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Well, he was simply trying to engage in "intergenerational sex".

Well, he was simply trying to engage in "intergenerational sex".

Hey! Don't give the Leftists any ideas. You know how they love to use words to make things seem less threatening.

Hunt for Samantha's Killer Leads to Arrest, Police Say
Pictured at left, a 1999 photo of Alejandro Avila, 27, who was arrested as part of the investigation into the death of 5-year-old Samantha Runnion. Avila was arrested after search warrants were served overnight at an apartment complex not far from where the girl's body was found. Police promise to release more information at 6pm.

Avila Tried for Molestation in 2000
Avila was accused two years ago with molesting two girls under the age of 14.
Samantha's Killer May Have Approached Others
Sisters say a man fitting the description of the suspect that killed 5-year-old Samantha may have approached them a month earlier.

STANTON, Calif. (AP) 7.19.02, 11:30a -- A man was arrested today for investigation of the kidnap-murder of 5-year-old Samantha Runnion after an intense manhunt that narrowed the focus of the search within days of her abduction.
Alejandro Avila, 27, had been detained since Thursday and was arrested at 9:55 a.m. today, minutes before Orange County Sheriff Michael Carona made the announcement.

Avila was arrested after search warrants were served overnight at an apartment complex near Lake Elsinore in Riverside County, not far from where the girl's body was found Tuesday near Highway 74, a route connecting the two counties.

Carona said the arrest "in no way concludes this investigation." He said investigators received more than 2,000 tips from the public and collected "a great amount of forensic data" from the scene.

The sheriff took no questions from reporters and said he would release more details about the arrest at a 6 p.m. press conference.

Assistant Orange County Sheriff George Jaramillo said the girl's mother, Erin Runnion, 27, was grieving and "arresting the right guy or anybody doesn't change that reality."

Avila was charged two years ago with molesting two girls under the age of 14, but was acquitted by a Riverside County jury, said Deputy District Attorney Paul Dickerson.

"I felt the guy was guilty, and did everything I could to try and get him convicted," Dickerson said. He did not have details of that case.

The Los Angeles Times reported on its Web site that Avila, in an interview before his arrest, denied involvement in the girl's kidnapping and murder and told detectives he was at a mall in Ontario Monday evening when the girl was abducted. Avila said detectives told him they found fibers on the body that are considered key evidence.

The announcement was made after Riverside County Sheriff-elect Bob Doyle released a dramatic 911 tape of a male caller reporting finding the body. Authorities have said hang gliders spotted it near a launch site, but have not identified them.

The caller, who identified himself as "Justin," told the operator in at least two calls that he was scared and was going to his nearby home in a gated community and would call back.

"I am so scared, it was a little kid. I'm sorry, but I have a 3-year-old son," the caller told the 911 operator.

"It was a baby, I think it might have been the little girl who has been on the news," the caller said.

The tape was edited by investigators to protect personal information.

The arrest came during an extensive dragnet following Samantha's abduction.

The girl and a 5-year-old friend were playing only about 150 feet from Samantha's front door in a complex of Stanton townhomes Monday evening when a man drove up in a two-door light green car after making a U-turn. The man got out and asked for help finding his puppy, then took off with the kicking and screaming girl.

Samantha's nude body was discovered Tuesday afternoon along Highway 74 on the edge of the Cleveland National Forest, about 50 miles from Stanton.

An autopsy revealed the girl was alive for several hours after she was snatched and was killed sometime Tuesday by asphyxiation.

Carona said earlier that warrants were served at four locations, including an apartment complex near Lake Elsinore, and at a business in Temecula.

Adelina Avila said her Lake Elsinore apartment was searched by authorities late Thursday and her 27-year-old son was being detained. She said her son was taken in early Thursday for questioning and she was able to speak with him over the phone.

"I don't think my son did anything, but I notice he is cooperating," said Avila. "I don't have anything against that. He hasn't been through this before so he doesn't know what's going on. He doesn't have no record."

The resident manager at Lakeview Apartments, a 157-apartment, low-income housing complex, said she saw Avila inspecting a light green car Tuesday.

"He was walking around it and looking at it. I was very suspicious. I thought maybe he was trying to steal it," said Emeline Ricalde.

She said she called the complex's maintenance worker to check it out and later learned it was Avila's car. Avila's family has lived in the complex for a year but Avila is not on the lease, Ricalde said.

She said Avila has a "very close" resemblance to a sketch investigators based on the account of a playmate who witnessed the abduction.

Authorities said Thursday the dragnet was so extensive that there had been numerous detentions and a few arrests on unrelated violations as law enforcement officers encountered people generally matching the suspect's description.

In Sunderland, Mass., Samantha's biological father, Derek Jackson, mourned her Thursday at a news conference from his home.

"I will always stay connected with her. She will live in my heart when I wake up every day," Jackson said. "I love her dearly. I miss you, Samantha."

Jackson also offered advice to other parents.

"Please watch your children. Every second, don't let them out of your sight, especially now," he said.

Here's exactly what we were talking about before. WHY was he let go???????????????????????????????????? What in the H___ is the matter with people anyway? You even TRY to molest a child and because you didn't succeed they let you go????? I don't think so.

The likeness of this guy to the sketch is real close, but when I added the guy's glasses to the sketch--its even more remarkable. NOTE the Jay Leno chin even shows...