A sex offender wanted on 12 counts of child molestation was captured in Long Beach last week by a local U.S. Marshals task force that has been seeking his arrest since June. He is being held on $9 million bail.
A press release from the U.S. Marshal’s office listed Fidel Salmeron as a “major fugitive” wanted on outstanding state charges for child molestation including rape and sodomy by force of a minor under the age of 14 years. Police say Salmeron had been a top target in June’s Operation Summer Heat—a four-day enforcement collaboration between the Long Beach Police Department, the U.S. Marshals and numerous other agencies which took nearly 300 wanted suspects off the streets of Long Beach.
Salmeron was arrested at a residence in the 1600 block of Locust Ave on Wednesday, November 7 by members of the Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force and the Sex Offenders Investigations Branch. The Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force is a team comprised of law enforcement officers from the local, state, and federal level.
The Long Beach Police Department has not yet released information on what role the Department played in the arrest or when Salmeron will appear in court.