A 21-year-old door-to-door salesman has been arrested in western Colorado after allegedly exposing himself to several young girls who were inside a family home he had asked to enter to use the bathroom.
According to the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were called to a house in a residential area along State Highway 340, between Grand Junction and Fruita, at around 6:45pm on Thursday. The man, named by the sheriff’s office as Koleman Barns, had earlier approached the homeowner about a product he was selling before leaving. He later returned to the property and asked to use the bathroom, and was allowed inside.
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While he was in the house, several primary school-aged girls reported that he exposed himself and was seen touching himself in front of them, the sheriff’s office said. Deputies arrested Barns at the scene and, according to KKCO 11 News, booked him into the Mesa County Detention Facility on a single count of indecent exposure, a class 6 felony under Colorado law. The local outlet WesternSlopeNow.com reported that he was taken into custody without incident.
Barns appeared in court on Friday for an initial advisement hearing, at which his bond was set at $50,000, payable in cash only. He had not posted bond as of the latest update and is due to be formally charged on Wednesday.
Authorities described Barns as a man from Utah, though online public records list him as a resident of Edmond, Oklahoma, with relatives living in Utah, between Provo and Salt Lake City. The sheriff’s office said it was aware of no other criminal cases involving him, and detectives said their investigation into the incident was continuing.
In its statement, the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office used the case to issue a word of caution to the public, advising residents that the safest course is to “avoid allowing anyone you don’t know inside your home.”
As with any criminal matter, the allegations against Barns have not been tested in court, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. He is not reported to have entered a plea.
