PETERSBURG, Va. — A Petersburg man said he was driving down a neighborhood street earlier this month when he saw a young man being beaten with a board. He intervened, and ended up charged with simple assault.
Tyjuan Crenshaw works with people with special needs and is a mandatory reporter, a professional who is legally required to report suspected abuse or neglect of vulnerable individuals.
"He was beating the hell out of him, he was beating him," Crenshaw said. "After he dropped, he hit him across his head five more times."
When Crenshaw stopped to intervene at the home on Baylor's Lane, the confrontation escalated.
"We was like, 'Come on, man, what the hell is you doing? Why is you beating him like that?'," Crenshaw said. "[He said] 'Mind your own damn business.' He went and got a dog, tried to sic the dog on us. Set the board down, I got the board and threw it across the street."
Petersburg Police arrived, took a report, and interviewed everyone on scene. Crenshaw was then handcuffed and placed under arrest.
"Said it was domestic, and two people in the house said I threatened to cut his throat and I was the primary aggressor," Crenshaw said.
Crenshaw was charged with simple assault. Harold Parker was listed as his victim. Crenshaw told CBS 6 he did not make any threats.
Two days later, police confirmed Parker was arrested and charged with abuse and neglect of an incapacitated adult — a charge Crenshaw believes should have been filed at the time of his own arrest.
"It has to get dismissed because, at the end of the day, I potentially saved that young man's life, and if I had to do it all over, I'd do it again," Crenshaw said.
Crenshaw is scheduled to appear before a judge Friday morning.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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