Cops: Report that men tried to buy child at store is unfounded

COVINA, Calif. - Police say a report that two men allegedly attempted to purchase a 2-year-old boy at a market in Covina, Calif. is unfounded and say the incident was just a misunderstanding, reports CBS Los Angeles.

Authorities said last week that they were looking for two men believed to have offered a woman $100 for her 2-year-old son while she was stopping.

But on Friday, authorities were contacted by the men involved in the incident, who reportedly said they were embarrassed after seeing the story on local media and wanted to eplain their side of the story.

The 34-year-old woman told police she and her son were approached in the store by a man who made several complimentary statements about how beautiful she and her son were. She reportedly told authorities the man asked her if she wanted to sell her son, and she said no. When she left the market, she reportedly told police she found the man parked next to her vehicle with another man in the passenger's seat.

The woman told police she asked the man to leave them alone and he got out of his car, took a $100 bill from his pocket and asked, "Can I buy your son?"

The woman told police the men insisted she keep the money and dropped it in her shopping cart before driving away.

One of the men - Rolando Garcia - also spoke to CBS Los Angeles and said he was shopping at the market with his business partner and while shopping, he saw the mother and son and offered compliments on how beautiful her son was. He went on to explain the child resembled his own son at that age.

After purchasing items and returning to his car, Garcia said he noticed the woman and son were parked next to his vehicle.

He said he saw this as a sign to be generous, and proceeded to remove a $100 bill and said: "Please take and use it to buy your son something."

He said the woman refused to take the money multiple times, so he left it as what he described a "good deed" and drove away from the market.

Garcia told the station his trucking company had a great year and he felt blessed so he just wanted to give the mother a gift.

According to the station, police found out from acquaintances that Garcia is a very generous man and what happened at the store was not out of his character.

"Everything checks out. He's just a kind man giving some money to a family he felt needed it," said Covina Police Department Officer Gregg Peterson.

Garcia told the station he doesn't plan to stop giving out money and says he has his own children and definitely does not need any more.

"I laugh about it because, look, I have two kids and they are plenty. They keep me pretty busy," said Garcia.

Police spoke to the mother of the child who made the original complaint and she agreed it could have all been a huge misunderstanding.