Jeffery Lyn Harris
(file photo)
By Patti Weaver
(Stillwater, Okla.) — A 68-year-old Yale man has pleaded guilty to a felony charge of indecent exposure that occurred while he was in a pickup in the Cushing Walmart parking lot, court records show.
Jeffery Lyn Harris, who does not have an agreement with the prosecution regarding his penalty, has been ordered jailed without bail by Payne County District Judge Phillip Corley pending a sentencing hearing on June 23.
One of his juvenile victims read a statement in court last week: “June 13th, 2022, is the reason we are here today, but for me and my family June 13th was us celebrating my (relative’s) birthday and then taking a trip to Walmart, a place I go constantly.
“Walmart is a place of fear for me now. I have found myself going to Walmart alone and trying to get myself to go in, but I normally end up leaving too scared I’ll see something like that again. This doesn’t just go for Walmart either. It goes for gas stations, restaurants, or anywhere public.
“Seeing those actions and being stared at by the person doing them is something I hope no one else ever has to deal with. This made me feel violated and disgusted. These actions are something a 16-year-old girl shouldn’t have to see, let alone think about.
“Seeing these actions will always be in the back of my mind when I’m parking, walking into places or going anywhere alone. A situation people will never even think to worry about is something I will always have to worry about.”
Harris was arrested at 9:04 pm on June 13, 2022, seven minutes after Cushing Police Officers Alex Gegen and Sgt. Carson Watts were dispatched to the parking lot where the defendant was in a pickup in the 12th row close to the building, an affidavit said.
“Upon reaching the passenger door, I observed a male looking at a phone that was in his left hand with what appeared to be some type of pornography,” while fondling himself with his right hand, Officer Gegen wrote in his affidavit.
“It should be noted that there were multiple vehicles in the parking lot with multiple people walking around,” the affidavit said.
After being arrested, “When Harris stepped out of the vehicle, his penis was still out of his clothes and visible to both officers. He was then covered up,” the affidavit said.
A woman said, “there were five individuals who had seen Harris in his vehicle touching himself, two of which were juveniles (16 and 14 years old),” the affidavit said.
Another woman said, “she was able to record Harris while he was in his vehicle,” and showed the officer a video of the incident, the affidavit said.
Harris was jailed for nearly a month before he was released on $5,000 bail on July 11, 2022, but he was ordered held without bail by the judge following his guilty plea on May 26, court records show. Indecent exposure carries up to 10 years in prison.
Harris had previously been given probation for possessing marijuana within 1,000 feet of a park in 2013, and furnishing alcohol to a minor in 1999, court records show.
