A 21-year-old female Santa Barbara City College student on Oct. 24 reported an indecent exposure crime that took place at the college parking lot.
The student told Santa Barbara police that about 11:20 a.m. that day, she was at the SBCC parking lot waiting to park her car. The suspect was in his car behind her and honked his horn. She motioned him to go around, but he waited for five to 10 minutes, then drove off.
The student parked and exited her car. As she was locking her car, she saw that the suspect had blocked her car in. She walked to the suspect’s car to thank him for not taking the parking stall. She saw the suspect exposing and holding his genitalia. She walked away and reported the incident to the SBCC security office.
Later that day, a 22-year-old female SBCC student filed a report of an indecent exposure crime. She said she had been walking on Loma Alta at noon, crossed the street and continued on Cliff Drive. She saw the suspect in a gold Honda. The car appeared to be waiting to leave the apartment complex at the corner of Loma Alta and Cliff Drive.
When the student was about 10 feet from the corner, the vehicle made a left turn onto Cliff Drive and traveled away from her. The vehicle then pulled over and parked in the red zone on the same side of the street she was walking on. It appeared that the vehicle was waiting for her to walk by the car.
The student said she thought the driver was going to ask her for directions or offer a ride. As she walked by the car, she made eye contact with the suspect. The suspect looked down to his waist, and the victim saw the suspect holding his exposed genitalia. The suspect drove away, but the student got the vehicle license plate number.
A police records check revealed that the vehicle was registered to a local resident. Detectives contacted the registered owner of the vehicle, and he agreed to come to the station.
On Nov. 6, Gerson Tomas Chinchilla Castro, 29, was interviewed by detectives. Detectives continued their investigation and secured an arrest warrant for Castro, charging him with two counts of indecent exposure.
About 3:40 p.m. Tuesday, Castro was arrested without incident at his place of employment and booked into Santa Barbara County Jail on two counts of indecent exposure.
Lorenzo Duarte is a sergeant with the Santa Barbara Police Department.