Cushing man accused of lewd exhibition on Main Street

  STILLWATER — A 28-year-old Cushing man has been jailed on $7,500 bond pending a Sept. 8 court appearance with an attorney on a felony charge called lewd exhibition of person.

   If convicted of exposing his genitals in a public place on East Main Street in Cushing, Rashawn Robert Baker could be given as much as a 10-year prison term and $20,000 fine, according to court documents filed last week.

   Baker was arrested at 8:05 am on Aug. 11 by Cushing Police Officer David Smith, who had been sent at 7:19 am to a business where Baker was sitting outside on a bench under an awning on the east side of the building, an affidavit alleged.

   After the officer told Baker why he was there, “Baker denied the allegation, claiming he did not know what I was talking about and stating he was only scratching his leg…Baker exhibited indicators of deception and made evasive, contradictory statements.

   “I then interviewed the victim and reporting party (who) stated she observed a male matching Baker’s description actively (fondling himself) on the bench where he was still sitting…Following this, I interviewed the employees and manager of the adjacent (business). They stated Baker had been sitting on the bench for a while.

   “The manager reported that (the victim) had alerted her to the (activity) when she pulled up to the drive-through window to pay and collect her order,” the officer alleged in his affidavit.

   Camera footage from a nearby business showed that “Baker was holding his phone with his right hand and using his left hand,” to fondle himself, the affidavit alleged.

    “I informed him that I had located and reviewed the surveillance footage. When asked why he was doing this in public, Baker silently shook his head. When asked if he thought no one could see him or if he was watching pornography on his phone, Baker admitted it was a ‘just in the moment decision.’ Baker stated that he sleeps outside and remarked that he ‘f….. up.’

   “I asked him again if he thought no one could see him, and he answered ‘yeah.’ When asked if he knew (that) was illegal (in public), he answered, ‘yeah,"” the officer alleged in his affidavit.