Man Charged With Stabbing Driver Over Parking Spot

A dispute in Silver Spring that ended with one man stabbed and another charged with assault apparently occurred because one driver thought the other was slow to leave a parking space, Montgomery County police said yesterday.

Police said Edward Banya, 42, of Hyattsville stabbed a Silver Spring man, 28, with a screwdriver Tuesday evening as the two argued over the parking spot, in the 900 block of Bonifant Street.

"Basically, their fighting over a parking spot escalated into a stabbing," said Officer Rodney Barnes, a police spokesman.

According to police, the incident began when Banya saw a man in a car who appeared to be ready to pull out of a spot. The man, who was waiting for another person to return to the car, did not immediately pull away, police said. He and Banya began to argue.

Police said Banya grabbed a screwdriver from his car and stabbed the other man repeatedly in the hand and torso.

"The victim's wounds were all superficial," Barnes said. The man was taken to a hospital and released Tuesday night. Police did not release his name.

Banya was charged with first-degree assault and reckless endangerment. Police said they found several thousand DVDs of pirated movies in his car and charged Banya with unauthorized selling of copyrighted recorded materials.

Banya was being held yesterday at the Montgomery County Detention Center on $85,000 bond.