A homeless artist who has no arms is alleged to have stabbed a tourist in Florida using scissors he held with his feet.
Jonathan Crenshaw, 46-years-old, is well known in the state and has drawn the attention of visitors for years with anecdotes and his paintings, which he creates by holding brushes with his feet. He was arrested after Cesar Coronado, 22-years-old, who was visiting from Chicago, was attacked.
Crenshaw and Coronado gave conflicting stories about what led to the stabbing, according to an arrest report obtained by a local news station.
Coronado told the authorities that he was walking with a female friend when Crenshaw jumped and attacked him after he simply asked for directions.
Meanwhile, the armless artist claimed Coronado approached him and punched him in the head, he also retaliated by stabbing Coronado twice and walking away.
The authorities found Coronado bleeding from his left arm and he was treated at a hospital. Crenshaw, 46, faces a felony battery charge and is being held on $7,500 bond.
Crenshaw has always attracted tourists and local media for years with the paintings he creates and sells on the streets. He’s also had regular run-ins with the law as court records show his criminal history dates to 2006 that includes charges for disorderly conduct, resisting officers, and trespassing. He has also faced four previous battery charges, including a conviction in 2014 for felony battery of an officer, which led to a sentence of 180 days in jail.
The court filings noted that Crenshaw’s fingerprints couldn’t be collected because he has no arms.
Crenshaw has made wild and unverified claims about his past, saying that he had more than 200 children and fathered the first one when he was 8, but would not discuss the condition that left him without upper limbs.
“Sometimes I wish I were dead,” he once told a local newspaper. “I’m not trying to kill myself or anything. But then I wouldn’t have to suffer.”
Source: NY Post, Miami Herald
Image Source: Miami New Times / Google
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