Edinburg man gets fourth indecent exposure conviction

By Joe Beck -- jbeck@nvdaily.com

FRONT ROYAL -- A 54-year old Edinburg man was convicted of indecent exposure for the fourth time Tuesday in a case in which he was arrested while wearing a nightgown in a parked car.

Kenneth Wayne Romick of 461 Massanutten Drive, Edinburg, is scheduled to be sentenced May 22 after being found guilty by Judge Dennis L. Hupp at the conclusion of a bench trial in Warren County Circuit Court.

Romick also pleaded guilty to driving with a revoked license.

Court documents state that Romick was arrested early March 23 in the parking lot of the Hampton Inn on U.S. 522. Deputy William A. Smoot found him lying in the driver's seat of a Dodge Shadow, according to the criminal complaint filed by Smoot.

"The male was wearing a white nightgown in which I could see all of Romick's private parts that were not covered up," Smoot wrote.

Tuesday's conviction was Romick's fourth for indecent exposure. Court documents also list convictions from 2001, 2003 and 2004 in Fairfax County.

Other convictions include two counts of assault, carrying a concealed weapon and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Court records also state he has was arrested in February and March in Washington for various offenses, including indecent exposure.

The events leading to his arrest in Front Royal began the previous night with his arrest for trespassing, according to court records.

A motion to suppress evidence, later withdrawn by defense attorney Peter K. McDermott, states that Smoot and Romick first encountered each other on March 22 around the vacant Robert E. Lee Motel on U.S. 522. Smoot was investigating a report of a suspicious male in the area and found Romick, according to the motion. After questioning Romick, Smoot arrested him and took him to the Warren County Jail where he was released on a bond on a charge of trespassing.