Australian DJ charged after allegedly trying to snatch toddler on San Francisco street

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/apr/17/australian-dj-charged-after-allegedly-trying-to-snatch-toddler-on-san-francisco-street

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An Australian DJ has been charged with kidnapping and child endangerment after he was caught by bystanders when he allegedly attempted to snatch a two-year-old boy on a busy San Francisco street.

Roscoe Bradley Holyoake, a 34-year-old from Perth known as DJ Roski, is being held at the San Francisco county jail on a US$500,000 (A$700,000) bond.

Police say a mother reported that Holyoake tried to grab her son while they were walking near the corner of Market and Noe streets just after midday on Friday. She was holding her son’s hand and carrying a baby in a front pack.

Bystanders described to the San Francisco television station KTVU how Holyoake had the toddler in his arms and the mother, who was screaming, “Police, police, help me,” refused to let her son go.

A local couple, Adam and Sabrina Walker, were in the vicinity with their own four-year-old son and said they had watched as Holyoake released the boy after the struggle, smiled, and then tried to run away.

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Walker, a dentist, said he and other bystanders had chased after Holyoake on foot. “I think my fatherly instincts kicked in and I did what I thought was right,” Walker told KTVU.

Holyoake gave up after a short chase, Walker said. “He put his hands up, and said, ‘All right, I’m done,’ and he didn’t fight back, didn’t struggle, just obeyed my commands, walked to the sidewalk and put his hands on the wall and got on his knees.”

Sabrina Walker stayed with the distraught mother and her children. “Out in broad daylight, when it’s so crowded, this was a very, very scary experience,” she said.

Holyoake, who was a resident DJ at Connections nightclub in Perth, has worked on RTR FM’s All Things Queer program. In December he performed at the wrap party for the entertainer Tim Minchin’s new mini-series Upright, describing it on his website as an “absolute pleasure”.