DAPHNE, Ala. (WALA) – In a disturbing story out of Daphne, police there arrested a man they said was exposing himself in public settings. Investigators said multiple victims came forward after seeing him performing various lewd acts at a public shopping center.
Daphne Police arrested 47-year-old Daniel Owen Davis of Spanish Fort Thursday, August 15, 2024. He’s charged with two counts of indecent exposure, three counts of public lewdness and three counts of criminal tampering.
Police said they first received a complaint last month. That alleged victim had parked behind Jubilee Square shopping mall near the Lake Forest dam to go for a walk. When she returned, police said she found a man matching Davis’s description inside her car, pleasuring himself sexually. Investigators didn’t get a break in the case until this Monday night when they said multiple victims saw him back at the same shopping mall performing criminal acts.
“He was going from his vehicle to other people’s vehicles, looking around, looking at them. At some point in time, he exposed himself and used the bathroom on another vehicle and then, at some point in time another witness saw him pleasuring himself in the parking lot as well,” said Lt. Jason Lazzari with Daphne Police.
Investigators said that witness was able to get cell phone video of Davis performing a sex act on himself and urinating on a car. He then called police. Once the victim from last month saw the video and picture of Davis, investigators confirmed him as their suspect and were able to tie all the cases together.
“Very odd. I can tell you, in my seventeen-plus year career, it’s the first time I’ve ever dealt with something like this,” remarked Lazzari. “It catches you off guard, but you have to treat it like any other case and investigate it like any other case. It’s concerning you know because this is not normal behavior, and the concerns are that it could escalate into something worse.”
Police said the only prior criminal experience they’ve had with Daniel Davis was several years ago and were not of this nature. Davis is being held in the Daphne City Jail on $6,000 bond.
Copyright 2024 WALA. All rights reserved.