DAPHNE, Ala. (WALA) – In a shocking incident in Daphne, police arrested a man they say was engaged in public exposure after multiple victims came forward after seeing him engaging in various lewd acts at a public shopping center, investigators said.
Daphne Police arrested Daniel Owen Davis, 47, of Spanish Fort on Thursday, August 15, 2024. He is charged with two counts of public indecency, three counts of public indecency and three counts of criminal tampering.
Daniel Owen Davis is facing multiple charges after the victims identified him as a suspect (Daphne Police Department)
According to police, the first report was filed last month. The alleged victim parked her car behind Jubilee Square Shopping Mall near Lake Forest Dam to go for a walk. When she returned, police said she found a man matching the description of Davis in his car engaging in sexual gratification. Investigators said multiple victims witnessed the crimes at the same mall, and there were no developments in the case until Monday night this week.
“He was going from his car to other people’s cars looking around and looking at them. At one point he exposed himself and used the other car’s bathroom and then at some point another witness saw him masturbating in the parking lot,” said Lt. Jason Lazzari with Daphne Police.
According to investigators, a witness filmed Davis masturbating and urinating in a car on his cell phone. The witness then called police. After the victim last month saw the video and photos of Davis, investigators identified him as a suspect and were able to link all of the incidents together.
“It’s very strange. This is the first time in my 17-plus year career that I’ve come across an incident like this,” Lazzari said. “It catches us off guard, but we have to treat it like any other incident and investigate it like any other incident. This is concerning because this is not normal behavior and there’s a risk it could get worse.”
Police say Daniel Davis has no prior criminal history dating back several years and is not of the type described in this case. Davis is being held in the Daphne City Jail on $6,000 bail.
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