Police have arrested a man they believe is the "Red-car Flasher," wanted in connection with exposing himself to teen girls, officials said on Monday.
Luis Bucio-Cedeno, 24, was arrested on Friday. He was being held in jail on charges of indecent exposure, child annoying, lewd conduct, and sexual battery, police said.
He's accused of exposing himself to 11 people, police said.
Police put out a sketch in January, asking for the public's help to find a suspect who exposed himself to middle and high school girls in Arleta and Panorama City – sometimes jumping out of a car nude, police said.
Police began calling him the "Red-car Flasher" because he was seen hopping out of a red compact car that was parked near a school.
In two incidents, the girls were able to provide enough information for police to put together a composite sketch of the man.
“This was truly a team effort among detectives and police officers across three San Fernando Valley police divisions,” said Lt. Paul Vernon, commanding officer of the Mission Detective Division. “After two years, dozens of sightings, several composite sketches, we got a break in February when a female jogger wrote down a license plate for the van of a man who had exposed himself to her.”
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During that same incident, a red Toyota was parked in front of the van.
The victim remembered seeing the Toyota’s driver speaking to the van’s driver, but when the van left, she was astounded to see the Toyota’s driver also expose himself to her.
The van’s license plate set detectives on a trail that led to identifying several other cars, one of which was registered to Bucio-Cedeno in North Hills, Vernon said.
