Most weekends you'll see Barney Gulley pedaling his recumbent tricycle around the city.
“They can't say we didn't see you because I go down the street looking like a Christmas tree,” Gulley said.
On Saturday night, his ride took a violent turn when he says 30 to 50 teenagers mobbed him at the Plaza's J.C. Nichols fountain.
“They kicked my bike sideways I don't know what they kicked they kicked when I passed them so I felt myself goes sideways and basically after that I was surrounded by people who are grabbing stuff and jerking stuff off the bike,” Gulley said.
The teens damaged Gulley's trike worth almost $4,000.
"Luckily there was someone in the crowd that said 'hey look at the cripple, don't take the cripple's stuff' and got me my stuff back,” Gulley said.
He adds the unruly teens on the Plaza is a problem that needs a year-round solution after the summer curfew is lifted.
“Plaza security herded them out of the Plaza area, which means basically go across the street and hang out down at the fountain. But there wasn't a police presence at the fountain which is evidently their jurisdiction,” Gulley said.
According to crime maps, two other street robberies near the fountain were reported Saturday night.
“I feel more comfortable riding down Troost than I do riding around the fountain,” Gulley said.
However for the 49-year-old tricyclist, Saturday's violent encounter won't deter his future trips.
“I'll just go down the street I can't stop riding,” Gulley said.
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Andres Gutierrez can be reached at andres.gutierrez@kshb.com
