Gregory Scott Powell has a history of criminal behavior, but may have bitten off more than he could chew this week.
Powell, 45, of 4833 E Riverside Drive in Fort Myers, turned himself in to authorities late Thursday after Cape Coral police issued a warrant for his arrest Wednesday for allegedly biting off part of his doctor’s finger.
“He just walked up and turned himself in,” said Sgt. Lisa Barnes, Cape Coral police spokesperson.
According to Cape police, Powell became upset when Dr. Paul Arnold, 65, would not issue a prescription.
When Arnold turned his back, Powell attacked him, biting off the tip of one of his fingers in the process, officials said.
Staffers at Arnold’s office, 856 Cape Coral Parkway East, pulled Powell off Arnold. Police recovered the severed finger tip at the scene.
Arnold was rushed to the emergency room at Cape Coral Hospital.
Powell has a history of criminal behavior but had not been arrested on criminal charges since 1999. He was arrested 10 years ago on charges of burglary and grand theft, according to an arrest report.
In 1998, Powell was charged with the burglary of a conveyance.
He now faces a maximum 30-year sentence for aggravated battery on a person 65 years of age or older. Powell’s bond was set at $100,000.
Barnes said the incident was one of the strangest of which she’s ever heard.
“I’ve been here 18 years. I’ve never heard of someone biting off a finger. The only thing I can relate it to is the Mike Tyson thing,” Barnes said.