With guns drawn and tear gas filling the air, 23-year-old Kalvin Cardenas finally backs out of a Clovis home. A standoff that lasted for hours, ends with the arrest of a man investigators say kidnapped and sexually assaulted a 10-year-old girl on Tuesday.
"Crazy morning, you got that," said Travis Larson, who'd been living with the suspect for three weeks.
According to Larson, when the SWAT team called everyone out of the home, the suspect came into his room, asking him to tell deputies that the suspect's truck belongs to Larson.
Turns out, that truck, an older model brown pickup, was the key to investigators finding Cardenas.
"This little girl was a great witness. She remembered a description of the suspect, description of the vehicle," said Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims.
After a the description of the truck made the news, someone called the sheriff's department, saying a man with that same truck tried to kidnap a girl in Dinuba last May. Deputies worked with the Dinuba Police Department, which led them to an apartment on Cedar and Fairmont, where the truck was parked, and the house in Clovis, where Cardenas was living.
Only a mile away from that home is where deputies say this disturbing crime started. The suspect allegedly kidnapped the victim at Jackson and Rialto while she was walking her bike to the bus stop before school. Cardenas then apparently drove her 30 miles out of town, sexually assaulted her for hours, then left her in a field. A couple saw her walking down Highway 180 and got her help.
"[It's] so heartbreaking. And for my wife to have to call the mom and explain to the mom. The mom was just hysterical," said Fortunato Martinez, who helped the victim to safety.
Cardenas has been booked into the Fresno County jail and faces several charges, including kidnap and rape. The Tulare County D.A. never formally charged Cardenas in the alleged Dinuba kidnap attempt. He was not a registered sex offender.