that [Rashwan] would not open the door, so she began to hit the driver`s side window with the butt of the gun; however, the window did not shatter.”

In her own motion seeking immunity under Florida’s “stand your gound” law, Harris argued through her lawyer that she was in fear for her safety because Rashwan was using her car as a weapon.

Harris had a permit to carry a concealed weapon, according to the police report.

Fort Lauderdale lawyer Mark Eiglarsh, who is unconnected to the case, initially said someone saving a parking space could have a valid “stand your ground” claim, but revised his opinion after learning of the additional police reports.

“The conduct described in the police report is retaliatory,” Eiglarsh said. “This is not self-defense.”

Harris would have had a difficult time convincing a judge this was a self-defense case, if the police report is accurate, because she didn’t pull her gun until after the victim’s car had stopped moving, at which point her life was no longer in danger, Eiglarsh said.

The Broward Public Defender’s Office, which represents Harris, did not respond to a request for comment on the case.

Rafael Olmeda can be reached at rolmeda@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4457. Follow him on Twitter @rolmeda.

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