Man admits to lewd acts

Newport Beach beachfront homes offer a variety of scenery — sunrises and sunsets off the horizon, waves crashing and surfers catching air near The Wedge, and ... a man exposing himself?

That’s what one homeowner was privy to Friday morning when he called police and said he saw a man exit his car in only his boxer shorts and a T-shirt and walk to the sand just off G Street in Newport Beach and start masturbating, police said.

At about 9:30 a.m. Friday, a resident in the 1500 block of East Oceanfront Boulevard near G Street told police that a young man got out of his car, with his privates already out of his boxers in plain view for locals, and walked to the beach and started masturbating.

By the time police arrived the man had already gotten back into his car and left, said Sgt. Evan Sailor.

A witness description of the car led police to pull over Manvir Sandher, 19, of Fountain Valley near Eighth Street and West Balboa Boulevard, Sailor said.

Sailor said Sandher matched the suspect’s description — a man wearing only boxers and a T-shirt. Because officers did not actually witness Sandher masturbating, they brought the witness over, who positively identified Sandher as the suspect, Sailor said.

“Later the guy admitted that he was the one who masturbated,” Sailor said. Sandher was taken into custody and released from jail hours later after paying $500 bail, officials said.

Police said it did not appear that Sandher was under the influence of drugs or alcohol or mentally unstable when they arrested him; police also declined to speculate what prompted his alleged actions.