Jog Becomes Chase as Detectives Catch Indecent Exposure Suspect

A lunchtime jog turned into a foot chase for two sheriff’s detectives after they spotted a man they said was committing a lewd act in his pickup truck.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Det. Greg La Val said he and his partner, Det. Jim Anderson, were off duty and taking their usual afternoon run in a Valencia residential neighborhood Thursday when they noticed a man sitting in a pickup that was parked facing the wrong direction with one door open.

“Just briefly, we could see what he was doing,” La Val said. “He saw us and quickly covered himself up and drove away.”

“We both just did a double take. Like, ‘Did we just see what I think we saw?’ ”

The detectives gave chase on foot only to lose the suspect and then spot him again a few moments later, La Val said. Backup deputies were called and the man, Timothy Wayne Renfro, was captured at 1:45 p.m. near Granary Square on McBean Parkway.

Renfro, 30, of Palmdale, was arrested on suspicion of indecent exposure and held on $100,000 bail.

La Val said Sheriff’s Department officials requested the high bail amount because they believe Renfro poses a risk to others. He has been charged with indecent exposure in another case in the Antelope Valley and recently completed three years’ probation stemming from a 1995 conviction for disturbing the peace. In that case, Renfro had agreed to a plea bargain after being arrested for indecent exposure, La Val said.

David Wallin, Renfro’s attorney, said his client was devastated by the arrest.

“While I don’t believe this conduct, if true, was appropriate, I don’t think it warrants $100,000 bail,” Wallin said. “This wasn’t exactly the crime of the century.”

Sheriff’s Department officials said they were investigating whether Renfro could be linked to other recent indecent exposure incidents in Santa Clarita.

During a single day last month, a man who used a video camera to record his victims’ reactions exposed himself to women at three separate locations.

No camera was found in Renfro’s car and he was not charged in connection with any previous incidents, La Val said.