Crime & Safety
Runaway Mental Health Patient Accused of Touching Three Kids
Daniel Brickman allegedly touched two kids inside a frozen yogurt shop and another on the street.
Written by Bay City News:
A mental health patient who allegedly accosted three minors in San Carlos last week has been charged with multiple counts of battery, the district attorney said.
Daniel Brickman, 50, was arrested Thursday evening after he allegedly walked into a San Carlos frozen yogurt shop and touched two children sitting at a table with their mother, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.
Brickman apparently touched a 7-year-old boy in the bicep and his 4-year-old sister in the face, Wagstaffe said.
When the mother called to a store employee for help, Brickman fled the scene, the district attorney said.
Outside the store, Brickman encountered a 16-year-old girl and allegedly grabbed her buttocks, Wagstaffe said.
She turned around and screamed, causing the suspect to flee, Wagstaffe said.
Deputies located Brickman near the intersection of San Carlos Avenue and Elm Street and arrested him, the sheriff's office said.
Brickman had apparently walked away from the Cordilleras Mental Health Facility in Redwood City, Wagstaffe said.
The suspect had been housed in an unlocked area of the facility since 2010, when he was placed there after grabbing nurses at another mental health facility in San Mateo, Wagstaffe said.
The district attorney's office is investigating whether Brickman might have stopped taking medication before last week's incident, Wagstaffe said.
Brickman pleaded not guilty to one misdemeanor count of sexual battery and two misdemeanor counts of battery on Friday, Wagstaffe said.
He remains in custody on $10,000 bail.
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