MIDWAY, Fla. (WTXL) -- Charges were dropped against a man accused of removing a tattoo without an active medical license.
David Coppedge, who worked for Kim's Studio, was arrested in April, after several complaints about his service reached the Department of Health (DOH). Prosecutors are no longer pursuing the charges because they say the charge of "Unauthorized Practice of Medicine" didn't apply to Coppedge in this case.
Coppedge's attorney, Ryan Andrews, says Coppedge was licensed and certified to do his work, which included tattoo removal.
Andrews adds that those certifications were issued by the Department of Health. He says he finds it ironic that the department forwarded the initial complaints to the Leon County Sheriff's Office before the initial arrest was made.
"Ultimately, I place a decent amount of blame on the Department of Health for this because it seems as though they started the downward spiral for Mr. Coppedge as it relates to his business and they knew all along he had every certification he was required to have," said Andrews. He added that David Coppedge is looking to get back into the business
Coppedge released a statement to WTXL about the incident saying he always felt confident the charges would be dropped and added "I actively complied with all regulations I was required to comply with. [The] DOH inspected my office countless times over the years. I take pride in the thousands of customers who were happy with their result"
Andrews told WTXL that he plans to pursue civil actions against certain individuals and entities related to the case, though he was not specific on any one.
WTXL reached out to Linda Long, a customer who said her tattoo was infected after Coppedge worked on it. She said she was disappointed with the decision by the prosecution to not pursue the charges.
