Memphis, Tenn. — A man with a rap sheet a mile long is adding another charge to his record after police say he exposed and fondled himself at a downtown park full of children.
Jimmy Hall, 56, was arrested Saturday afternoon at Morris Park, at the intersection of Poplar Avenue and Orleans Street.
Two victims told police they saw Hall take out his penis and begin “rubbing himself” in front of children who were playing nearby.
Witnesses say the park is a cesspool of crime, and are warning parents to keep their kids far away.
“It’s not the first time, it’s not the second time and it’s not the third time,” said witness Vonte Davis. “It always goes down at this park. Something always goes down at Morris Park.”
Instead of children playing, you’ll likely find more criminals and creeps at the park, at least according to people who live and work nearby.
“Don’t come up here,” said witness Dwain Manning. “This is not a place to bring your kids.”
Both men say they were playing cards in the park around 1:30 p.m. Saturday when the incident happened.
“He walked straight to the kids and just whipped out. When he whipped out, he just got to playing with himself,” Davis said. “So, I’m like, ‘Hey man, you know you can’t do that, right?'”
“These are real little bitty girls, too. They ain’t ask for that. Shouldn’t no 9-year-old girl know nothing about no penis or be seeing no penis, period,” Manning said. “They started running and, like, crying and stuff. They was hysterical.”
Hall is practically on a first-name basis with Memphis police.
Since 1989, he’s been arrested 114 times.
Saturday’s arrest is his fourth for indecent exposure, including one earlier this year.
“What if that was your daughter? Your mama? Your kid?” Manning said.
When Davis saw what happened, he says he beat Hall up and called police.
Hall ran down Poplar, but was quickly caught.
“Who am I to stand around and let you molest yourself in front of these kids and mess up their heads and have them running around wondering, ‘Is that cool?’ No, it’s not cool,” he said.
In court records, police refer to hall as a “major nuisance” downtown, saying he begs tourists for money daily and scares them with his fingerless hands full of open wounds, though it’s unclear why he doesn’t have any fingers.
With this latest incident in mind, witnesses say it’s time for police to clean up Morris Park and send the criminals packing.
“They just be up here drinking and probably just like preying on little kids or something like that man,” Manning said.
But until then, Davis says he won’t hesitate to take matters into his own hands again if he has to.
“I need to let these kids know that this is not cool,” he said. “I need to let them know that somebody is out here to protect them.”
Hall is charged with two counts of indecent exposure. Online court records show he already bonded out of jail.
Police say Hall gave a statement denying that he was the one exposing himself.
He will face a judge Monday morning.
