A real-life clown faces gun charges after police accused him of waving a loaded pistol at passing cars in Miami.
Lawrence Patrick Sullivan, whose tattooed face and green hair resemble the Batman villain, the Joker, was booked Tuesday on a charge of carrying a concealed firearm without a permit, the Miami Herald reported.
Miami Dade Police said Sullivan, 29, was armed with a handgun loaded with six rounds of ammunition when he walked outside of an apartment complex and began pointing the weapon at passing cars.
Sullivan, speaking to reporters outside a detention center, denied doing anything criminal.
“If I was waving a gun, yeah, I will admit it. I was not waving a gun. Did I have a gun in my pocket while I was walking my dog at the time? Yes, because I want to be safe,” he told CBS Miami. Sullivan later contradicted himself, telling reporters he was armed with a knife, not a gun.
Sullivan said he will fight the charge. He insisted the handgun is registered in his name, and said he doesn’t need a gun permit because “we live in America.”
He defiantly added that he was “treated like a celebrity” while behind bars in a psych ward, which he said is where he was jailed because he takes medication.
Sullivan’s family told reporters that while he may have had a gun, they don’t believe he threatened anyone.
“He’s a good kid. You know. He has a lot of tattoos,” his mother told CBS Miami. “But he’s a nice kid with some problems. He is mentally disabled and is handicapped.”
As for his tattoos, which include the word “Joker” and a profane Batman logo on his forehead, Sullivan’s sister told NBC Miami: “He’s just playing a character. I warned him that people would take it the wrong way.”