Man, 23, beat neighbor, 74, police say

A cab driver "pummeled" his 74-year-old neighbor in Upper Darby yesterday afternoon as a long-standing feud between the two came to head over a parking space, police said.

Amir Sheikh, 23, told police the altercation began when he double-parked his car in front of his home on Kent Road near Chestnut Street to unload items, Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said.

His next-door neighbor, George Mirzayan, emerged from his house with his 69-year-old sister and the three began arguing, Chitwood said.

Sheikh claimed that at one point Mirzayan's sister spit on him and in retaliation, he pushed the woman to the ground, police said.

Mirzayan then came to his sister's aid and was "pummeled and beaten severely" by Sheikh, who fled in his car after the assault, Chitwood said.

Suffering from a fractured nose and jaw, among other injuries, Mirzayan was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was in critical condition last night.

Sheikh later returned to the neighborhood and was arrested by police, who charged him with two counts each of simple assault and recklessly endangering another person and a single count of aggravated assault.

"The tragedy is it's a neighborhood dispute that escalates into the violent occurrence today," Chitwood said, "where one man's almost beaten to death and the other's locked up." *