Accused child rapist arrested after routine check at Kennewick rental property
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Officer's routine check at Verbena Street manufactured home park found suspect.
- Officers located car linked to Isaac Leal, stopped vehicle and arrested him.
- Charges filed Sept. 30; victim disclosed abuse to a counselor in March.
A Kennewick police officer’s routine check-in turned up a suspect wanted for child rape at a manufactured home park.
The officer was visiting with the managers of a manufactured home park community off of Verbena Street about 2 p.m. on Monday as part of the department’s crime resistant community living program. The organization works with rental owners and property managers to prevent crime.
The managers pointed out a problem residence, Kennewick Commander Isaac Merkl told the Tri-City Herald. When the officer checked the home, he discovered a car registered to Isaac Leal, 21.
Leal had been wanted on an arrest warrant since late September for charges of first-degree child rape and first degree child molestation with $75,000 bail, court documents said.
It’s not clear whether Leal was in the car, but the officer retreated to a spot so they could start putting together a plan.
Before the officers could put the plan into motion, Leal started to drive away. Officers stopped the car, and he was arrested without any issues, Kennewick police said in a Facebook post.
Leal has been a suspect in the molestation and rape case since March when a teen victim told a school counselor about the abuse, court documents said.
The molestation allegedly started when the girl was 7 years old and there were several incidents that took place over the course of years. He would let her play on his phone while he touched her inappropriately.
She told interviewers that she didn’t realize what was happening was wrong until she was in the fourth grade.
Charges were filed on Sept. 30 and a warrant was issued.