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Homeless man charged with lewd, violent behavior near Jupiter Boat Parade

Posted at 3:36 PM, Dec 04, 2017
and last updated 2017-12-04 15:36:08-05

A bearded white-haired man was anything but jolly during Jupiter's holiday boat parade on Saturday.

Police were called to the 800 block of Indiantown Road around 8 p.m. to reports of a man who appeared homeless "being aggressive, yelling and screaming vulgarities, profanities and verbally accosting patrons" to a business, according to the police report.

The person who called police said that the subject, later identified as Howard Ballew, 61, was "lunging his shopping cart" and "taking wild swings" at him.

The caller reported that Ballew dropped his pants, exposing himself, and drew a knife and swung it around.

When police arrived, they encountered Ballew in an adjacent parking lot. An officer notes in his report that Ballew appeared and smelled highly intoxicated. While police were speaking with him, Ballew continued to scream profanities, the report says. 

Ballew was taken into custody. An 8-inch fillet knife was found in his waistband.

He is charged with disorderly conduct, carrying a concealed weapon, lewd exposure, aggravated assault and trespassing.