Full Notification

Mountain View Police Department has been working with San Mateo Police Department, who just published the press release below, on a multi-agency and multi-jurisdictional case involving Suspect Christopher Miller. If you have any additional information about the suspect, please contact us at 650-903-6344 and reference case number 13-5005. Remember, you can always provide us with anonymous messages via text to 274637. Be sure to include “mvtips” in the body of your message.

Recuerde, usted siempre puede mandar mensajes anónimos a través de texto al 274637. Asegúrese de incluir “mvtips” en el cuerpo del mensaje.

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JOINT MEDIA RELEASE / COMMUNITY ALERT
http://local.nixle.com/alert/5063557/

MOUNTAIN VIEW POLICE DEPARTMENT SAN MATEO POLICE DEPARTMENT UNION CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT

Mountain View Police earlier this month arrested registered sex offender Christopher Miller for lewd behavior toward two young children at a Mountain View Walmart. Other Police Agencies have now identified the 70 year old San Jose man as a suspect in similar behavior in a fast food restaurant in Union City and the sex assault of a child in a San Mateo book store.

In all the cases, the suspect wore a fisherman style hat, evidence that helped lead police toward an arrest.

On Sunday June 23rd, at about 3pm, a 10 year-old female victim was lured away to an isolated area and attacked in a Barnes & Noble Store in San Mateo. During the subsequent investigation, San Mateo Police Detectives sent photos and video out to the media, visited numerous local sex offenders, and handled a volume of tips from the community in an attempt to locate and identify this suspect.

On Thursday July 25th, at about 4:30 pm, a male subject matching the description of the Barnes & Noble Case exposed himself to a mother and three young females in a Burger King Restaurant on Alvarado Niles Road in Union City. Union City Police quickly recognized the similarity to the SMPD case and the two agencies have been working collaboratively to identify a suspect.

Information about this case and suspect was shared by both agencies via a Law Enforcement information flyer network.

On Saturday, September 7th at about 4:29PM, a similarly described suspect was confronted by a mother in a Walmart Store after touching himself inappropriately while staring at her two female children. The mother began shouting at Miller and informed a Walmart employee about the incident.

Because the mother brought the actions of Miller to the attention of a Walmart employee, Mountain View Police was then contacted by a loss prevention team member who provided a description of Miller’s vehicle, license plate and direction of travel. This enabled Mountain View officers to locate and stop the suspect’s vehicle as he attempted to leave the scene.

During the course of their investigation, Mountain View Police quickly realized that the suspect in their case matched the description of the San Mateo and Union City Police Department cases, including the distinctive “fisherman” Style hat worn by the suspect in all three incidents.

The suspect was identified as Christopher Miller, a 70 year-old Registered Sex Offender out of San Jose, CA. Miller was subsequently arrested by Mountain View Police for 647.6 of the California Penal Code – Annoying or Molesting a Child under 18 with prior PC 288(A). Miller was booked into Santa Clara County Jail and remains in custody.

The San Mateo and Union City Police Departments spent the following week conducting follow up investigation to confirm their suspicions of Miller as the suspect in their cases. Information was held back from media release on this incident as detectives diligently completed their cases for these heinous crimes.

San Mateo Police Detectives have positively identified Miller as the suspect in the assault that occurred at Barnes & Noble in San Mateo – charges are pending.

Union City police believe Christopher Miller to the suspect in their incident at Burger King. Union City’s investigation has been forwarded to the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office for charges.

To the Public – There may be other unreported incidents involving this suspect - Investigators are aware that there may be similar, unreported incidents in nearby jurisdictions. If you have information related to a similar incident, you are encouraged to contact that agency of jurisdiction to make sure your local law enforcement agency is aware.

Mountain View Police – 650-903-6395 and reference case number 13-5005 for incidents involving this suspect.

San Mateo Police Investigations – 650-522-7650

Union City Police Investigations – 510-675-5220 (Det. Wu)

MEDIA FOLLOW-UP – POINTS OF CONTACT:

Mountain View Police – PIO Lt. Ted Rodgers – 650-903-6344 [email protected]

San Mateo Police – PIO Sgt. Dave Norris – 650-522-7626 [email protected]

Union City Police – Cmdr. Ben Horner – 510-675-5225 [email protected]

Actual video footage from the Barnes & Noble incident is available here via YouTube:http://youtu.be/ejqQEcQFJMA .

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SAFETY TIPS on STRANGER DANGER:
-Know where your children are at all times. Make it a rule that your children must ask permission or check in with you before going anywhere. Give your children your work and cell phone numbers so they can reach you at all times.
-Point out safe places. Show your children safe places to play, safe roads and paths to take, and safe places to go if there’s trouble.
-Teach children to trust their instincts. Explain that if they ever feel scared or uncomfortable, they should get away as fast as they can and tell an adult. Tell them that sometimes adults they know may make them feel uncomfortable, and they should still get away as fast as possible and tell another adult what happened. Reassure children that you will help them when they need it.
-Teach your children to be assertive. Make sure they know that it’s okay to say no to an adult and to run away from adults in dangerous situations.
-Encourage your children to play with others. There’s safety in numbers!
-More tips and information on Stranger Danger are available here:http://sanmateopd.org/2013/03/28/what-to-teach-kids-about-strangers-from-the-national-crime-prevention-council/.