(((((Jan))))) It sounds like he was creepy. I would have ignored him, also. You do get a bunch of scarey people in the bad parts of the city so no,it's not you with a sign over your head.
As far as I'm concerned, you cannot trust anybody you meet on the street and it doesn't matter if they look like he did or if they were in a nice suit, carrying a brief case. But his kind are a lot scarier looking and smelling.
You are right when you said he could have gone into one of the stores. He could have asked to use a phone to dial 911 if it were a case of needing any kind of real help.
I think you did the right thing.