Elmore County Sheriff's Deputies arrested Yordy Centeno-Melchor, an illegal alien, for attempted kidnapping on Friday.
Elmore County Sheriff Bill Franklin told Elmore Autauga News that around 5:40 p.m. on December 31, in the parking lot of the Boy's Store in Holtville, a 17-year-old female was attempting to move a buggy and was approached by a Hispanic man, later identified as Centeno-Melchor, 31, who told investigators he lives in a trailer in Wetumpka.
Franklin told the outlet, "He told her to get into the vehicle." Centeno-Melchor fled the parking lot without the girl after a passerby noticed the girl looking confused and walked over to her.
Franklin told the outlet Clanton Police officers on Friday located Centeno-Melchor's vehicle, stopped it and detained him.
"We were able to determine it was in fact a black Mitsubishi and displayed a Texas tag. We ran that tag and put out a Be On Look Out (BOLO). Our investigative division worked with patrol and put the BOLO out across the River Region," Sheriff Franklin said.
Elmore County contacted Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and learned that Centeno-Melchor had been deported five times but had continued to cross back into the United States illegally.
"We are not aware of the reasoning for ICE deporting him each time, but we are trying to learn that from ICE. We are working on that now," Franklin told Elmore Autauga News.
A spokesperson for ICE didn't return a request for comment from 1819 News on Monday. Centeno-Melchor's bond has been set at $100,000.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email caleb.taylor@1819News.com.
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