LAKELAND, Fla. – A local man is behind bars this weekend after deputies say he turned a routine trip to a Lakeland pet supply store into a disturbing encounter for employees.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office reported that 39-year-old Dominique Carnell Butler was arrested Friday afternoon following an investigation into an indecent exposure incident at a business on Pipkin Road.
According to investigators, Butler entered the store and loitered inside for anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, a behavior that quickly put staff on edge.
The situation escalated when a female employee walked into the pet supplies aisle and found Butler waiting. According to the sheriff’s office, Butler “lifted up his shirt, pulled down his pants, and exposed himself.” Deputies noted that he then began swaying his hips back and forth in front of the worker.
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The employee immediately fled to the front of the store and instructed a coworker to call 911. The move reportedly spooked the suspect, who ran from the building before deputies arrived.
During the subsequent investigation, authorities discovered this was not the first time the man had allegedly engaged in this behavior at this specific location.
Detectives eventually identified Butler as the suspect and filed a complaint affidavit. The search ended on Friday, April 17, when a deputy spotted Butler’s vehicle driving on Old Medulla Road. After a traffic stop was conducted, Butler was positively identified and taken into custody without further incident.
Butler was transported to the Sheriff’s Processing Center and booked on a first-degree misdemeanor charge of Exposure of Sexual Organs.
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