Back in April, Kearny police apprehended a Bayonne man for allegedly engaging in a “lewd and lacivious act” — on two separate occasions — in Walmart.
David Harper, 35, had reportedly been pleasuring himself, in close proximity to female shoppers. Police said he had fled the store after the initial offense, but when he returned about three weeks later, the KPD located him on the premises and arrested him.
Harper was charged with two counts of criminal sexual conduct.
The police also obtained a DNA swab from the suspect and entered the information in the national DNA database.
Last week, New York City police advised the Kearny Detective Bureau that, thanks to that DNA sample, the NYPD had developed Harper as a suspect in two sexual assaults in the city.
KPD Chief John Dowie said inquiries revealed that Harper had “an extensive record of arrests and convictions” in N.Y.C. before he moved to New Jersey. The charges included larceny, possession of stolen property, criminal impersonation, resisting arrest, and possession of a firearm, Dowie reported.
– Karen Zautyk
