Willows, CA – Saturday, July 6, 2019, Glenn County Sheriff’s Deputies were dispatched to the intersection of North Tehama and West Wood Streets in Willows around 8:00 p.m. for a report of man driving a red car who tried to abduct two teenage girls. A Glenn County Sheriff’s Deputy contacted two teenaged females, 14 years of age and 15 years of age, in the area. The girls reported a man driving a red car, who was approximately 40 years of age, pulled up next to them, began speaking in a foreign language and tried to get them to get in his vehicle. The girls refused to do so and told the man to leave. The man unbuckled his seatbelt and started to get out of his car but sped off when he saw one of the girls calling someone on her cell phone. One of the juveniles used a cell phone to photograph the vehicle as it was driving away, and began to make a scene by throwing her hands in the air to attract the attention of passersby. The Juveniles were able to provide the photograph of the vehicle and its license plate to the Glenn County Sheriff’s Deputy.
Glenn County Sheriff’s Deputies located the vehicle from the photograph parked behind St. Monica’s Church in Willows at approximately 9:00 p.m. The Deputies contact a man matching the description of the suspect at a residence near the Church (433 Pacific St Willows, CA). When Deputies attempted to speak with the man regarding the incident, he provided them with a false name. Deputies were able to determine the man’s true identity, 42 year old Miguel Martinez Hernandez of Orland, CA. Hernandez also was found to have an outstanding warrant for his arrest out of Colusa County for 288 P.C., Annoying or Molesting a Child.
Glenn County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested Hernandez for 148.9 P.C Providing False Information to a Peace Officer, and pursuant to the outstanding Arrest Warrant out of Colusa County. The case was referred to the Glenn County District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.
The Glenn County Sheriff’s Office attributes the successful apprehension of the suspect and safety of the public to the quick thinking of the juveniles who used their cell phones to both deter the suspect from any further action and to identify the vehicle.
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