By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – Authorities in St. John Parish on Thursday arrested an Oregon man accused of masturbating while dining at a local restaurant, said a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office.

Antonio Rojas, 35, of McMinnville, Ore., was apprehended around 8:45 p.m. after he left the restaurant, located in the 500 block of West Airline Highway, said Capt. Dane Clement, public information officer for the Sheriff’s Office.

According to a report on the incident, an employee of the restaurant witnessed Rojas masturbating while sitting in a booth at the restaurant. When Rojas noticed he was spotted, the employee said he got up and left the restaurant. Clement did not reveal the name of the restaurant where the incident took place.

Clement said Rojas told arresting deputies he was staying in the area while working on an unspecified job. Rojas was booked into the Sherman Walker Correctional Facility in LaPlace on obscenity charges. Clement said Rojas remains in jail in lieu of a $6,500 bond.