VENTURA : Man Lauded for Role in Finding Fugitive
A Southern California Gas Co. supervisor has received a commendation from Ventura Mayor Richard Francis for his role in apprehending a suspected child molester he identified from the television show “America’s Most Wanted.”
Mario de los Cobos, a district manager for Ventura County, said he first encountered Donald Ray Moore on Dec. 29 while responding to an accident in the Ventura River bottom, where a community of homeless people live.
“He just stood out from the rest,” de los Cobos said.
Six months later, de los Cobos said, he recognized Moore on the television show and contacted police. Moore was arrested July 5, and his trial is expected to start this week, Francis said.
De los Cobos credited his son Egan, 9, with assisting in the capture of the suspect. “He made me watch the show,” de los Cobos said.
Moore, 56, was wanted on 21 felony counts of child molestation. He had been hiding out in the riverbed for almost a year before his arrest.
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