San Mateo Police Nab Drunk Suspected Of Soliciting Teen Girls
SAN MATEO (KCBS) - Facebook posts and tweets helped police nab a drunk who propositioned teenage girls on their way to school, San Mateo police said Thursday.
The investigation began when a 15-year-old girl reported that a drunk man had tried to solicit sex from her on North Claremont Street the morning of February 18.
Detective Sergeant Ryan Monaghan said police located surveillance video of the man, then distributed images of him on Facebook, Twitter and Nixle, a network used by many law enforcement agencies.
"When we sent out the photo, we had two additional 12-year-old victims that happened to see the suspect's photo posted on the Facebook," he said.
Monaghan said police who canvassed the neighborhood quickly learned the suspect's name.
When Roberto "Guadalupe" Micalax found out police were looking for him, the 41-year-old turned himself in. He was booked on suspicion of child annoyance, solicitation of sex in public and assault with the intent to commit a sex crime.
Monaghan said the case shows how, in the age of social media, "all points bulletin" takes on a whole new meaning, a big change from the days of posting flyers on poles.
"Literally with a keystroke we can send out information," he said, reaching "roughly 22,000 people using all these different social media venues."