A routine visit to the University of Houston turned into a parking lot horror story on April 6, when a campus visitor says a man pulled a machete on her during a dispute over a parking space. Investigators say the woman gave up the spot and the man slid his car into it, then drove off. Police later identified a suspect and sought an arrest warrant tied to the confrontation.
What police say
According to investigators, University of Houston police reported that the run-in happened around 9 p.m. The woman was sitting in her car while visiting a relative on campus when a man walked up, pulled out a machete and yelled at her to move, officers told reporters.
She left the parking space, police say, and the man immediately parked in it before leaving the area. Officers later contacted the man and had him return to the lot, where the woman identified him as the person who had threatened her, according to ABC13 Houston.
University connection
The university’s public web pages list a Rick or Ricky Greer as a program manager in the Cullen College of Engineering and as a co‑founder of the St. Elmo Brady STEM Academy. Those biographical notes describe Greer as a longtime outreach figure who works on K‑12 STEM programming and mentoring efforts tied to the college. The listings appear on the UH Cullen College of Engineering site.
Warrant, identification and safety concerns
Court records reviewed by reporters identify the suspect in the parking lot case as Ricky Greer and show that a warrant was issued charging him with aggravated assault. The victim told investigators she did not want to press charges because she feared retaliation against her relative who attends the university, according to those records.
Reporters also noted that nearly a month after the April 6 incident, Greer had not been arrested. A witness told investigators the man involved in the confrontation claimed to be a university employee, ABC13 Houston reports.
Legal implications
Texas law treats threats with a weapon very seriously. Under Texas Penal Code §22.02, using or displaying a deadly weapon while committing an assault can bump the charge up from simple assault to aggravated assault, which is a felony. A machete that is shown in a threatening way would generally fit the statute’s definition of a deadly weapon, which means the potential penalties are significantly harsher than for a basic assault charge. The full statute is available in Texas Penal Code §22.02.
