Stanislaus DA: Man suspected in kidnappings and rapes here arrested in Utah
A man suspected in the kidnappings and rapes of women in Stanislaus County in 2017 and 2018 has been taken into custody in Utah through the work of the cold-case unit of the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office, according to an office spokesman.
Ivan Romo, 25, was arrested Wednesday while at work at a construction site. He is being held at the Salt Lake County Jail.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Wendell Emerson said Romo is fighting extradition to Stanislaus County and it could take several weeks before he is booked at the Public Safety Center here.
Emerson said prosecutors expect to file charges in the coming weeks against Romo in the kidnappings and rapes. He said cold-case investigators took a deeper look at the case based on new developments. He declined to provide details at this time.
The cold-case investigators obtained an arrest warrant for Romo. One of them was there when officers from the Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake took him into custody Wednesday, according to Sgt. Melody Cutler, a UPD spokeswoman.
Cutler said Romo did not resist arrest.
A Unified Police Department Facebook post states Romo was a Modesto resident and is suspected in the kidnappings and rapes of prostitutes. Cutler said Romo had been living in Utah for at least five years, based on her department’s records. He was living in an apartment in Midvale, a Salt Lake City suburb, at the time of his arrest, she added.
Emerson said he could not comment on the Facebook post. His department’s Facebook post states Romo is suspected in the kidnappings and rapes of “multiple women” in Stanislaus County.
The post states the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department helped in the investigation. It asks anyone with information about the case to call the DA’s Office bureau of investigations at 209-525-5500.
