Homeless man who tried to charge for arena parking pleads guilty

A homeless man accused of trying to extort money out of Intrust Bank Arena goers in March pleaded guilty to two amended counts of criminal restraint on Monday. A judge immediately sentenced Daniel Lerma, 53, to 90 days in jail, according to Sedgwick County District Court records.

Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Lerma after people headed to a hockey game complained that he was demanding a $10 fee to park in front of a bar in the 200 block of South Commerce on March 22. They said Lerma told them the bar owner owed him money and he was trying to collect on that debt, according to a police affidavit released by the court earlier this month.

Lt. Lin Dehning, in March, said Lerma became threatening when he was denied payment.

Lerma told authorities he had permission from another business to charge for parking and that he didn’t remember most of the encounters because he’d been drinking, according to the affidavit.

Prosecutors originally charged Lerma with two counts of criminal threat, which are felonies. The amended counts are misdemeanors.

This story was originally published May 18, 2017 at 9:32 AM with the headline "Homeless man who tried to charge for arena parking pleads guilty."