On June 6 Riverside Police Department received three separate suspicious person/vehicle reports. One case was delayed 20 minutes before being reported and another case was delayed several weeks as the resident did not report the incident until they had heard that another had occurred.
The suspicious activity is the same in these incidents: an adult man made verbal contact, from his vehicle, with adult women who were walking alone. He engaged them in conversation by stating he was lost or that he was new to the area and needed some new friends. He is described as a male, black, 20-30 years old with, possibly, a Jamaican accent. The male is persistent in talking to the women, however, no physical contact was made, nor did the offender exit his vehicle.
The first incident occurred on the 100 block of Herrick Road at 2:40 p.m., the second on the 300 block of Blythe Road at 7:00 p.m., and the third at the corner of Selborne and Southcote Road in the afternoon. In the third case the exact date is unknown as the incident was reported delayed to the police by 3 weeks; however two were on June 6.
The vehicle he was driving is described as a silver newer model Nissan Sentra. None of the victims were able to get a current license plate. RPD Investigations has distributed this information to neighboring police agencies and thus far have had no response from other communities of similar incidents.
Riverside Police Chief, Thomas Weitzel, wants residents who feel something is suspicious to contact the police immediately or as soon as possible after the incident occurs.
If possible, residents should attempt to get the license plate number of any vehicle involved as that is one piece of information that can lead detectives to the apprehension of an offender.
In these incidents, although no physical contact was made and the offender did not get out of his vehicle, it was still unsettling to our residents. Chief Weitzel wants to encourage residents to report any suspicious activity and gather as much data on the offender and vehicle as possible. However, do not physically approach an alleged offender and try to hold them for the police; the information you gather will help RPD solve the crime. If anyone has any information on these incidents they can report it to Riverside Police by calling 708-447-2127 or, in an emergency, 9-1-1.
This information is not intended to alarm, but to update the community and put out factual information so that residents are kept well-informed about what is taking place in their neighborhoods.