Customer accused of attacking cab driver in St. Augustine with box cutter

A St. Augustine man is in jail after deputies said he admitted to attacking a cab driver with a box cutter.

Jonathan Lessley is accused of slicing Ancient City Cab driver Nathan Tidwell four times.

Deputies said one cut was 12 inches long and another was 3 inches deep.

The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office report on the attack said Tidwell typically drives Lessley to work five days a week.

The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office report said the driver and his regular customer were arguing on the sidewalk in front of the KFC on Sunday because Tidwell did not show up to pick Lessley up for work.

The cab driver admitted to police he hit Lessley with a jagged PVC pipe, saying he did it in self-defense.

Tidwell said that is when Lessley sliced him with a box cutter.

Tidwell and Lessley gave conflicting stories about when Lessley pulled the knife during the confrontation.

The report said surveillance video at a convenience store about a mile away showed Lessley bragging about hurting the cab driver.

When deputies showed up at Lessley’s front door, the Sheriff’s Office said, he told them, “Yeah, I know I’m going to jail.”

Deputies said they saw blood on his sweatpants.

“We, like, have a lot of little young kids running around here every day. This is where they play at. You know, it kind of disturbs me,” said Lessley’s next-door neighbor Mohlyn Baker.

Tidwell’s roommate told Action News Jax he is now out of the hospital.

Cox Media Group