Redwood City police arrested a 45-year-old local man on Tuesday after receiving reports that he was masturbating and exposing himself along El Camino Real, with investigators saying the case ultimately turned up multiple victims, including both adults and children. Marcelo Arancibia now faces three felony charges: indecent exposure, failure to register as a sex offender, and a parole violation. Officers detained him without incident near the 2600 block of Broadway after a police drone helped pinpoint his location.
According to Redwood City Police, the department received a 911 call on Tuesday reporting a male subject exposing himself in public along El Camino Real. Officers deployed a Drone as a First Responder unit, which located the suspect, captured his actions, and guided responding officers directly to his location. Arancibia was taken into custody without incident and booked into the San Mateo County Maguire Correctional Facility.
Press Release: Felony Indecent Exposure Suspect Apprehended https://t.co/FLF9zod68Y
— Redwood City Police (@RedwoodCityPD) August 6, 2026
How the Drone Program Steered Officers to the Suspect
The department's Drone as a First Responder program, launched in 2025, has become a routine tool for calls like this one. Redwood City Police Sergeant Jeff Boyce said the program has deployed to more than 600 incidents, cutting emergency flight response times by 68 percent and alarm response times by more than 75 percent, according to an April report. The technology streams real-time aerial video to officers before they reach a scene, giving responders visual confirmation of a suspect's actions and whereabouts. The city has continued investing in the program's expansion, with the Redwood City Council approving a contract amendment with Axon Enterprise on April 13 that brought its public safety technology agreement to nearly $5.9 million, per the same report, funding additional automated drone docks meant to close aerial coverage gaps across local beats.
A Precedent for Aerial Searches in Redwood City
Drone-assisted searches aren't new for Redwood City police. In March, the department highlighted a January case in which a DFR unit reached an Alameda de las Pulgas residence within minutes of a 911 call, pinpointing a nocturnal burglary suspect in pitch-black conditions before officers made entry, according to a joint investigation report from the department. Hoodline previously reported on a similar drone-assisted library-area drug bust near downtown.
Why the Charge Is a Felony, Not a Misdemeanor
Indecent exposure is typically a misdemeanor for a first offense under California law, carrying up to six months in county jail. But the charge automatically becomes a felony if the suspect has a prior conviction under the same statute or a prior felony sex offense conviction, according to FindLaw. That distinction explains why Arancibia was booked on a felony indecent exposure charge under Penal Code 314.1 rather than a standard misdemeanor.
A felony indecent exposure conviction also carries long-term consequences beyond jail time. Offenders must register as a sex offender for a minimum of ten years under the state's Tier 1 guidelines, according to the Second Chances Law Group. Arancibia was also charged separately under Penal Code 290.011(a) for failing to register as a sex offender.
That registration statute carries its own strict timeline for people without stable housing. Registrants living as transient or unhoused residents must update their registration in person every 30 days with the local police chief or county sheriff, per FindLaw, and missing that window can trigger a new felony charge on its own.
Parole Hold Keeps Suspect Behind Bars Without Bail
Arancibia was also hit with a parole violation charge under Penal Code 3056, which allows law enforcement and parole officers to place a non-bailable parole hold on parolees accused of new crimes. That hold permits county jail detention for up to 35 calendar days while a formal parole revocation hearing is scheduled, according to Eisner Gorin LLP. The hold effectively shifts legal authority over Arancibia to county jail officials while his case moves forward.
Booked Into San Mateo County's Largest Men's Jail
Arancibia was booked into the Maguire Correctional Facility at 300 Bradford Street in Redwood City, the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office's maximum-security facility for adult male pre-trial detainees. The jail has a rated capacity of roughly 688 beds, according to SanMateoRecords.us. Hoodline previously covered felony sex-assault charges filed against another Peninsula suspect booked at the same facility earlier this summer.
Local Policing Investments Along El Camino Real
The arrest lands in a stretch of the city that has seen added police infrastructure in recent months. The department opened a dedicated substation at Sequoia Station, 1035 El Camino Real, in September 2025 specifically to boost officer presence and response times along the busy commercial corridor, according to a department post. Redwood City officers also take part in the San Mateo County Community Wellness Crisis Response Team, a co-responder program pairing licensed mental health clinicians with uniformed officers on calls involving behavioral health crises, per the City of South San Francisco's transparency portal.
Anyone with information related to the investigation is asked to contact Redwood City police at 650-780-7100, or call 911 in an emergency, the department said.
