The sheriff’s office later obtained a search warrant for the suspect’s phone, and in his “notes” section he had detailed “what he was going to do,” Franklin said. “He was going to give her $200, and I won’t get into the intricacies of that, but he was obviously trying to coax her to get in the car,” the sheriff explained.
Officials aren’t sure exactly when Melchor wrote the note, but the victim told authorities he showed it to her – possibly as a way to communicate with the girl that he was going to offer her money.
An employee at the store in Holtville where the incident happened shared video footage from the parking lot with authorities, who were able to find a license plate number for the suspect.
Days later, in a county 30 miles north of Elmore, officials stopped a vehicle matching the one at the crime scene and ran its plates, which matched the suspect vehicle. The driver, Melchor, also matched the suspect’s description.
Officials were later able to positively identify the suspect and his prior deportations. They are still working to determine what led Melchor to be deported five separate times.
Elmore County Sheriff Bill Franklin said his office will cooperate with ICE.
Following his arrest, a local woman saw Melchor’s mugshot and reported seeing a man with a similar appearance in the girl’s bathroom of a Walmart.
Melchor has ties to San Antonio, Texas, and Shelby County, Alabama. He was known to drive between those two areas visiting family, the sheriff said.
The suspect may face additional charges if authorities can identify any other victims.
Franklin described his officers as a “great group of guys” who “all have the same plight to keep Elmore County safe.” He added that Elmore County is not a particularly large or small county, but officials “just don’t deal with a lot of” crimes of this nature in the area.
