A Santa Rosa man with a sordid history of lewd behavior landed behind bars again after allegedly defiling a woman's car door handle with bodily fluid and filming her horrified reaction, authorities said. Joseph Michael Simmons, 42, who's on the hook for a 2023 conviction of public lewdness, was busted Monday when the quick-thinking victim, who was shopping at Coddingtown Center, spotted him catching her reaction on his cellphone. She promptly tipped off the cops, according to the Santa Rosa Police Department.
After being flagged down the street, the responding officers, part of the SRPD's Downtown Enforcement Team, pulled over Simmons in his black Prius and, upon searching the vehicle, discovered a damning piece of evidence—a used condom. The grotesque act, paired with additional facts hammered out during the probe, led police to conclude that Simmons was the perpetrator, likely intending to capture the victim's disgust as part of his twisted antics, the police detailed.
This isn't Simmons' first brush with infamy. He waded through legal soup back in November 2020 for a series of misdemeanor indecent exposures while he was poking around on parole for an unrelated 2013 felony, the department revealed. Fed-up locals then took to social media with a vigilant zeal to pinpoint and warn others about Simmons, sparking an investigation by cops, who subsequently cuffed him for five counts of indecent exposure and one attempted indecent exposure.
The SRPD Domestic Violence Sexual Assault Team is now spearheading the latest investigation into the car-tampering fiasco, beckoning the public with any pertinent crumbs of information to dial their DVSA Tip Line at 707-543-3595. Meanwhile, Simmons is shoved into a cell at Sonoma County Jail and slapped with charges of vehicle tampering, battery, and violating probation.
Media queries are funneled to Sgt. Patricia Seffens, who is reachable at 707-543-3634 or via email at [email protected]. Those with insights or leads in this sinister series of events are strongly encouraged to come forward as the community seeks relief from Simmons' alarming pattern of sexual deviations and offenses.
