Police say the suspect had no authority to enter the Riviera Beach work site where Nathaniel Padgett was killed.
RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — A private loading area at a FedEx distribution center became the center of a murder investigation after police said a driver followed an employee inside and shot him after a road dispute.
The April 16 killing of Nathaniel Padgett, 34, is being examined not only as a road rage case but also as a workplace intrusion. Investigators said Tyler Brandon Vidro trailed Padgett from Florida’s Turnpike to the FedEx hub at 1177 West Blue Heron Blvd., entered a restricted lot and waited near loading bay doors before the shooting. Vidro was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and aggravated stalking.
The FedEx property is important because police said it marked a change in the encounter. On the highway, investigators described Vidro as driving beside Padgett’s FedEx truck, lowering his window and gesturing in a way meant to start a confrontation. At the facility, detectives said, Vidro moved into space reserved for workers and other authorized people. Padgett had a reason to be there: he was returning his delivery truck at the end of a work trip from the Port St. Lucie area. Vidro, police wrote, had no lawful reason to be in the rear parking and loading area.
Surveillance footage gave investigators a view of how the property was entered. Padgett drove the FedEx truck through the area first. Vidro’s gray sedan followed a short time later, police said. Cameras then showed Vidro stop in the middle of the lot, get out and pace before moving near the loading ramp area. Detectives interpreted his movements as waiting for Padgett to come out of the building. That finding helped support the stalking charge because police said Vidro did not merely arrive by chance. They said he followed, waited and intercepted Padgett.
When Padgett came outside, he walked toward his personal Dodge pickup, according to the affidavit. Vidro approached and accused him of hitting his car. Police said audio on the surveillance system recorded the accusation. Padgett denied it and tried to pass him. The affidavit said Vidro remained close enough to interfere with Padgett freely accessing his pickup. Padgett then returned to the FedEx truck and drove to another part of the facility. Investigators said Vidro pursued him again, this time inside the work site, before the confrontation reached a private road on the property.
At that spot, police said, Padgett got out and picked up a concrete block from the ground. Detectives described the object as about the size of a bowling ball. The detail is likely to matter in court because Vidro later claimed he felt threatened. Investigators wrote that the video showed Padgett holding the block at or near waist level. They said he did not throw it, raise it or use it in a threatening manner before the shots were fired. Padgett was speaking about not hitting Vidro’s car when gunfire began, according to the affidavit.
The shooting was recorded through several forms of evidence. Shot detection technology registered multiple rounds from the FedEx address. Investigators found nine 9 mm shell casings at the scene. Police said Padgett suffered seven gunshot wounds, including injuries to his chest, abdomen, arm and leg. His girlfriend called 911 at about 9:14 p.m. and said he had been shot at the warehouse. Dispatchers told her not to move him and said help was coming. Padgett was taken to St. Mary’s Medical Center and pronounced dead at about 11:28 p.m.
Vidro left the facility after the shooting, police said, and later called from a Sunoco gas station in West Palm Beach. He told police he felt he had to use his firearm because he feared for his life. He also said he had not thought to call police until a lawyer told him to do so, according to the affidavit. Officers responded, advised him of his rights and questioned him. Police said Vidro admitted he had emptied the magazine of his firearm before he requested legal representation.
The question of property access may shape the next phase of the case. Investigators wrote that Florida’s stand-your-ground protections apply when a person is in a place where that person has a lawful right to be. Police said that standard favored Padgett, who worked at the facility, not Vidro, who allegedly drove into a restricted commercial area while following him. Detectives also emphasized that Padgett tried to disengage more than once. Their account describes a worker attempting to finish his route and leave, while another driver carried the highway confrontation onto the job site.
The shooting also forced attention onto the physical layout of the hub. Loading bays, rear lots and service roads are built for delivery traffic, not public disputes. In this case, police said, cameras captured the movement of the truck, the sedan, the men and the concrete block. The same system that usually documents workplace activity became part of a homicide file. Investigators used it to decide who was waiting, who was moving away and whether Padgett’s conduct before the gunfire appeared threatening.
Community reaction centered on the idea that a brief highway conflict followed Padgett into a place that should have marked the end of his workday. Local residents told reporters that tailgating, obscene gestures and cutoffs are common on busy roads in the region. Dennis Booth said some drivers ride bumper to bumper and try to scare others. Police, however, described this case as more than a moment of anger behind the wheel. Their affidavit says the suspect continued after Padgett, entered private property and pursued him inside the lot.
Brandon Vidro’s first court appearance followed his arrest, and the case remained open as of May 10, 2026. The next steps are expected to center on formal charging, discovery and any defense challenge to the police account of self-defense, property access and the surveillance video.
Author note: Last updated May 10, 2026.