Suspicious Walmart Employee Alerts Police To Shopper With Obscene Material
Sonora, CA – A Walmart employee noticed a suspicious man with obscene material and notified police, which ended in the arrest of a Sierra Village man who is already on the registered sex offender list.
The clerk reported suspicious activity at the photo center kiosk Tuesday (3/11) evening when they saw a customer, later identified as 58-year-old John Stanley Oberwager, trying to print obscene material depicting a minor. The employee told arriving officers that Oberwager had already left the store after becoming nervous about the employee’s attention. Through the store’s surveillance cameras, officers were able to identify Oberwager.
The next day, Wednesday (3/12) afternoon, police searched his Sierra Village home. A short time later, while heading home, Oberwager was pulled over in the Soulsbyville area and handcuffed for felony possession of obscene material depicting a minor and unlawful sexual acts. SPD spokesperson Detective Thomas Brickley added, “Officers were able to recover the photographs that the suspect was attempting to print out at Walmart. Those were recovered as evidence, and we located additional evidence at his residence during the execution of the search warrant, which is still being processed.”
Oberwager’s bail was enhanced by the court to $100,000 due to his being a registered sex offender. Police spokesperson Detective Thomas Brickley revealed that in 1992, Oberwager was convicted of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14. He added, “This case remains open, and investigations are ongoing. No additional information is available at this time.”
