A 37-year-old Marion County man accused of exposing himself inside a local Dollar General has been arrested for the second time in less than a week after a shopper at another Dollar General recognized him from an article on Ocala-News.com and allegedly caught him masturbating in the arts and crafts aisle.
On Friday, June 27, a Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputy spoke with a female victim who advised that she had seen a man masturbating inside the Dollar General located at 11582 N Williams Street, Suite 200, in Dunnellon, according to the arrest report.
The victim advised that she was walking down the arts and crafts aisle inside the Dollar General on Tuesday, June 10, when she saw a “tall and skinny” man, later identified as Dunnellon resident Phillip Jones, Jr. According to the victim’s statement, Jones was standing nearby when he dropped a box of candy, and that was when she noticed that he “had his penis out and was masturbating.”
Moments later, the victim told a manager about the incident. The report stated that Jones had “already put his penis away” by the time the manager made contact with him.
The victim informed the deputy that she saw a news article on Ocala-News.com explaining Jones’ recent arrest for an indecent exposure incident at another local Dollar General. She viewed a Marion County Jail booking photo of Jones and positively identified him as the man she had seen masturbating inside the store on June 10, according tot he report.
The deputy noted in the report that video surveillance footage of the incident showed Jones entering the Dollar General on N Williams Street at around 2:40 p.m. on June 10. He eventually walked down the arts and crafts aisle, near the victim, where he allegedly “pull(ed) his penis out and [began] masturbating.”
According to the report, Jones was seen on the footage “reaching down several times to masturbate” while standing in close proximity to the victim.
The deputy made contact with Jones at his residence located on SW 196th Avenue. After being read his Miranda rights, Jones allegedly admitted to “playing with (his) privates” while inside the Dollar General store on June 10.
Jones was arrested and booked into Marion County Jail, where he is currently being held without bond. He is being charged with indecent exposure of sexual organs (two counts).
Jail records show that Jones is scheduled to appear in court at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, July 2, followed by another court appearance at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, July 9.