Man arrested in kidnap of girl found two miles from home

One of two men suspected in the kidnapping and sexual assault of a 10-year-old girl was arrested two miles from where the child was abducted.

Daniel Martinez was arrested on Rayen Street in Northridge and lives in Woodland Hills. The LAPD announced the arrest of Martinez, described as a secondary suspect in the case. He was taken into custody early Sunday and booked on suspicion of kidnapping. He was being held in lieu of $1 million bail.

Tobias Dustin Summers, the prime suspect in last week’s kidnapping and sexual assault, of may be in the San Diego area, authorities said Monday.

A statement from the Los Angeles Police Department did not detail why authorities believe the 30-year-old Summers could be in San Diego, saying only that investigators “have reason to believe” he might be. Summers “may also have changed his appearance by shaving his head,” the statement said.

Both Summers and Martinez have served state prison time and have extensive criminal records. Summers received eight months in state prison for a 2009 petty theft with a prior conviction. A subsequent probation violation saw him serve an additional 80 days. Martinez in October 2006 received 16 months in prison for grand theft auto.

According court records, Summers has convictions for receiving stolen property, grand theft, possession of an explosive and presenting false identity to police. In 2009, he was convicted of battery. Originally, he was also charged with annoying a child, but that was dismissed.

Between 2004 and 2012, Martinez was convicted burglary, petty theft, grand theft, resisting a police officer and unlawfully entering a property.

In April 2012, he was convicted of threats of death or great bodily injury, records show.

Most of the crimes both men were convicted of occurred in the San Fernando Valley.

Authorities have not said how their investigation led them to suspect either man. LAPD officials initially said two men were suspected of taking the girl from her Northridge home but said Saturday that Summers was the primary focus of their investigation.

Summers is not a registered sex offender, but authorities said he was arrested on suspicion of battery in 2009 in a case that involved child annoyance.

LAPD Deputy Chief Kirk Albanese said Summers had been taken into custody Jan. 13 for a probation violation and was released Jan. 16, but he did not elaborate on the violation.

Sources told The Times on Monday that investigators were still trying to determine why the girl was targeted. At the moment, they said, they do not believe it was related to a 2008 international child abduction involving her relatives.

Authorities have said the girl’s mother noticed her daughter was missing from her bedroom at about 3:40 a.m. Wednesday. She was found about 12 hours later, in a parking lot some six miles away from her home.

Authorities believe she was dropped off at a nearby Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Woodland Hills and made her way to a parking lot near Oxnard Street and Canoga Avenue. There, a man spotted her in a parking lot and pointed her in the direction of nearby police officers on routine patrol.

She had cuts and bruises, some to her face, and was “in shock,” LAPD Capt. Kris Pitcher said. In news helicopter footage, she appeared to be barefoot and wearing clothing different from what she had on when she was last seen.

Sources later told The Times she had been sexually assaulted.

The girl was initially identified by The Times, citing authorities, after she went missing. However, it is the policy of The Times not to identify victims in cases of alleged sexual crimes.

The LAPD asked anyone with information about Summers to call detectives at (213) 486-6890. Anyone who sees Summers was urged to call 911.

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richard.winton@latimes.com