LAPD Officer Accused Of Trying To Meet Teen Girl Caught In Vigilante Sting: Police – Patch

LAPD Officer Accused Of Trying To Meet Teen Girl Caught In Vigilante Sting: Police  Patch

Authorities say the officer arranged to meet someone he believed was a 16-year-old girl before a civilian sting group confronted him. MONROVIA, CA — A Los Angeles Police Department officer was arrested on suspicion of attempting to meet an underage girl for sexual purposes in Monrovia, where a civilian vigilante group confronted him following an online sting operation, according to authorities and reports. Leonardo A. Ruiz, 31, was arrested the night of Oct. 22 on suspicion of arranging a meeting with a minor, or someone believed to be a minor, for lewd purposes, according to the Monrovia Police Department. Officers responded to the 300 block of West Olive Avenue shortly before 10 p.m.

that night, police told the Los Angeles Times. The arrest followed a confrontation between Ruiz and members of a group called Yn_vs_preds, whose members pose as minors online to catch suspected sexual predators, the Times reported. Ashton Corona, a leader of the group, told KTLA he spent three days exchanging messages with Ruiz while posing as a 16-year-old girl. Corona claimed that Ruiz asked whether the girl's mother would be home and discussed bringing condoms, according to the station. According to Corona, Ruiz arrived at the agreed-upon meeting location but attempted to flee when members of the group confronted him. Video obtained by KTLA shows several men