Grandma Says Man Tried Luring Preschooler With $40 At Gillette Walmart

A man tried bribing a preschool-aged boy to go away with him at a Walmart in Gillette, the boy’s grandmother told police.  

The grandmother, 72, called the Gillette Police Department on Friday evening to report that a man who looked about 60 years old gave her grandson, a 4-year-old boy, $40 at the Walmart store in Gillette moments earlier.  

The grandson told his grandmother what had happened, Brent Wasson, deputy chief of the Gillette Police Department, told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday morning.  

“The grandson told her that (the man) wanted him to go with him,” Wasson recounted.  

The boy still had the $40 after the man left his side.  

The grandmother described the man as a Caucasian male, about 60 years old and about 6 feet tall, wearing an orange T-shirt, Wasson said. Police are reviewing store video of the incident, in which they can see the man interacting with the child, who was standing next to his grandmother.   

“We’re attempting to identify him,” Wasson said.  

Wasson said the grandmother called police from a family member’s home after leaving the store.

Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.