Paying to park near Intrust Bank Arena? Make sure it’s legit

Not everyone asking for parking fees from Intrust Bank Arena goers is legit.

Deputies on Wednesday night jailed a 52-year-old homeless man on suspicion of several criminal offenses, including extortion, after three people headed to the Wichita Thunder hockey game questioned his authority to charge them $10 apiece for a parking spot.

Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Lt. Lin Dehning said Daniel Lerma “became threatening when they refused to pay him” to park their vehicles on Commerce Street just north of the downtown Wichita events center.

When deputies showed up to investigate the complaints around 8 p.m., Lerma threatened them, too, Dehning said.

That conduct led to his arrest on charges of assault of a law enforcement officer, extortion, criminal threat, theft and obstructing or interfering with a law enforcement officer. He remains in jail in lieu of $15,000 bond.

Dehning said this isn’t the first time the sheriff’s office has heard of people who aren’t authorized to collect parking fees demanding cash from arena-goers. But, he said, “it is the first time we have been able to verify the allegations and identify a suspect.”

It’s unclear whether anyone actually paid Lerma to park Wednesday night.

“Who knows who may have paid this guy thinking he was authorized to do that,” Dehning said.

This story was originally published March 24, 2017 at 11:20 AM with the headline "Paying to park near Intrust Bank Arena? Make sure it’s legit."