RFP Staff
♦ Tuesday morning the quiet and ghostly stillness of a near empty Downtown Salisbury was jerked to a state of hyper-alertness. The few shopkeepers and a pedestrian were swept up by the terrifying sight of a man dancing wildly with a pair of machetes waving over his head. Adhering to the beat of an “unseen” drum, a man in soiled clothing called out to a passerby a safe distance away on East Innes and North Main. “It’s my thing–my passion. I won’t bring you no harm.”
The passerby wasn’t so sure as he kept moving on, hoping the man across the street wouldn’t breach the distance between them. The machete man’s eyes glazed over. Had he missed an important round of medication or climbed a fence somewhere to rejoin human society? Several times the machete man flipped the machetes high in the air and missed snatching them. The steel blades clanged on concrete. “My bad!”
Later the machete man was identified as Chris “Dr. Machete” Lewis, 31, of Tad Lane in Salisbury.
A police car rolled up by the square and the officer climbed out. Lewis knew the big curtain was about to be drawn across his “stage”. He politely laid his machetes down and smiled awkwardly at the policeman. The show was over.
No Charges were filed.
Perhaps Dr. Machete could perform his machete dance at a Friday Night Out? Under the right circumstances, say a shrink with a tranquilizer dart gun, the audience might better appreciate the high-octane sideshow. Salisbury has talent. Salisbury is indeed “the Place”. A “show” could happen anytime here and you could get sucked into it.
The June 4th RFP article about Chris Lewis’s previous arrest for machete dancing:
“Just after midnight Thursday, the Salisbury Police received a dispatch that someone was cavorting with unseen forces in the McDonald’s Parking lot on East Innes. When the police arrived, they saw Chris Lewis, 31, of Ted Lane in Salisbury dancing up a storm.
Lewis appeared to feel crowded as the police surrounded him at McDonalds. At first he cooperated, placing a machete, with a taped handle, on the asphalt. When the officers moved to search him, Lewis abruptly lit out across East Innes, dodging traffic to get over to Big Lots. Minutes later Lewis was surrounded again and appeared less agitated as officers spoke quietly with him.
In the process of searching Lewis, the police found a Lorcin .25-caliber handgun, a novelty pocketknife, and a gram of pot.
Lewis was arrested and charged with 2 counts of carrying a concealed weapon (misdemeanor), 1 count of simple possession of marijuana (misdemeanor), and a 1 count of resist/obstruct/and delaying an officer (misdemeanor)
Placed under a $2,500 secured bond, Lewis is currently in the Rowan County Detention Center.”
Chris Lewis’s previous record:
