http://www.whas11.com/news/shooting-springdale-next-day-168954836.html Murder suspect had history of threats, violence by Adam Walser WHAS11.com Posted on September 7, 2012 at 6:55 PM
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See all 2 photos » (WHAS11)- Mahmoud Hindi was in court just last week, as he was fighting a lawsuit brought against him and his children by the Spring Creek Homeowners Association.
Hindi, a retired physician originally from Jordan, was trying to represent his sons in the lawsuit during a hearing his side requested last Tuesday, since their attorney didn't show up.
Police say Hindi killed Spring Creek Homeowners Association President Dave Merritt nine days later, while the association discussed Hindi's violations of HOA regulations.
It happened minutes after the association's meeting started at a nearby church, when Hindi allegedly pulled out a gun, and shot Merritt and another man, before being subdued by a retired policeman and another neighbor.
"We did speak to him and he did give us an entire account of what took place that night," said Homicide Investigator Lt. Barry Wilkerson at a press conference Friday afternoon.
Wilkerson indicated Hindi fully confessed.
He said his officers have spent the past 20 hours pouring over documents and other evidence seized from Hindi's home.
The trouble with Hindi and his neighbors started last July, just months after the family moved into the upscale East End neighborhood.
Last summer, Hindi was cited by the city for an illegal driveway and was taken to court by the Homeowners Association for a fence that did not conform to HOA regulations.
During that process, we have learned Hindi sent threatening letters to the Department of Inspections, Licenses and permits and to the HOA attorney, including one in which he said, ""As I always tell (expletive) I will protect the sacred interests of my kids, even if it comes to killing and even if I lose my own life in the course of doing so. Thank God the house is paid off. I can pass away in peace with no concerns."
And we have learned there has been trouble in his past.
In 2010, a warrant for his arrest was taken out in Terre Haute, Ind. after he allegedly assaulted someone at the local Islamic Center.
In Mayfield Kentucky, Hindi was repeatedly sanctioned for violating city code after allegedly keeping goats on his property, opening a medical clinic without a license and installing an illegal driveway at the home he later abandoned there.