On June 18th, members of the U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive Task Force went to a home on Imperial Way in Salinas and re-arrested 30 year old Fabian Ornelas after he fled Fresno County. Sex crimes detectives with the Fresno County Sheriff's Office, who requested the Task Force's assistance, responded to Salinas and transported Ornelas back to Fresno.
Ornelas was arrested on June 13th in Fresno for kidnapping and attempted rape after meeting a woman on Tinder. Ornelas was released from custody the next day after he posted over $240,000 in bail. Detectives developed information that there could be additional victims and a public statement was released requesting any additional victims to come forward.
Victims have come forward and a warrant was issued for Ornelas’ arrest. Ornelas faces additional charges related to sexual assault. The original bail was revoked and he is now in the Fresno County Jail with a $740,000 bail.
In last week’s case, Fabian used the social media dating site Tinder to entice a woman into meeting up with him. Fabian is known to use the profile name “Dominick.” After making a match with the woman online, Fabian arranged to meet with her in person. After spending some time together, the victim attempted to leave, but Fabian forced himself on her and attempted to rape her. The woman was able to break free during the middle of the assault and fled the area. She then called the Sheriff’s Office to make a report.
Tinder has been cooperative with law enforcement and removed Ornelas’ profile immediately. If you feel you are a potential victim or if you have additional information about Fabian Ornelas that could help the investigation, please contact Sergeant Chad Stokes at (559) 600-8144.
The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office would like to remind the public that resources are available to the victims of sexual assault. Rape Counseling Service (RCS Fresno) https://rcsfresno.org/ has advocates and therapeutic services available to victims. A 24 hours Crisis Line is also available at (559) 222-7273.
