A 62 year-old man has been arrested after he was seen naked, committing lewd acts in public on two separate occasions; one on May 15th and again on Wednesday. Willie James Washington, who has a long and violent criminal history, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with two counts of Indecent Exposure, two counts of Intimidation/Wearing Mask to Conceal Identity, Burglary and Violation of Probation.
(Washington is a multiple state offender (Florida, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania) with a criminal history that includes Armed Robbery (multiple times); Armed Burglary (multiple times); Fraud Impersonating an Officer; Trespassing; Shoplifting; Kidnapping; Grand Larceny; Multiple weapons charges; Agg. Assault with a Firearm; Poss. of Firearm by Convicted Felon; Dealing in Stolen Property; Resisting an Officer; Multiple Drug Offenses (Cocaine); Multiple Paraphernalia Offenses; Agg. Assault on a Police Officer; Fraudulent use of Credit Cards; Theft by Extortion; Terroristic Threats; Disorderly Conduct.)
Below is what occurred resulting in the recent arrest:
On May 15, at approximately 9 p.m., a light-skinned black male was seen inside of a fenced front entry way of a nursing home, located at 904 Lake Martha Dr., NE in Winter Haven. The fully nude male wearing a t-shirt over his head and face peering into windows. A worker inside saw the suspect masturbating while staring at the worker. The worker didn’t immediately contact police, but called the next day after management learned of the incident.Officers responded, but were unable to locate the suspect. Video of the incident was obtained from the nursing home, but a positive identification was unable to be made at the time.
On Wednesday at approximately 7 a.m., a light-skinned black male was seen by a pedestrian walking near the Chain of Lakes Trail acting suspicious. The witness saw the male first emerge from some bushes and then duck back in. The
witness continued walking and when she turned back around and approached the area again, the suspect jumped out completely naked, fondling himself. He had something covering his face and was wearing gloves. The witness screamed at the man saying she was going to call police. He jumped back in the bushes, grabbed his clothes and fled. The witness was able to provide a clothing description from when he first appeared out of the bushes as well as the direction the suspect ran.
As officers approached the area, they saw a male fitting the suspect’s description near a vehicle close to the parking lot of Home Depot (2000 8th St., NE). Officers made contact and ultimately the witness positively identified Washington as the one she saw on the trail.
Because of the similarities in the two incidents, Detectives went back to the video from the nursing home and ultimately were able to identify Washington as the suspect. Washington was charged with both incidents and booked into the Polk County Jail.
