Just days after an internet post and photograph alleging that a man was stalking a woman inside of the Manteca Wal-Mart went viral, the man portrayed in the photograph walked into the Manteca Police Department to try and clear his name.
And while the investigation into what transpired inside of the store is still ongoing, investigators are now saying that his version of events appears to check out up to this point.
Thousands of people shared the photograph and accompanying story of the unidentified man that allegedly followed a woman through the store and gave her reason enough to notify store officials of what she perceived as erratic behavior and a possible attempt at an abduction or a human trafficking scenario. After leaving the story under the accompaniment of a Wal-Mart employee, the post said, the same man allegedly tried to run her off the road which prompted her to file a report with the Manteca Police Department the following day.
But not before she posted the photograph on Facebook, and it spread like wildfire.
According to Manteca Police Department Sergeant Mike Aguilar, the man and his wife came in to talk about the matter and answer any questions that could shed light into the investigation. Part of the original post alleged that this was the same man who chased a woman to her vehicle at the Modesto mall weeks ago, but Aguilar said the man who came in was able to give sufficient evidence to prove that he was not at the mall at the time that the incident occurred.
“We do want people to remain vigilant when they’re out in public, and we don’t want to seem like we’re trying to discredit what this woman says happened or minimize how she may have felt while it was happening,” Aguilar said. “But I can say that from the video that we have reviewed so far to this point, the video is in line with what he told us.”
“There is still more footage that needs to be reviewed and we’re willing to take any information that anybody may have on this and incorporate that into the investigation. We don’t want to have people second-guessing themselves, and we want people to remain vigilant as much as possible.”
According to a post that was put out on the City of Manteca’s official Facebook page, no reports of any attempting kidnapping were ever made to the Manteca Police Department. The man claimed he was holding his wife’s place in line at the cash register when he noticed that he was being photographed.
Aguilar said that while it appears to be differing perspectives on what happened – some of which is corroborated by surveillance footage that has been reviewed – he encourages anybody who feels that they’re being followed or possibly the subject of something untoward to notify not just the people around them immediately, but also the police.
“If somebody is in this situation we encourage them to notify as many people in the store as possible as to what is happening and to call the police immediately,” Aguilar said. “We caution people to go right to social media and instead contact their local law enforcement and allowing them to investigate these matters as a way to maintain the integrity of the investigation.”