Harassment Arrest

Incident:                              Harassment Arrest

Location:                             1920 Olympic St, Springfield Oregon

Case Number:                   21-2037               

Date/Time:                         March 25^th 2021 / 6:08pm

More Information:          Lt Crolly 541-726-3714

Completed By:                 Sergeant Kirkpatrick

ARRESTED:                          Austin Blake Stewart 24 year old White male of Springfield

CHARGES:                           Physical Harassment

                                                Disorderly Conduct                                       

NARRATIVE OF INCIDENT:  On Thursday March 25^th at 6:08pm an Officer was flagged down by a father who reported a stranger had just pulled his face mask off, and kissed his daughter on the lips inside WINCO.  Just prior to seeing the Officer, the father was searching for the suspect.  During the investigation, the Officer learned that while inside the store, the mother had her 1 ½ year old daughter in her shopping cart.  While the mother glanced away for a brief moment, the suspect leaned down, removed his mask and kissed their daughter on the lips and then departed.  The mother began searching for the suspect, but he had vanished.  She alerted her husband and WINCO staff. 

Officers began searching, and later found Stewart under a blanket on 18^th St.  He was lodged at the Springfield Municipal Jail on the listed charges.

This is the second incident involving crimes against children this week (the first being a kidnapping).  In both cases, the parents did an excellent job working with SPD to apprehend the suspect.  In this case, staff with WINCO were also very helpful in alerting SPD to the event, and providing video footage to help identify the suspect.