By Matthias Gafni, Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif.
Nov. 9–BAY POINT — Contra Costa County sheriff’s deputies arrested a man Thursday in connection with a string of suspicious activities involving at least four girls and possibly a number of others near two Bay Point elementary schools.
Brent Bockover, 39, of Oakley was arrested on suspicion of attempted kidnapping and attempted child molestation, sheriff’s spokesman Jimmy Lee said.
Bockover was being held in lieu of $1 million bail at County Jail in Martinez.
Someone called the sheriff’s office about 11:15 a.m. Thursday and reported that a man in a car was harassing a woman who was walking in the area of Hanlon Way and Loftus Road in Bay Point.
A special enforcement team of deputies responded and stopped Bockover in Pittsburg.
The arrest of a suspect is significant, said sheriff’s Capt. Dan Terry. “In identifying him and taking him off the streets, the Bay Point community is safer today,” he said.
The investigation began when a man attempted to lure the girls into his red pickup by asking for directions with his passenger door open. The man, who in one instance exposed himself to a girl, has sought out girls ages 6 to 13, from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Shore Acres neighborhood, officials said.
The sheriff’s office distributed composite sketches of the suspect to the media and notified schools nearby of the incidents, and Terry thanked residents for helping in the investigation.
The investigation is continuing, including work with other agencies to determine
whether Bockover is linked to any other cases.
Meanwhile, Sherree Gilmour, a Bay Point mother of three and Shore Acres resident, is helping organize a community march Saturday to keep parents vigilant.
“If you walk down the street you don’t see any kids out, and we have a lot of kids here. People just don’t know what to do,” she said.
Gilmour expects about 300 people to march through the neighborhood as part of Shore Acres Community March for Awareness. She has passed out fliers in English and Spanish throughout the largely Latino neighborhood.
“The most effective thing a community can do is come together to face these challenges. If everyone was in a vacuum and no one reported anything, we couldn’t do anything about it,” Lee said.
The first suspicious report came Oct. 17, when four girls in the Bay Point area reported that a man attempted to lure them into his vehicle. Two days later, the man was spotted speaking to a 6-year-old near Rio Vista Elementary School. On Oct. 24, the man approached two girls near Shore Acres Elementary School.
Since an initial media report appeared, Lee said more individuals came forward reporting similar incidents.
Reach Matthias Gafni at 925-779-7174 or [email protected].
COMMUNITY MARCH
–WHAT: Shore Acres Community March for Awareness
–WHEN: 6 p.m. Saturday
–WHERE: Starts at Shop & Save parking lot, 620 Port Chicago Highway; ends at Wharf Drive near Rio Vista Elementary
–WHO: Open to the public; march will be held rain or shine
–CONTACT: 925-705-1106 or 925-261-0931
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