Investigators with the Lansdale Borough Police Department have identified and arrested a man who was allegedly involved in a sexually lewd act in a Starbucks parking lot earlier this month.
According to affidavit of probable cause, police received a complaint from a female victim on Jan. 6, who stated that around 8:30 a.m. she was driving with her 7-year-old son when she pulled into the parking lot of Starbucks, located along the 800 block of West Main Street. The victim stated that a red Ford Focus swerved towards her in the parking lot, at which point she stopped her vehicle, raised her arms and said “What are you doing,” the report states.
The victim said that after she parked her vehicle, the red Ford Focus backed into the parking space next to hers so that the vehicles were parked driver’s side to driver’s side, the report states. As the victim and her son exited the vehicle, the driver of the Ford Focus—later identified as 54-year-old Matthew Fox, of Warminster—brought his phone to the window, which showed a pornographic video of a woman performing oral sex on man, according to the report.
Police said the victim stated that Fox’s right hand was in his unzipped pants at the time of the incident, and she pointed at him and said “You are disgusting!” The report states that Fox did not respond to the victim, but instead smiled at her.
Surveillance footage from the scene allegedly verified the time, location and parking information provided by the victim, police said.
Two days later, police received a voicemail from Fox, saying that he saw a Facebook post about the incident and he wanted to set up a meeting with police, the report states. In the voicemail, Fox denied the victim’s claims, but said that his vehicle did match the description and he wanted to speak with police, according to the report.
While speaking to investigators by phone, Fox stated that on the day of the incident, he wasn’t feeling well so he left work early and headed to Starbucks, police said. Fox denied parking next to the victim, and stated that he was wearing a different colored shirt, at which point police related that they had pulled the surveillance footage and asked him for his license plate number, the report states.
Fox declined to provide his license plate number, and again denied the claims made by the victim, police said.
On Jan. 10, the victim was shown a photo line-up of eight black and white images, and though she could not make a definitive identification, she put three of the images aside as possibilities, which included the image of Fox, police said.
Investigators later spoke with Fox at the Lansdale Police Station, at which point he allegedly admitted that he was watching a pornographic video in his vehicle on the day in question, police said. Fox also stated that he did see a female point and yell something inaudible at him, but he denied putting the phone up to the window or having his pants unzipped, according to the complaint.
Fox told police that it was not his fault that the female saw what he was doing on his phone, and she should have just went inside to get her coffee, the report states.
Police later matched Fox’s license plate to the surveillance footage, and the victim later positively identified the vehicle, according to the complaint.
As a result of the investigation, Fox has been charged with one misdemeanor count of open lewdness, and one summary count of disorderly conduct. Fox has not yet been arraigned, so bail has not been set and a booking image is not available.
His preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 13 at 11 a.m. in front of Magisterial District Judge Ed Levine.
(Editor’s note: All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using court records and the affidavit of probable cause, and reflects the point of view of the police. Should the defendant choose to issue a public statement, or is later found not guilty or has the charges dropped, we will update this article accordingly.)
See also:
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Man Arrested Following Scuffle With Police At Local Bar
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Police Warn Of Increased Activity From Felony Lane Gang
