A child predator suspect dubbed “Ernie the Uber” was arrested during a traffic sting in Santa Ana on Wednesday.
Santa Ana police were alerted to the suspect, whose real name is Ernesto Orozco Villa, by a mother who recently discovered suspicious messages on her 16-year-old son’s cellphone.
In those messages, requests were made for explicit images and to arrange a sexual encounter, the Santa Ana Police Department stated in a Facebook post.
Suspected child predator Ernesto Villa is arrested in Orange County. (Santa Ana Police Department)
A suspected child predator is arrested in Orange County. (Santa Ana Police Department)
Police then developed a plan to lure Villa into meeting the victim. With a drone team monitoring from above, officers stopped his vehicle just before 1 a.m. near Bristol Street and McFadden Avenue.
Video showed officers confronting the 45-year-old Westminster resident, who began to smile at officers before being asked to get out of his vehicle.
Villa, who police said was also known as “Ernie the Uber,” was taken into custody and booked into the Santa Ana jail.
Police urged parents to warn their children about online safety.
“Parents. Talk to your children about the dangers of communicating with strangers online, and consider monitoring their devices,” the post reads.
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