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At this writing, a search of the Boulder Daily Camera website for the name Ronnie Darnell doesn’t score a hit. But Darnell, who until recently delivered the Daily Camera, is making news elsewhere — for allegedly exposing himself while dropping off papers.
Oh yeah: He’s apparently done this kind of thing for a year.
Darnell is a registered sex offender, with a listing on the Colorado Bureau of Investigation website. According to the Greeley Tribune, his sex-crime history began in February 1987, when he entered a guilty plea on a misdemeanor count of — you guessed it — indecent exposure. He copped to the same charge in 2010 in Boulder County. And in between, circa 1997, he confessed to sexual assault on a child.
Fortunately, no kids appear to have been harmed this time around — but multiple clerks at a 7-Eleven in Erie may never be quite the same. The Tribune, citing an arrest affidavit, quotes an employee who told cops that when she was assigned to the late shift, Darnell showed off his Little Ronnie through the opening of his pajama pants every time he stopped in — although there were occasionally differences in presentation. For instance, he sometimes wore what she described as “pearly beads” on his tool.
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A second staffer only saw Darnell display his flesh once, although she noted that he typically had an erection.
Over the past year, the employee most frequently subjected to Darnell’s hobby tried to ignore what he was doing, the affidavit states. But on February 13, the owner decided enough was enough, telling him to leave the store and stay away permanently.
Today, Darnell, who’s been cooling his equipment in Weld County Jail, is expected in court to formally hear the charges against him. As such, he’ll continue to make news, as opposed to delivering it.
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More from our Colorado Crimes archive: “Richard Troupe charged with dropping trou at Burger King, asking staffer to hold his Whopper.”
