Sheriff: '100 percent certain' suspect killed Samantha

Alejandro Avila was arrested Friday in connection with the Samantha Runnion case.

STANTON, California (CNN) -- Authorities late Friday confirmed that Alejandro Avila, 27, has been arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and killing 5-year-old Samantha Runnion, who was snatched in front of her home while she played with a friend earlier this week.

"I am 100 percent certain that Mr. Avila is the man who kidnapped and murdered Samantha Runnion," said Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona.

Carona earlier in the week had warned the killer not to eat or sleep because investigators would catch him. "If you thought for one minute that I was joking -- that we were joking -- tonight you know that we were deadly serious," the sheriff said Friday in a direct statement to Avila.

He said the case will now be handed over to the Orange County District Attorney's office to bring charges against Avila, who is currently in Orange County Jail.

Avila was acquitted in 2001 of molesting two 9-year-old girls, according to court records in Riverside County, where he resided. He is not listed on California's sex offender registry.

CNN NewsPass VIDEO Orange County Sheriff Michael Carona confirms the arrest of Alejandro Avila on suspicion of kidnapping and murdering 5-year-old Samantha Runnion (July 19) Play video The abduction and killing of 5-year-old Samantha Runnion has parents scared and extra cautious. CNN's Anne McDermott reports. (July 18) Play video   MORE STORIES Charles Feldman: Police fear sexual predator    EXTRA INFORMATION • Who is likely to abduct a child  • Missing children facts  • Safety experts offer tips  • Tips for children to avoid abduction    RESOURCES • TIME.com: How to keep your child safe  • CNN Access: Photographer interviews Avila mom

The sheriff said the department had received several tips from the public on the hotline leading them to Avila. Carona would not elaborate further.

"I want to say thank you straight up to all of you," he said to the public and members of the news media who reported on the kidnap and slaying.

He also praised Riverside County Sheriff-elect Bob Doyle, the FBI and other law enforcement personnel who helped investigate the case and said their cooperation made it possible to catch the suspect just four days after Samantha was abducted.

He said Samantha had become "our little girl."

Community's week of fear

At the news conference held to announce his arrest earlier Friday, authorities played the chilling tape of the 911 call from the man who found the girl's body Tuesday. The caller, his voice shaking, said he was "freaking out" and "really nervous."

"I'm so scared right now, and it's a little kid," said the man, identified only as Justin, gasping between breaths.

Moments later, he said, "It's a baby. I think it might even be the little girl that's been on the news. It's a little girl, I swear. We just looked. As soon as we seen her, we left."

News of the arrest capped a dramatic week of searching for a suspect after Samantha disappeared Monday and her body was found a day later in the woods near a popular highway in Riverside County, about 75 miles from where she was abducted.

Soon after the body was found, authorities warned that the killer would likely strike soon -- a conclusion they reached because of the way the girl's naked body was found and the fact that the killer left behind a large amount of forensic evidence. One investigator described the crime scene as a "calling card" from the killer, challenging investigators to catch him.

The crime galvanized and shocked the community, which began distributing flyers of the man they believed took the girl in broad daylight, a description based on what Samantha's 5-year-old playmate told investigators. The young friend said the two were outside playing in front of the apartment complex in Stanton when a man stopped in his car, said he needed their help finding his puppy and then forced Samantha into the vehicle.

Carona said Friday the playmate is getting help from the trauma intervention team and she has said she is no longer sad because she knows that Samantha is in heaven.

Suspect's mom: Killer needs to be 'burned alive'

Avila's mother, Adelina Avila, acknowledged her son was once accused of molestation, but said she believes her son is innocent in the Samantha case.

"I don't think he's capable of doing that," she told a throng of reporters who had assembled outside her apartment in Lake Elsinore in Riverside County. "Whoever committed that crime needs to be tied up to something and burned up alive. Because there is no human being who can do that. That person needs to be suffering."

She said she and her son discussed the killing when the girl's body was discovered. "He said, 'Who can do such a thing like that -- to a little girl?'" she said.

Avila told his mother that investigators were trying to get him to confess to the killing, but that he had declined to do so, she said. She said she had seen no scrapes or scratches on her son in recent days that might have indicated he was involved in a tussle.

Authorities seized three cars from the family, she said. They include a green Thunderbird, a white Buick Century and his sister's green Nissan, she added. In addition, they took some of his clothing and his sister's computer, she said.

She said her son sometimes lives with her and sometimes with his sister who lives in the same complex.

-- CNN Correspondents Rusty Dornin, Thelma Gutierrez and Charles Feldman contributed to this report.