Masturbating Cyclist Caught Near Aptos Jr. High by Off-Duty Cop

Santa Cruz Sheriff's deputies arrested a man for masturbating in the bike lane of Soquel Drive near Aptos Junior High School monday afternoon.

An off-duty CHP officer had just picked up her kids from school when she and the children spotted the man on the side of the road, Deputy April Skalland said.

The off-duty officer alerted the sheriff's office, who sent deputies to the area to find the man, who was described as wearing a baseball cap and a blue plaid shirt.

After a brief search, a deputy contacted William Newell, 47, of Aptos nearby and arrested him for indecent exposure, Skalland said.

Another incident had been reported an hour earlier in Live Oak, in which a victim desribed a similar suspect, but Newell denied that it was him.

He was booked on just the one charge of indecent exposure, Skalland said, while the other incident is still under investigation.