MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Some women in the Vollintine-Evergreen area are nervous about walking outside by themselves after at least four women were approached and followed by a man near the Midtown Greenline this week
One woman said the man also exposed himself.
The most recent incident happened Tuesday near Tutwiler and Avalon. The victim, who did not want to be identified, said she was walking her dogs along the V & E Greenline when a man started following her and continued to follow her on to Tutwiler hiding behind some trees.
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She said a good Samaritan helped her get home safely and she was able to call police. Her husband got a picture of the man walking down their street later that day.
“I asked another guy to follow me home in his truck. Once I got home, I saw the guy looking down the street to see which house I entered,” said the woman.
The woman posted her story to Nextdoor, and three other women replied and said they had been approached and followed by the same man this week. One woman said he exposed himself to her two days in a row while she was pushing her baby’s stroller, and both times she called police.
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This comes nearly three months after a man was arrested for indecent exposure in the same neighborhood.
Police said 26-year-old Santonio Cook exposed himself to a woman walking on North Avalon near the Greenline and followed her down Faxon, causing her to fear for her life.
The victim, who did not want to be identified, said she ran and hid on a friend’s front porch and called 911 when she saw Cook turn around and head toward the home.
“He followed me and came back after I thought he had gone, and that really freaked me out because I didn’t know if it was going to turn into something worse,” she said.
She said she was able to snap pictures of Cook while she waited for police and identified him when officers took him into custody.
“He had very distinctive pants on to identify to police,” she said.
Police said a month later, Cook was arrested after he exposed himself to another woman less than a half-mile away on Stonewall Street. Cook is out of jail on bond.
The woman we talked said she didn’t know if Cook was the same person captured on camera this week but wanted to share her story with the other women in her neighborhood.
She said she tries to avoid the area where she was confronted by Cook but is walking again and taking extra safety precautions.
“I have a little alarm I wear when I go out, so if I see someone creeping, I just pull the alarm. I haven’t had to use that, thankfully,” she said.
If you have any information that can help police, call Crime Stoppers at 901-528-CASH.
