PARAGOULD, Ark. — A man is facing felony and misdemeanor charges after police say he performed lewd acts in Walmart in Paragould.
The probable cause affidavit says that on Sept. 19, Paragould officers responded to Walmart, 2802 W. Kingshighway, about a male conducting lewd acts inside of the store. Employees told police they witnessed the defendant expose his genitalia before he began to masturbate while watching another shopper.
Officers also learned the defendant had been banned from Walmart property on November 5, 2023, for similar acts, the affidavit said.
Jay Thomas, 35, of Paragould, was arrested on a felony charge of commercial burglary and a misdemeanor charge of indecent exposure.
According to A.C.A. § 5-39-201, the statute for commercial burglary, “A person commits commercial burglary if he or she enters or remains unlawfully in a commercial occupiable structure of another person with the purpose of committing in the commercial occupiable structure any offense punishable by imprisonment.” The act of entering a store where he had been banned, by itself, would most likely not qualify as commercial burglary. However, because another alleged crime was committed, police decided to pursue the burglary charge.
All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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