Man Identified in Costco 'Child Annoyance' Investigation

By Bay City News Service:

South San Francisco police said Wednesday that they have identified a suspect in a child annoyance incident that occurred at a Costco earlier this month and have forwarded the information to prosecutors for review.

The incident occurred on Nov. 8 around 2:20 p.m. at the Costco at 1600 El Camino Real.

Police said an unidentified man approached a 2-year-old girl in a shopping aisle, patted her head and said, “Come over here” while making a circular motion with his right hand.

The girl’s mother was within 15 feet of the girl when this occurred. Police said the man immediately walked away from the girl when he noticed her mother nearby, and he left the store without purchasing anything.

After the incident police posted a photo of the suspect on the department’s web page and sent out requests for help to the community through Twitter.

On Nov. 19, they received an anonymous tip about the suspect’s identity and contacted a 44-year-old South San Francisco man.

The man gave police a detailed voluntary statement about the incident, which has been forwarded to prosecutors for review.