San Diego County Sheriff's deputies (SDSO) are searching for a man who followed and harassed two young girls in San Diego's East County.
The two incidents happened just one day apart and involved young girls walking in their neighborhoods.
The first incident happened on June 29, just before 8:30 a.m., when a 14-year-old girl was walking near Royal Road and Winter Gardens Boulevard in Lakeside, deputies said.
The suspect honked as he drove by the young girl, making a U-turn and pulling over to talk to her, the victim told deputies. He told her she was "too pretty to be walking."
He then asked if she wanted a ride, but she declined, and the man drove away.
The second incident happened the following day on Friday, June 30 around 1 p.m. in the 400 block of Hart Drive in unincorporated El Cajon.
A man, described as being around 25 years old, drove past the teenager and honked his horn. He then drove eastbound toward Victor Street and made a U-turn. When the victim walked into a driveway, the suspect followed her in his vehicle.
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The teen, Reika Gibson, spoke with NBC 7 later that day, saying she wants her story to be heard because she wants others to be aware of such incidents.
"I didn’t know what the heck he was going to do," Gibson said. "If he was going to pull me in his car, take me somewhere, do something to me, hurt me."
According to SDSO, the suspect asked Gibson several personal questions.
"I didn’t know what was going on at the time, so I just looked over to see what he was doing over there," Gibson said. "And he made a U-turn, and he came back, and he drove up to me, and he tried talking to me, asking where I lived and how old I was."
“I was like, 'Oh my God, this guy is probably going to try to kidnap me, pull me in his car,'" she added.
The suspect drove off after seeing a vehicle turn into the driveway behind him.
Detectives looked for witnesses and surveillance video, but could not find any.
The suspect was described as a man between 25 and 30 years old. He has blue eyes, a thin build, a shaved head and unshaven or stubble facial hair. He was driving a newer, four-door sedan.
If you recognize the suspect or have information about this crime, call the Lakeside Sheriff’s Substation at (619) 956-4000 or the Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at (888) 580-8477. Crime Stoppers is offering up to a $1,000 reward to anyone with information that leads to an arrest in this case. Anonymous email and text messages can be sent in by clicking here.
