2 more men are arrested in abduction of Henderson girl

By Cristina Chang

Sunday, Sept. 9, 2012 | 2:57 p.m.

Henderson Police have arrested the last two suspects in the abduction of Green Valley High School senior Melissa Duran, 17.

Henderson Police arrested Mariano Sanchez-Sanchez late Wednesday and Jose Sanchez-Perez late Saturday, according to a department news release issued Sunday.

Sanchez-Sanchez, 26, was spotted in a car on Bruce Street at Charleston Boulevard and has been booked into Henderson Detention Center on charges of kidnapping and extortion, police said. He is being held on bail of just more than $1 million. His arrest had not been previously publicized because detectives feared it could hamper the search for Sanchez-Perez.

Detectives found Sanchez-Perez, who is thought to be in his 20s, in a Vallejo, Calif., apartment building about 9:30 p.m. Saturday. Vallejo Police detectives helped track down Sanchez-Perez, and special agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations assisted in locating both men.

Duran was kidnapped about 7:30 a.m. Aug. 31 after she answered a knock on the door. The suspects later called her family and demanded a ransom for Duran’s safe return.

She was found bound and blindfolded but unharmed in an apartment on Flower Avenue near Stewart and Eastern avenues about 4 a.m. Sept. 1.

“This case did not end with the rescue of 17-year-old Melissa Duran last weekend,” Henderson Police Chief Patrick Moers said in a statement. “Most folks never see or even hear about the countless hours Henderson Police detectives put into finding those responsible for heinous crimes.”

Police arrested Alejandro Manuel Sanchez-Sanchez, 25, and Cesar Sanchez, 30, on Sept. 1 on counts of first-degree kidnapping of a minor, conspiracy extortion, extortion, first-degree conspiracy kidnapping, child abuse and conspiracy child abuse. They are being held at Henderson Detention Center without bail.

All four suspects lived at the apartment on Flower Avenue, police said.

Alejandro Sanchez-Sanchez, Mariano Sanchez-Sanchez and Jose Sanchez-Perez are accused of kidnapping Duran and demanding the ransom. Cesar Sanchez is accused of letting the other three men use his car, which later was found burned near Sunrise Mountain, for the kidnapping.

Detectives have discovered that Sanchez-Perez worked at Duran’s father’s landscaping business for about four years before he was fired about four months ago, the release said.

Mariano Sanchez-Sanchez is scheduled to make an initial appearance Monday in Henderson Justice Court.

Sanchez-Perez will face kidnapping and extortion charges when he is returned to Henderson, police said.