The story of Friday's thwarted, broad-daylight kidnapping in the Castro neighborhood continues to be way strange, and now we have a suspect with some public social media accounts.
Roscoe Holyoake, 34, has been identified by the SFPD as the suspect in the attempted toddler kidnapping, and as Scenestr reports, Holyoake is a well known Perth-based DJ who most recently closed out Sydney Mardi Gras with a set and DJ'd at a festival called Joondalup just a week ago.
As ABC 7 reports via witnesses Adam and Sabrina Walker, Holyoake allegedly grabbed the two-year-old boy and began running down the street with him, as the toddler's mother screamed for police. Then, a half block away, Holyoake abruptly stopped, the Walkers said, put the child down, smiled at onlookers, and began sprinting off. Adam Walker tells ABC 7, "Without thinking I took off running after him."
Holyoake apparently hosts a radio show in addition to his DJ career, and he goes by the name DJ Roski. His public Instagram account shows him at various club dates, and circulating in the Australian LGBTQ scene and at multiple years' Mardi Gras celebrations in Sydney.
The incident occurred near 17th and Castro Streets, at the busy intersection beside Jane Warner Plaza and Orphan Andy's diner. As Hoodline reported Monday, the diner's surveillance cameras apparently have footage of the incident.
Initial reports were quick to say that the suspect looked "clean cut," and Orphan Andy's owner Bill Piung said, "The suspect was someone you would never give a second look to."
The motive and details surround the case remain to be understood, and it's a weird one!
As of Monday, Holyoake remained in custody on $500,000 bail.
Update: The Examiner obtained the following video of the arrest taking place on Noe Street, between 17th and Market, where the suspect evidently ran before being caught by bystanders.
