A man was arrested Friday morning on suspicion of masturbating next to the driveway to a Rite Aid pharmacy in Hemet, where a 16-year-old girl and her mother saw him, and then crashing his vehicle and fleeing, a police sergeant said.
The incident occurred shortly after 9:30 a.m. Aug. 30, Hemet police Sgt. Dan Reinbolt said.
The girl and her mother were walking on the east sidewalk of Sanderson Avenue, south of Devonshire Avenue, Reinbolt said. They saw a vehicle pull up and stop at the driveway of Rite Aid, preparing to exit onto Sanderson Avenue.
"The victims noticed the driver and sole occupant . . . acting strangely inside the vehicle," Reinbolt said. "When the victims got close to Quintero's car, they were able to see he was masturbating."
The girl's mother pulled out her cellular phone to call police and the man quickly drove away, Reinbolt said.
When he exited the driveway, he collided into another vehicle traveling north on Sanderson Avenue, Reinbolt said. Then he fled the scene of the collision. The driver of the other vehicle suffered minor injuries.
A description of the man was broadcast, and he was located in a nearby park, Reinbolt said. He was positively identified and arrested on suspicion of indecent exposure, lewd acts in public, and hit and run with an injury.
The man was identified by police as Gil Quintero, 40, of Hemet. He was booked and initially held in lieu of $25,000 bail, Reinbolt said. By Tuesday Sept. 3, Quintero's name no longer appeared in county inmate records.
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