PORT ANGELES — A man who allegedly defecated in broad daylight at the entrance to the Clallam County Fairgrounds while wearing pajamas faces a charge of felony indecent exposure.
The charge against Vincent Adam Bruce, 50, is a felony due to his June 18 conviction for misdemeanor lewd conduct, for which he spent five days in the Forks city jail.
Indecent exposure is punishable by up to five years in jail and a $10,000 fine if the person has previously been convicted of a sex offense.
Details of the lewd conduct conviction were unavailable Monday.
A woman told Port Angeles Police Officer Zachery Moore that she was driving eastbound on West 18th Street with her 5-year-old son the morning of Jan. 17 when she saw a man in heart pajama bottoms pull his pants down and defecate on the snow, according to Moore’s arrest report.
The woman “explained that her 5-year-old son was also in the vehicle and was very ‘upset’ and was asking numerous questions,” Moore said in the report.
The woman said she stopped her vehicle because the man was on the side of the road, and she was concerned she would hit him.
When arrested, Bruce admitted defecating by the fairgrounds and said he saw other people around at the time, according to Moore’s report.
In a mental health assessment, Peninsula Behavioral Health determined Bruce does not present “a substantial likelihood of harm” or appear unable to meet his basic safety needs.
Bruce’s address is listed as transient on the criminal information. He was being held Monday at the Clallam County jail.
People openly going to the bathroom is an issue the city is trying to deal with, Deputy Police Chief Jason Viada said.
“That is, where do homeless people go to the bathroom, or where should they go to the bathroom,” he said.
The City Council recently agreed to speed up its public-bathroom replacement project from one facility every two years to one every year.
City staff has also applied for a lodging tax grant for a 24-hour downtown restroom, where facilities now close at dusk.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
