Man in women’s underwear arrested for prowling

A 37-year-old Sunnyslope man with a gun in his car was arrested Thursday morning after a police officer spotted him peeking into an apartment while wearing a bra and thong underwear.

According to Port Orchard Police Sgt. Mark Duncan, four units were dispatched to the apartment building on Sidney Avenue shortly after 7 a.m. when a resident called to report a suspicious man was peeking into her neighbors’ windows.

When police arrived on scene, one officer saw the suspect peering into the sliding glass door of one apartment.

“We caught him red-handed,” Duncan said, adding that along with his strange attire — a black bra under an open shirt and black thong underwear clearly visible through ripped sweatpants — the suspect had numerous items of sexual paraphernalia, gloves and a loaded .32-caliber handgun in his vehicle.

“He is a convicted felon, he had a gun in his car, and he had black gloves. None of that looks very good,” Duncan said, adding that the suspect gave no explanation as to why he was wearing women’s underwear, but claimed he does it often.

The suspect was previously convicted in Kitsap County on drug charges.

Duncan said given the amount of items and planning evident in the setup of the suspect’s car, there was reason to believe the suspect had invested a lot of time in his activities.

“It appeared he hadn’t just started doing this yesterday,” Duncan said.

The suspect was charged with voyeurism, a class C felony, and for being a convicted felon carrying a weapon. He was booked into Kitsap County Jail under $20,000 bail.

Duncan said the man was listed as a suspect in a similar prowling case three years ago in Kitsap County.

In that incident, a man called police to report he caught a man peeking into his home. When the tried to detain the man, the suspect allegedly punched him and ran away.

Although the license plate number of perpetrator’s car was traced to the suspect, he was never charged in the prior incident.

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