Artist Held After Fracas Over Tattoo Parlor Operator Faces Assault, False Imprisonment Charges

Confusion over a facial tattoo resulted in two men being held inside a midtown tattoo parlor by a tattoo artist armed with a gun and baseball bat, police said.

One of the men was walking by Lake City Tattoo, 814 N. Fourth St., about 4:40 p.m. Monday when artist John Falk invited him to enter the tattoo parlor, according to a police report.

When the man walked into the business, Falk, 23, of Post Falls, allegedly pulled a .25-caliber automatic pistol out of his pocket.

A second man, who knew the first man, also walked by the store and was invited inside by Falk, police said. Once both men were inside, Falk reportedly locked the door - made of steel bars - went into the back room, returned with a Louisville Slugger and called someone on the phone, saying he had the two men in his custody.

One of the men picked up a chair to protect himself from Falk, threw an ashtray at the tattoo artist and missed, according to a police report. The other man reportedly tried to kick open the front door and tried to break it with a chain and lock he had in his pocket.

When police arrived, they arrested Falk and booked him into jail, charging him with two counts of aggravated assault and two counts of false imprisonment.

Falk told police that he had detained the two men because he thought they had tattooed a friend’s face.

When one of the officers asked Falk if he thought he might have gone too far, Falk stated to him, “I think so. I know this is wrong.”

, DataTimes