Door To Door Solicitor Concerns Area Residents

Area residents are concerned about a suspicious man who was observed by residents talking to children in their neighborhood on Monday afternoon.

The neighborhood group Pecatonica Unfiltered posted a a warning to Pecatonica residents in reference to a man observed going door to door selling books.

Pecatonica resident Dan N Tara Rowe posted:

Beware......

 

Ok so just had this situation happen boys were playing in driveway by house I walked inside for a min and all of a sudden the dog starts barking like crazy not her normal bark... so I look out window quick and some guy is standing there talking to my 4 year olds, so I run outside and was like what you want/doing here dog still barking like crazy and he walks towards me and then stares at the dog I'm like what do want.. finally tells me why he there had an accent could understand him plus dog still going nuts... tell him I not interested in what hes selling to please leave, he like what did I sneak up on you, I said yes you did.. he says well what you think I'm going to do.....

After a short while, the book seller finally left the neighborhood. He was driving a vehicle with silver car Indiana plates. The plate in front window looked like it said 'bookman', according to Rowe.

Other residents mentioned that they witnessed this same man in their neighborhoods in Winnebago and Seward last week.

When asked for his ID, he presented an ID that stated his name was Edzus Kravalis and he is representing a business called Southwestern Advantage. The company sells education books. It should be noted the young man did not make any threats or harm anyone.

While it may be legal to sell and solicit items door to door, conversations between a solicitor and the customer should be limited to adults. Most children are taught at young age that is not inappropriate to talk to strangers, especially adult strangers.

The City of Pecatonica typically lists the names of company's that have applied for and received a peddler's permit on their Facebook page. Mr. Kravelis was issued the required permit according to a post on city's Facebook page.

Again, we stress that no harm was observed, but this would be an excellent teaching lesson for all parents to their children, to remind them to not talk to strangers.

Mr Kravalis commented on the Pecatonica Village hall Facebook Page

Hello everyone in the village of Pecatonica! 👋 I am college student from Latvia and this is my fun summer job here in IL. I am glad to be here and help families with educational materials 😊 Feel free to contact me on FB any time. See you soon