A Lyle man has been cited for indecent exposure by Austin police after reports that he’d intimately touched himself in the Wal-Mart parking lot Thursday, according to Austin Police Chief Paul Philip.

Philipp said the 31-year-old man was in plain view of customers exiting the main exit of the store, which opened Wednesday. The man, who was a suspect in similar crimes at Cashwise and Target in 2007, allegedly admitted to the act after he was approached by police, the chief said.

The man was seated in a red Chevy Impala parked close to the entrance of the store when an officer approached him. He told police that he’d driven there to buy some string cheese, though couldn’t produce a receipt when asked, according to Philipp.

When told why the officer approached his car and about surveillance cameras outside the store, the man allegedly admitted to touching himself “a bit,” saying that he’d arrived about a half-hour earlier.

He has not been formally charged by prosecutors yet, though was taken to jail to “avoid further criminal activity,” Philipp stated.