By Aaron Burgin, The Porterville Recorder
The nightmare for the Porterville community is over as quickly as it began.
Porterville police on Wednesday arrested the second, and final, suspect in a recent rash of attempted child abductions near local schools.
Daniel Segura, 44, of Porterville, was arrested at about noon Wednesday on eastbound Highway 190 just east of Plano Street, Sgt. Duanne Griffin said. Segura was driving a deep brown, 1980s model Ford LTD sedan.
Segura is believed to be the man who allegedly tried to get young female pupils on their way to school into his vehicle on three occasions between March 30 and April 20.
On Tuesday morning, police apprehended Miguel Garcia Fonseca, the suspect in a fourth suspected abduction attempt on Monday.
School administrators, teachers, police and parents expressed relief that the crisis appears to be nearing a conclusion.
The safety of our children is of highest priority, so right now we are relieved, Police Chief Chuck McMillan said.
Local school officials commended police for putting an end to the threat so quickly.
I am very pleased at the swift and thorough action of the Porterville Police Department to hopefully bring this matter to a close, Porterville Unified School District Superintendent John Snavely said. I am a firm believer of innocent until proven guilty, but there are good signs this incident may be resolved and we can at least feel a little bit better about our community at this point.
Porterville and Reedley police officers stopped Segura in the brown car on Highway 190 at 11:50 a.m., and arrested him after an on-scene investigation on two warrants for driving with a suspended license. Porterville Capt. Steve Schnars and Sgt. Mike Blain transported Segura from the scene in an unmarked police vehicle.
Segura's vehicle was towed away and stored as evidence.
Blain said police also recovered a realistic-looking air pistol from the vehicle.
During the course of the investigation, Segura and his car were positively identified as being the suspect and vehicle involved in the kidnapping attempt, Griffin said, reading from a prepared statement.
Neither Griffin nor McMillan would comment as to who identified Segura or the car.
Segura was to be booked at Tulare County Main Jail on three counts of attempted kidnapping, and additional charges could be filed as the investigation continues, Griffin said.
If convicted of the three counts, Segura could face a maximum four-year prison sentence for the first count and an additional 10 months for each subsequent count, said Don Gallian, Tulare County assistant district attorney.
There are fairly significant consequences for attempted abductions, Gallian said, speaking in general terms.
A city under siege :
Between March 30 and Monday, five school-aged girls reported being approached on their way to school by older men in vehicles.
Three of the girls attended schools in the Burton School District on the city's west side, while the other two attended Bartlett Middle School, a Porterville Unified School District campus.
The first four girls told teachers they were approached by a man in an older model brown sedan, while the fifth girl said it was a man in a red truck with a white camper shell.
The first girl told her teachers March 30 that a man in a brown car approached her on her way to Summit Charter Academy. She ran away and the driver fled the scene.
Nearly three weeks elapsed between the March 30 incident and the next on April 19, when a fourth-grade pupil on her way to Oak Grove Elementary School said a man in a brown car approached her near the intersection of San Lucia Avenue and Mathew Street.
On April 20, the two Bartlett pupils ran away from a man who reportedly demanded in Spanish and English that they get in the vehicle near the corner of Henrahan Street and Harrison Avenue. The girls fled to the nearby Sheriff's Department substation.
Finally, on Monday, a 15-year-old ninth-grader at Summit Charter told her teachers that a man in a truck approached her on the corner of Olive Avenue and Newcomb Street.
With each reported abduction attempt, parents became increasingly fearful that the safety of their children was in jeopardy. For three days, the city was seemingly under siege, one parent said.
It was a frightening feeling, said Rita Smith, who picked up her grandson from West Putnam Elementary School Wednesday afternoon. I was pretty worried.
School district officials responded by increasing staff supervision as children left campus during the afternoon, and by teachers revisiting safety lessons with pupils in class.
Police beefed up security around campuses before and after school, and advised parents to take their children to school until the threat subsided. McMillan said officers fielded hundreds of calls from people giving tips since police released a description of the first vehicle Friday.
Officers from Woodlake, Lindsay, Farmersville, Exeter and Reedley police departments and the Tulare County Sheriff's Department assisted Porterville officers with the manhunt.
Police must now file both cases with the Tulare County District Attorney's Office, as both men must be arraigned within 48 hours of their arrests.
I have to tell you, our guys are tired, McMillan said. We are proud of their commitment, but as I said there is still work that needs to be done.
McMillan and school officials admonished students and their parents to not let their guard down in spite of the recent arrests.
We are still going to be out in force to ensure the safety of our students, McMillan said. We want parents and students to still maintain their vigilance in being aware of their surroundings.
Parents, however, are confident that the worst is over.
I feel much better, said Som Sixaya Keth, who said she has three children in Porterville schools. I feel like my kids will be safe.
Contact Aaron Burgin at 784-5000, Ext. 1047, or aburgin@portervillerecorder.com.
This story was published in The Porterville Recorder on April 26, 2007
