Witnesses testify in trial for man suspected of kidnapping, killing 16-year-old girl near Orland

Five witnesses were called to testify Thursday and Friday in the trial for a man suspected of kidnapping and killing a 16-year-old girl near Orland.

Alfredo Ruvalcaba, 59, of Artois, was charged in 2015 for the kidnapping and killing of Melissa Esquivel-Flores, a Hamilton High student. On July 4, 2015, Esquivel-Flores was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head in a workshop on the 3600 block of County Road D.

Ruvalcaba is facing charges of kidnapping and first degree murder.

The trial began on Wednesday with opening statements from Dwayne Stewart, the Glenn County district attorney, and Jesse Santana, the defense attorney. The prosecution began calling witnesses to the stand Thursday.

The first witness for the prosecution was Grant Carmon, who is the county supervisor for District One. He was a police officer with the Orland Police Department at the time of the alleged murder of Esquivel-Flores.

Carmon said that he was the first officer on the scene where Esquivel-Flores was found. He said there were three men waving their arms to flag him down when he first arrived at the scene. Carmon said one of the men told him that there was a body located in the workshop and partially walked him towards the workshop.

He said that when he walked into the shop, there was an enclosed area where a second door was. Carmon said he pushed open the second door and saw a young female in bra and panties sitting on a chair with a gunshot wound to the head. He said he walked out and went to talk to another deputy who had just arrived at the scene.

The prosecution called Justin Gibbs to the witness stand next. Gibbs is a lieutenant with the Glenn County Sheriff’s Office, but he was not a lieutenant at the time of the alleged murder of Esquivel-Flores.

Gibbs said he had helped another detective with facilitating a search warrant for what is believed to be the residence of Ruvalcaba. He said that they were looking for evidence that Ruvalcaba lived there. Gibbs said he did find a letter from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. During the search, Gibbs said that he also found ammunition.

The prosecution called Heath Rasmussen, a deputy with the Glenn County Sheriff’s Office, as its third witness. Rasmussen said he was contacted on July 5, 2015 by a lieutenant to get search and rescue members together to do a search. There were a total of five people searching the orchard, including Rasmussen.

He said that there were concerns that Ruvalcaba may have been injured and out in the orchards. After a search that lasted for about an hour and 15 minutes, Rasmussen said that the search and rescue team had located some items.

He said that they had located a cell phone, a pair of shoes, a water bottle, a liquor bottle, red blister packs that medication is commonly found in, and a shotgun. After the search and rescue team found the items, Rasmussen said he contacted Detective Greg Felton, who also works at the Glenn County Sheriff’s Office.

The prosecution called Investigator Kelly Knight to the stand on Thursday as the fourth witness in the trial. Knight said he was called out to the scene after the search and rescue team had located the items. He said that he processed the scene, which means to take pictures of and label the possible evidence.

Knight said that at the scene there was also an empty box of Lexotan medication, a small black flashlight, and a small cap for a bottle. He said there was a pair of blue jeans and a blue plaid shirt were also found in another area of the orchard.

Felton was called to the stand by the prosecution as its fifth witness. He said that he was called to the initial scene where Esquivel-Flores was found. Felton said that the sheriff’s office was able to quickly identify Esquivel-Flores because her father was the person who found her.

Felton said that he went to investigate the bedroom of Esquivel-Flores and that he had found her cell phone and purse on the bed. He also said that he found a ladder outside of her bedroom window. Felton said he also found a couple of photos of Esquivel-Flores  and Ruvalcaba.

Felton said that at about 10:30 p.m. on July 5, 2015, he had heard a call about a person laying on the side of the road. He said that he responded to the call along with a deputy. Felton said that when they responded to the call, they found Ruvalcaba in his socks and underwear on the side of the road, unresponsive.

He said that he held Revalcaba’s airway open to make sure that he was breathing until an ambulance arrived. Felton said he attempted to interview Ruvalcaba on July 7, 2015 at Enloe Medical Center, but Ruvalcaba was unresponsive at the time. He said he went back to Enloe on July 8, 2015 where he did ask Ruvalcaba questions about what happened the night of July 3, 2015.

The interview was recorded on an audio recorder and a Wolfcom 3rd Eye Patrol body camera. Both were presented to the jury in court.

The trial is set to resume at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Glenn County Fairgrounds.