Witness: Jets' Kellen Winslow Jr. was exposed, in lewd act in his car

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 9:08 p.m. ET

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The arrest of New York Jets tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. last November on a drug charge was triggered by a complaint from a woman who thought she saw the player masturbating in his vehicle in a store parking lot, NJ.com reported Friday.

The report from East Hanover, N.J., police shows police responded to a Nov. 19 call from a woman who said she had parked her vehicle near a black Cadillac Escalade in the lot. A man later identified as Winslow was inside the Escalade, which had its driver-side window rolled down.

According to the police report, the woman spoke briefly to Winslow, 30, at which time she observed that the athlete's genitals were exposed. After arriving as a result of her phone call, a police officer found Winslow allegedly "slouched in his seat and moving around" but not exposed. When the officer asked Winslow what he was doing, Winslow said he was lost.

The officer noticed containers of Vaseline and plastic bags marked "Mr. Happy" and empty plastic containers of "Funky Monkey" in the vehicle, the report said. Winslow allegedly told police he smoked the "Mr. Happy" and "Funky Monkey" at his home to relax because the NFL doesn't drug test for it, and he consented to a vehicle search.

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Items seized were sent to a lab for testing, resulting in a charge of possession of synthetic marijuana filed Dec. 30. Winslow pleaded not guilty before a judge in Superior Court in Morristown, N.J., last week.

A statement from Winslow's publicist disputed the account of the incident in the police report:

"Kellen pulled over to a parking lot to smoke what he thought at the time was a legal substance. He changed his clothes in his vehicle as not to smell like smoke when he returned home. There was absolutely nothing inappropriate that took place and if there was police would have investigated further and charged Kellen which they did not. This will be the only time we will comment on this unfounded and ridiculous claim," the statement said.

Winslow was suspended four games for violating the league's policy on PEDs in October, and returned for the Week 11 game at Buffalo, just two days before this latest incident.

Winslow was drafted by Cleveland in the first round of the 2004 draft and has played nine seasons with Cleveland, Tampa Bay, New England and the Jets, catching 469 passes for 5,236 yards and 25 touchdowns. He had 31 receptions for 388 yards and a pair of scores for the Jets this season.