Tupelo man charged with felony indecent exposure, again

WILLIAM MOORE, Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo
·2 min read
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TUPELO – A man already out on bond for exposing himself in public last month has been arrested again on the same charge.

Tupelo police responded on May 19 to a call of an individual exposing himself in the West Main Street area. When officers arrived, the suspect fled on foot. After a short pursuit, police took the suspect into custody.

Derek Kimble, 30, of Boggan Drive, Tupelo, was charged with indecent exposure-third offense, a felony, and public intoxication.

During Kimble's initial appearance, Tupelo Municipal Court Judge Jay Weir ordered him held without bond.

At the time of this arrest, Kimble was free on a $50,000 bond for a separate felony indecent exposure charge from April. Because of the new charge, Judge Weir revoked the previous bond. Both cases will be presented to the Lee County Grand Jury.

On April 15, police responded to the Robins Street area for a report of a Black male exposing himself. After a short pursuit, police took Kimble into custody and charged him with indecent exposure-third offense.

Under state law, indecent exposure is a misdemeanor. But a third conviction within a five-year period is a felony, with a sentence of up to five years in the penitentiary possible.

Kimble’s run-ins with the law are not limited to simply dropping his pants in public.

In August 2020, a naked Kimble (then 26) walked into a Lee Acres home as the family, including a 5-year-old child, was preparing for their evening meal. The homeowner confronted Kimble, who ran from the house. Police found Kimble’s clothes but not Kimble.

Security camera footage helped investigators identify Kimble, who was arrested days later on a Mississippi Department of Corrections parole violation.

He was indicted in March 2021 for breaking and entering a house and indecent exposure. In October 2022, the charge was reduced to misdemeanor trespassing and Kimble was fined $250 and given a suspended six-month sentence.

In the summer of 2017, then 23-year-old Kimble was arrested and charged with voyeurism after he was caught peeping through the window of a woman’s South Highland Drive residence. He pleaded guilty the next year and was sentenced to three years of house arrest, followed by two years of post-release supervision.