Melissa Huckaby / San Joaquin County Jail booking mug
Huckaby was arrested at the Tracy Police Department, where she had gone voluntarily for questioning nearly five hours earlier, police spokesman Sgt. Tony Sheneman said.
She was booked into custody at 3:25 a.m. Saturday at San Joaquin County Jail, in French Camp, where she is being held without bail. Her arraignment will be at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Manteca branch of the San Joaquin County Superior Court.
Huckaby, a West High School graduate, lives with her grandparents, Clifford Lane Lawless and Connie Lawless, in the Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park, where Sandra lived.
No other arrests were made, no motive was disclosed, and Sheneman offered no other details but said he would have a press conference at 10 a.m. today.
An autopsy has been completed, but authorities have not released results or said how Sandra was killed.
Huckaby told a Tracy Press reporter in an exclusive interview Friday that she teaches Sunday school at Clover Road Baptist Church, her grandfather’s church just down the street from the mobile home park.
She said someone took her large, black suitcase that she’d left in her driveway on March 27, the same afternoon that Sandra went missing.
Police found Sandra’s dead body in a black suitcase submerged in a dairy lagoon 2 miles north of the mobile home park.
Earlier Friday evening, FBI agents and police were seen at the Baptist church, where they loaded what looked like a fold-up bed into a crime scene van. They had searched the church on Monday.
Huckaby told the Tracy Press that she and her 5-year-old daughter had lived for the past year with her grandparents and that on March 27 Sandra had stopped by her house and asked to play with her daughter. Huckaby said she’d said no, because her daughter needed to pick up her toys and that Sandra went to another friend’s home.
Huckaby’s dark purple Kia SUV was towed and searched by police Tuesday night.
When she talked to the Tracy Press Friday, she said she wasn’t the same Melissa Huckaby who pleaded no contest Jan. 9 to a felony charge of second-degree commercial burglary and a misdemeanor charge of petty theft after being arrested in November 2008 for trying to steal something from Target. She had been examined by doctors and was deemed mentally competent to stand trial. She was due back in court next week for sentencing.
The criminal complaint also shows she was locked up in Los Angeles County for conviction of property theft in 2006.
Huckaby was released Thursday from Sutter Tracy Community Hospital, where she spent several days in the intensive care unit for what she described as “internal bleeding.” Police were stationed at the hospital during her stay.
Huckaby claimed to reporters Friday that she had found a note that had the words "suitcase" and "water," as well as "Whitehall," the street near the irrigation pond where she was found.
Maybe it would be better if they left her ALONE in her cell and let nature takes it's course.
To the Cantu family: if I only had one wish right now it would be that your child was alive, well, and home with you. (and not for a job, which I've been without for quite some time.)
This is every caring parent's worst nightmare!
Also, I want to mention that I feel bad for everyone else in that town, as you all must be feeling betrayed, scared, angry, and just about any other negative feeling imaginable.
Rest in peace, Sandra...little angel.
Now why would you want to rehash all this? You still want to be mad, you still want to blame, still it is my opinion. Watch your children closer. This has always been the rule. The world has been awful with crazies for years.
Some people are so narcissistic and judgemental, that they find it necessary to attack people when they are at their lowest. Case in point...
You say four hours was too long. Do you know it only takes a few minutes? SO if you think you are so wonderful at checking on your children and not letting them out of your sight, what are you going to do when they are 11 years old and want to go to a friend's house? There's no age that is really too old, and it would only take a few minutes for them to get hurt, so even checking on them every hour doesn't necessarily do the trick.
It infuriates me, that people would have the nerve to be so shallow and not look any deeper than to blame Sandra’s family. HELLO!!! even if Sandra’s mother had walked Sandra herself to go play with one of her friends, MH was the mother of one of Sandra’s friends, a Sunday School teacher, living with her Pastor grandfather, (and possibly a city councilwoman grandmother), in their neighborhood for a year. This was not like Sandra was out on the highway 2 miles from home, this was a small trailer park and she was basically only a few driveways away. Sandra’s mom could have been the most cautious of parents, but anything short of never ever letting Sandra out of her sight may have ended in the same fate. You need to step off your pedestal, because no one can completely protect their kids from sociopathic killers and molestors, we can only do our best and pray for their safety.
I do agree the Tracy Press has done a great job keeping us up to date and accurate information.
That is what you call ACE reporting!
I want to thank Jennifer Wadsworth for her outstanding persistance and reporting on this case! Her story printed in the Tracy Press resulted in the arrest of Melissa Huckaby!
Do you really think that her "persistance and reporting on this case" "resulted in the arrest of Melissa Huckaby"? Surely you are joking. Just because her story was the first you heard of a "note" does not mean it was the first TPD had heard of it. And that is assuming there is a "note".
Your negligence theory is shot!
Are you saying that Sandra's mother should have known that her neighbor the Church Pastor family were a dangerous and menacing threat?
The child played at this home on a regular basis...For, I dont know, maybe for hours like most children do..
There is NO Way this mother would have known that she lived four doors away from a predator!
Save your anger for the one who was arrested!
I also don't understand why child predators are let out into the general population. How many have disappeared into the population.
Please do not leave your children unsupervised if the are very young. IMO
Do you still stand behind your statement that the Mother will be charged with Negligence?
The fact that every criminal profiler, professional across the country agrees that this is a criminal anomaly. One in a million!
And yet your still on the blog defaming the victims of this crime. Your vicious rumor mill created by you and your cohorts.
Ignorant idiots!
GodBlessKidsTheseDays wrote on Monday, Apr 13 at 06:47 PM »
You know what's funny LADIES? The fact that you're all fighting over individuals thoughts and rights on speach!!!
Why would either one of you or anyone else out there waste good energy with the comments you guys are posting here... if one nut case thinks its the family fault then let her or him be that a nut case... don't be another nutcase and argue back with the first nutcase who brought her right to voice her thoughts or opinons.....
I wouldn't be surprised if either one of you replys to my comments right now defending, blaming or something else to defend your position... leave it alone, we are already dealing with the loss of a child and we should be focused her and offering our thoughts and prayers to her and the families, not finger pointing if "the Cantu family had done this or they should have done that, or they should have never let..., and this would not happened" get what I am saying... this should be a place to reflect and grieve not carry on like children... momoffive...don't you have children to look after and maybenotdumB, that in itself should tell you this is wrong and maybe you should find something else to do...get real folks, we don't want to read these postings that have long gone over 12 hours of nothing but wasted space and energy.. you all need to stop adding insult to injury already in place of many. Again if you decide to reply, this only proves one thing about your state of mentality and the joy you guys get going back and forth with your insults. If you must continue, go get therapy! The last thing anyone here or either family wants to read in the local paper is this crap... God help you two nutcases!