Jonah Lee Troutman Steals Credit Card For A Pedicure

Imagine you were homeless and you happened upon a credit card. What would your first purchase be? First month’s rent on a new pad? No? How about a pedicure? That was the reaction of Jonah Lee Troutman in Volusia County, Florida.

Troutman, a 27-year-old homeless man with prior arrests for petty theft and loitering, found a credit card on the ground and later told police he thought is was a "blessing from God."

Bestowed with such a blessing, Troutman sought to immediately pamper himself. He headed straight for Nancy's Nails salon in Debry and asked for a pedicure.

When the card was twice declined, the salon proprietors grew suspicious and called the police. Troutman told officials he thought it was a gift card, but admitted it wasn't his. Instead of some foot pampering, Troutman will face charges of petty theft and illegal use of a credit card.

Thompson's desire for a little foot relief isn't such a surprise. A big part of homeless outreach are pop-up foot clinics where clergy wash homeless men and women’s feet and podiatrists treat foot ailments.

According to the American Podiatric Medical Association, homeless are four times likely to suffer foot problems ranging from fungal infections to maggot infestations.

At one such foot clinic in the St. Vincent de Paul Church in Chicago, Elias Aguilar told the Washington Post, "We're street people. We walk around all day, and it feels good to have them do your feet. People pay a lot of money for a pedicure."

Lin Drury, associate nursing professor at DePaul University, works at the Chicago foot clinic. She says homeless are particularly susceptible to foot problems because they are on their feet all day, often wear ill-fitting shoes, and may suffer from conditions like diabetes or vascular disease that cause swelling of the feet or ankles.

Troutman should have approached Volusia County churches and homeless shelters for such free foot clinics -- unless of course, he was looking to upgrade his experience with a polish change and massage chair.

Comments

[Nonpc1]

06:48 AM on 12/14/2011

Black and Latino crime in America is going up in every city.

[job60]

03:17 AM on 12/14/2011

Personally I would have gone for the MD 20/20

[stanlord]

01:56 AM on 12/14/2011

Hmm 27 and homeless? How do all those Asians walk around all day in flip flops and no foot rubs?
The Army is hiring ppl with experience in walking all day. The shoes will fit decent also after a month.

[BrunoMan]

11:08 PM on 12/13/2011

And the Republicans are blaming poor people for all the problems in our economy. Wall Street bankers should walk around all day in this guy's shoes AND feet.

Yeah these are the people Republicans want you to blame for all their greed. --free emergency room visits? Let bankers get that sick before they can see a doctor then put them on an ER gurney. Free Ride my @zz.

[vintagegirl11]

09:08 PM on 12/13/2011

This article made me sad. My heart goes out to him, he's probably in pain and a pedicure probably sounded like heaven to a person who has ill fitting shoes and no comfort.

[jemteku]

07:39 PM on 12/13/2011

Too bad for him the card was either empty or already cancelled. He probably would have gotten into a lot of more counts of his charges. Pedicure? What an interesting choice. Something he used to enjoy doing before getting down on his luck? Donate your old sneakers and shoes to places that give them to the homeless. Especially the ones that I know are vets. Those really make me sad.

[360Dunk]

07:25 PM on 12/13/2011

I would have rounded up all my homeless friends and treated them to a casino buffet, then a night at the strip club. We would have made it rain with food stamps.

[WowJustWow01]

06:58 PM on 12/13/2011

He didn't "steal" the card, the article says he 'found ' it

[chefheidiooh]

07:13 PM on 12/13/2011

Any attempted use of a credit card that doesn't belong to you without permission from the owner is stealing. How many times have criminals said they "found" their stolen merchandise.

[O K Ali]

01:31 AM on 12/14/2011

Or fell off the back of a truck?

[thumperusmc1989]

06:00 PM on 12/13/2011

If I were in his situation, I may have done the same thing. Your feet hurt, the whole day is crappy.
And what would you have to lose? So you go to jail. OK, there's 3 hots and a cot, for a while at least and one more worry gone for a couple days.

[Leon Engelun]

05:39 PM on 12/13/2011

maybe he knows someone who is foot fetish and he wanted to look nice for the person.

[averagezoe]

05:27 PM on 12/13/2011

You are a prime example of human sewage. I can only hope that your life will turn to crap some day and you will find yourself out in the cold.

[vtmilitia]

05:35 PM on 12/13/2011

Are there no prisons? Are there no work houses? Are there no orphanages?

[fumundaches]

11:05 PM on 12/13/2011

Detention Camps along the Mex Border will solve both problems. Concentrate them there.

[carnivaluv]

03:04 PM on 12/13/2011

Poor guy. If I was homeless, I might try to use a found credit card also. Why not? It's already as if the world has turned their backs on you anyway. Plus, what've you got to lose if you get caught?

[special38x2]

09:12 PM on 12/13/2011

That's a nice and very real way to look at it. Refreshing :)

[RBlakeH01]

11:34 PM on 12/13/2011

And if the credit card he stole was not deactivated would he have stopped at a pedicure? Someone else pays the tab while he lives la vida loca for awhile? Liberal dopes!!

[carnivaluv]

12:40 AM on 12/14/2011

Oh yes, he's living it up huh?