Behind the Badge
Fullerton Police on Friday arrested a man positively identified by a 16-year-old girl as the motorist who on Monday pulled up next to her in his truck and repeatedly yelled at her to “Get in the car” before he fled when she took out her cell phone to make a call.
After that incident at about 1 p.m. April 24, in the area of Richman Avenue and Valencia Drive, the FPD asked the public to help the agency identify a tan Ford F-150 believed to be the vehicle driven by the suspect.
On Wednesday, April 26, at about 2:30 p.m., the FPD received a call from a person who reported seeing the truck that was wanted by police in connection with Monday’s child annoyance incident.
Officers responded to the 700 block of N. Harbor Blvd. and located the driver, later identified as Jose Ascencion Obregon, 44, of Fullerton, according a news release issued April 28.
Police found Obregon in possession of a controlled substance and arrested him.
Obregon and his vehicle matched the description of the suspect wanted in Monday’s incident, and he became a “person of interest” in the case.
While following up on numerous other leads and possible victims, the 16-year-old victim positively identified Obregon as the male Hispanic that had tried to lure her into his vehicle Monday.
A warrant was issued Friday morning for Obregon’s arrest on suspicion of annoying or molesting a child under the age of 18, and the FPD served him with the warrant while he was in custody at the Fullerton City Jail on the separate, unrelated narcotics charge.
The Fullerton Police Department encourages anyone who may have been a victim of a similar crime, or who has had contact with Obregon in the past in similar situations and has not yet reported it, to contact Fullerton PD Family Crimes Det. Mike McCaskill at (714) 738-6762. Those wishing to provide information anonymously can call Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1(855) TIP-OCCS or go to occrimestoppers.org
