Woman says man charged with indecent exposure followed her

LINCOLNTON, N.C. — A teenager is accused of exposing himself to a woman at Walmart.

Police in Lincolnton said it happened on a routine shopping trip. The victim told Eyewitness News she's just glad her daughter was not there with her.

Angela Starnes had an uneasy feeling inside the Lincolnton Walmart Thursday morning. A man was following her.

"I didn't really think much about it," Starnes said. "I kind of glanced at him like, 'I can tell you're following me.'"

Police said the suspect, 18-year-old Jeffrey Stidham, had his pants unzipped and was exposing himself. Starnes didn't see that until he followed her to the parking lot and yelled at her.

"I waited until I got past him and looked in the rear-view mirror, thinking maybe I did know him and I just didn't recognize him," Starnes said. "I realized he had his private parts out, shaking them at me."

She said Stidham then got in his car and followed her down the road.

"Of course, I was scared because I [didn't] want him following me to the gas station," Starnes said.

She called police and an officer recognized Stidham from the store surveillance and arrested him.

After his arrest, Stidham denied everything to Eyewitness News.

"I didn't do nothing," Stidham said.

But Eyewitness News saw him wearing the same clothes as the Walmart pictures. The victim worries that other people saw what the man was doing.

"I just hate it for anybody who may have seen it,” Starnes said.

Stidham is already out of jail.

WSOC