A local mother said the same man deputies warned was trying to lure women in January approached her outside the Palatka Mall Monday.
RELATED: Putnam County deputies warn public about man targeting women in Palatka
Casey Holt told Action News Jax he was hiding behind the columns when she was walking her family into the movie theater.
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She described, “At first he wanted to use my phone to call a taxi, then it turned into his girlfriend and then he’s standing there waiting on someone to pick him up.”
The mom said he continued pushing after her family was settled in the theater and she was headed out.
Holt explained, “I wouldn’t get close to him and I was kind of going towards my car and as I got more in front of him where nobody else was around. Then he stepped out again and asked about my phone.”
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She claimed he was there again when she came back for pickup after the movies.
“This guy just came out of the woods. I don’t know where he was at what he was doing but he just came out of the woods out of the middle of nowhere,” she said.
According to Holt, she recognized the man as the same one deputies said was attempting to lure women earlier in the year.
In January, Action News Jax obtained exclusive video that shows the man putting his hands on a female employee in the downtown marketplace.
Holt said she contacted police and was told they couldn’t do anything because he didn’t break any laws.
She said, “What would have happened if I would have gotten close to him that’s what scares me, especially when my kids are with me.”
Action News Jax reached out to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.
A spokesperson said the Palatka Police Department responded to the call.
Tuesday, the newsroom was still waiting for a response from the police department.