After sending an e-mail to thousands of North County residents warning them of a flasher, San Diego police captured the man Thursday – a 19-year-old college student who tried to escape from officers by hiding in the closet of his parent’s home.
Officers launched a manhunt in Carmel Valley Thursday afternoon after chasing a wanted flasher into a seemingly quiet neighborhood.
For the last week, San Diego police have been receiving reports of a young man exposing himself, sometime masturbating in front of drivers on Del Mar Heights Road.
Undercover investigators waited for the man to return to the area near Carmel Valley Road and Del Mar Heights Road. As expected, a man arrived around 3:30 p.m. and took off his clothes.
When officers approached him, he took off running.
A trail of blood from a cut led them to a home on Ginger Glen Road where, officers would eventually learn, the man grew up.
“I am shocked to be honest,” said family friend Eileen Johnson. “I don't know why he would do that.”
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Neighbors say the suspect attends UC Irvine, but comes home often.
When police entered the home, the suspect refused to come out of a bedroom. Officers reported smelling marijuana coming from the room.
So, police called the suspect’s mother.
With her permission, they entered the room where they found the man hiding in the closet.
“I seemed like he had cleaned himself up from what I understood so it's kind of surprising,” said Johnson.
The suspect was not arrested, but could face misdemeanor charges including indecent exposure. He could face a fine, probation or up to a year in jail.
