Judge: No Bail Reduction for Alleged Flasher

A man awaiting trial for allegedly exposing himself to a store clerk will have to stay in jail, a judge ruled today.

Allen Williams, 48, is facing a misdemeanor count of indecent exposure in connection with a September encounter with an employee at a Lake Elsinore business.

Williams is being held on $2,500 bail at the Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta. Deputy Public Defender Scott Kirkendall submitted a motion to Riverside County Superior Court Judge Randall White, seeking to have the itinerant's bail reduced, but White denied the request.

He did, however, grant a separate request to have the defendant undergo a psychiatric evaluation. A mental competency hearing in the case is set for Jan. 10.

According to sheriff's officials, around 6 a.m. on Sept. 4, Williams approached the checkout counter of a store in the 31700 block of Riverside Drive to purchase a soft drink when he allegedly flashed his genitalia at the clerk, then quickly paid for his item and left.

Deputies called to the location were unable to find the suspect, sheriff's Sgt. David Cardoza said.

But the following day, as they were conducting an unrelated investigation in the area of Lincoln Street and Via Valdez, deputies spotted and detained Williams, who matched the description of the flasher, Cardoza said.

The victim positively identified Williams, who was booked into jail.

Cardoza said the defendant also was suspected in similar incidents in the city.

—City News Service