TALLAHASSEE, Fl. (WTXL) -- David Coppedge was arrested Tuesday night on five counts of health-safety practice medicine without an active license after a complaint from a customer reached the Department of Health.
Linda Long says she had wanted a tattoo on her ankle to be removed by Coppedge at "Kim's Studio" on Allen Road in Tallahassee. She told WTXL she went to have the tattoo removed in January, after seeing that Kim's Studio was on the top listings in a google search, but after the process, it became severely infected.
Long says she made a New Year's resolution to have the tattoo removed from her ankle. She got it when she was 18 years old.
Long tells us when the day came to have it removed, the process seemed scattered and Coppedge was struggling to find the right supplies needed for the procedure. Immediately following the procedure, she was unable to even go back to work because the pain was so intense.
"Within a couple of days, my leg was swollen to the point that my tattoo was indented on my leg about an inch", said Long, "It was red and extremely painful [and] I could barely walk. Over the following weeks, the entire skin area where my tattoo was came off so i had a gaping, gross, disgusting wound on a large part of my leg."
Long took to social media to talk about her experience and she was amazed at the massive response that included people with similar experiences of her own. The blog post ultimately led to the Department of Health getting involved, and thereafter, Coppedge's arrest by the Leon County Sheriff's Office.
Long is now under going laser treatment to completely get rid of the tattoo, but is happy that the infection on her leg wasn't worse.
Kim's Studio says they are looking into the matter are are taking it very seriously, saying the "studio has been in business for more than 18 years and has an excellent customer service reputation."
Afterward, Coppedge was contacted on Facebook and told WTXL, as of now, he has no statement but will be in touch as soon as he does. Kim's Studio's owner declined to say anything further than the given statement.
