Man exposes himself to workers, customers at Long Beach hair salon: 'He was not stopping'
LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- A Long Beach neighborhood is on high alert following a string of crimes in the area, including a robbery, a sexual assault, and most recently, an indecent exposure incident in front of a busy hair salon.
Valeska Quinonez, the owner of Salon 500 in downtown Long Beach, said out of the nine years she's worked there, she's never felt so unsafe.
"It's just gotten out of hand, completely out of hand," she said.
Quinonez said on Wednesday around 2 p.m., a man approached the window of the salon and exposed himself for about five minutes.
"My client was coming in and she noticed that someone was in the back of her so she kind of ran into the salon," she said. "Then the gentleman was outside the window. He had his hands inside his pants and he was not stopping."
On Thursday, the Long Beach Police Department released an update on the case, saying the suspect was arrested and booked into the Long Beach City Jail.
Quinonez said this is just one of several incidents that have happened at her business.
"The salon has been robbed by homeless, they took a lot of my products, and one of my employees was sexually assaulted," said Quinonez.
She said the sexual assault happened on Oct. 20.
The woman was walking near the corner of Broadway and Linden when she passed by a transient sitting on the sidewalk. As she walks by, he stands up and, with his pants unzipped, approaches her from behind and lifts up her skirt, rubbing up against her. He then shoves her to the ground.
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"She went to go get food and the next thing you know, she hits the corner and this guy sexually assaulted her," said Rachel Delgado, a hairstylist at the salon.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office originally declined to file felony charges in that case, but new information, including a new witness, could change that.
"New information has been developed and it's being reviewed again by the team that made the original decision, and once we come to a final decision, we'll make it public," said Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón in a recent news conference.
Quinonez said the incidents are not only affecting her employees, but now she fears for the safety of other businesses and customers in the area.
"I think it's really getting to the boiling point now where something needs to be done," said Brooke Berry-Vanderpool, who works at Paper Crane Studio in Inglewood.
Meanwhile, Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson said that he checked in with some of the businesses in the city's East Village area Thursday.
He tweeted about the situation and said he plans to detail immediate public safety actions that are underway, and will share "more comprehensive updates" next week.
The mayor also encouraged residents to visit businesses in the city to show support.
