Residents of Mendota are struggling to come to terms with the weekend killing of a 4-year-old boy and the arrest of a teenage neighbor implicated in his death.
Residents of the town of 10,000 had been aware of Alex Christopher Mercado's disappearance since Friday afternoon because of fliers posted across town, media accounts and word of mouth.
Dozens of residents searched for Alex until officials announced that he had been found dead in a neighbor's dryer Saturday.
His death sent shock waves across town, Mendota leaders said Sunday.
"Everybody was looking for the little boy," said Joseph Riofrio, a member of the Mendota City Council and a business owner. "It's really shocking and unsettling. This is something that happens in big cities, in other places. Now it's happened here."
These two Mendota homes are where Alex Christopher Mercado lived, left, and where he was found dead Saturday in a dryer. Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims announced Saturday night that a 14-year-old boy who lives next door to Alex had been arrested in connection with the killing.
The body Alex Christopher Mercado, a 4-year-old boy who went missing Friday, was discovered in the dryer of a home next door to his family’s northwest Mendota home.
Alex is the first homicide victim since Mendota opened its Police Department two months ago. But under an agreement with Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims, the Sheriff's Office is in charge of the investigation because the nine-officer department doesn't have the resources to handle homicide cases, Police Chief Jerry Galvin said. He said he couldn't comment Sunday on the investigation.
Mims announced Saturday night that a 14-year-old boy who lives next to Alex has been arrested in connection with the killing, adding that Alex was put in the dryer after he was killed.
A spokesman said Mims' office expects to make public more details about the investigation today.
A crowd was gathered around Alex's home when Galvin broke the news to his father, Riofrio said. The father dropped to his knees in anguish and his mother screamed.
The death elicited strong feelings across Mendota.
"The whole community is upset about it," Galvin said.
Alex's disappearance also brought the community together, as they helped Mendota police, the FBI, and the Sheriff's Office with the search, Galvin said.
Members of area churches, including the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Kerman, where Alex's mother is a member, participated in the search.
Alex's mother asked for the church's help shortly after his disappearance, said Bishop Nathan Fox with the Kerman church.
Church members also have helped the family by cooking meals and providing housing for relatives who have come from out of town to comfort the mother and father.
"It's been devastating," Fox said. He added that the fact that a teenager has been arrested "makes it very unsettling."
Riofrio said efforts are being made to raise money for Alex's burial. His mother is pregnant and unemployed and his father is a farmworker, Riofrio said.
A sense of unease has permeated Mendota, where parents are worried about the safety of their children, Mayor Robert Silva said. He saw fewer children than usual on the streets for Halloween on Saturday night.
"A crime like this has never occurred in Mendota, and I have been here around 60 years," Silva said. "People are scared."
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Sheriff: Mendota boy was drowned, put in dryer
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