Man Allegedly Urinates On Dumpster And Drinks Beer At Train Depot
A transient homeless man, originally from Memphis, Tenn., was caught drinking beer and urinating on a dumpster behind the historic Summerville Train Depot on Saturday and Sunday, according to Summerville Police reports.
Billy Joe Barber Jr., was arrested for spitting and public possession and consumption of alcohol, according to jail reports.
Cops’ first encounter with Barber started around 9:30 a.m. Saturday when they found out that he had slept outside the train depot and drank beer there.
“Mr. Barber admitted he was an alcoholic and had a problem. He was very compliant and picked up the trash and agreed to move on and was made aware of the city of Summerville’s ordinances and this behavior would not be tolerated,” Officer Matt Pritchard stated.
About three hours later Barber was spotted by witnesses urinating on a dumpster “located in plain view of the public from the train depot,” Officer Pritchard stated.
He was then jailed for spitting, according to police reports.
The next day cops encountered Barber again. He was sitting at a picnic table behind the depot. He had been drinking beer, according to a cop. He was then arrested for public intoxication, according to reports.
according to booking reports he was only charged with spitting and had to pay a $16 fine. what is the purpose of arresting someone for spitting?
perhaps they could have pointed him to the local homeless shelter instead?
if he committed all the other crimes why wasnt he charged for those?
its a tough situation and perhaps they were simply trying to avoid housing a inmate they knew had no way to pay a bond. the guy peed in public. i know that may be offend the delicate sensibilities of some of the blue haired baptists around here but its a normal bodily function every single person on the planet does, and if you are homeless you literally dont have a pot to piss in nor a window to throw it out as the old saying goes. congrats to the SPD for effectively criminalizing homelessness. got $16 from a homeless man though. maybe the city can use that to patch one pothole with.