A 45-year-old man in Florida was arrested last week after a police officer allegedly witnessed him pulling down his pants and “defecating” atop a dead possum that was on the side of the road during the middle of rush hour and “in full view of the motoring public.” Robert A. Wilcox was taken into custody on Wednesday and charged with one count of exposure of sexual organs in a public place, court records show.
According to a copy of a probable cause affidavit obtained by Law&Crime, the incident took place at about 5:23 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 15. The document states that on that date, Wilcox was near Belcher Road and Willow Tree Trail — which is about 20 miles west of Tampa — when he was observed by numerous people “defecating on a deceased opossum.” In doing so, police emphasized in the arrest report that Wilcox had his “pants lowered” and his “anal region” was fully exposed to onlookers.
Robert A. Wilcox (Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office) and the intersection where he is accused of defecating on a possum during rush hour (Google Maps)
Law enforcement authorities on the scene said that Wilcox’s alleged display occurred “in full view of the motoring public during busy traffic hours.” Additionally, the action was allegedly witnessed by an officer with the Clearwater Police Department who was already in the area.
After Wilcox was taken into custody, police say he vehemently denied that he had done anything wrong. When confronted with the fact that a police officer claimed to have seen Wilcox defecating on the possum, the suspect allegedly shot back that the supposed witnessing officer “doesn’t see straight.”
The affidavit noted that officers did not suspect Wilcox to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of his arrest.
In addition to multiple eyewitnesses, one of whom was allegedly a police officer, responding officers said they also found “physical evidence” at the scene which “corroborates the allegations alleged” against Wilcox.
The affidavit states that Wilcox is formally charged with exposing or exhibiting his “sexual organs in a public place or on the private premises of another or so near thereto as to be seen from such private premises, in a vulgar or indecent manner or to be naked in public except in any place provided or set apart for that purpose.” Under Florida state law, the charge of a sexual organ is a first-degree misdemeanor that is punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.
Wilcox, who is listed in court documents as being a “homeless” resident of Clearwater, Florida, was booked into the Pinellas County Jail. He was released after posting bond of $150.
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