Fugitive sex offender in jail awaiting extradition to Ohio
VALLEY CENTER, California -
4-year-old Haylee Donathan is in a children's emergency center, while her mother 24-year-old Candace Watson and 27-year-old Robbi Potter remain in jail, awaiting extradition to Ohio. Watson and Potter were arrested by a large contingency of law enforcement at a Valley Center Christian retreat Tuesday afternoon.
"They said let's go," said Jeremiah Carlin, a resident of The Morning Star Ranch. "We walked right in and I showed them where to go and it was just like that, it was just quick."
Carlin described what happened when Sheriff's Deputies and members of the U.S. Marshals office went into the house where the three were staying.
"Candace was the first one they saw when they got to the top of the stairs and Robbi was right behind her," he said. "They were done; there was no place to go. The police were armed and there was no way out. There were two stairways and police were at both of them."
Kevin Carlin, Jeremiah's father and spokesman for The Morning Star Ranch described the scene this way.
"She was the first one to come around the corner and face the guns," he said. I think he had a little warning about what was coming because he saw her hit the floor."
It was a tip from an observant member of the Twelve Tribes, the owners of The Morning Star Ranch that brought about the arrest of the pair. According to the Carlins, a member of their group, who had been doing work in Valley Center for several weeks was returning to his home in the east, when he saw a billboard with pictures of Potter, Watson and Haylee. The billboard also had a picture of the truck they were last seen in and a license plate number.
"We received a phone call from the brother travelling through Las Vegas and he gave us the license plate number he saw on the billboard," said the elder Carlin.
"They recognized Haylee's face and they recognized the truck that they had seen at this retreat," said Jan Caldwell a spokesman with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. "They called a caretaker at this retreat in Valley Center and said hey, you might want to check out this license plate."
Once members of the ranch verified the truck was the one on the billboard, they called the Sheriff's department. According to the Carlins, deputies came out to check out the truck, and then waited for reinforcements.
"During that time the suspense kind of grew," said the younger Carlin. "That first hour Robbi was in his room and I was watching to see if he would come out. Then he came out and I was kind of having to follow him around the property."
Prior to the arrest, the senior Carlin said they moved most of the residents out of the way.
"We moved our children and our women and basically most of the men as far away from the house as we could," he said. And that even started to make Robbi suspicious because it was too quiet around the house."
The Carlins explain why they called law enforcement officers. It all had to do with a defenseless, innocent little girl.
"Not that we would have taken it lightly," said the elder Carlin. "But the fact that there was a 4-year-old who was in the care of a violent sexual offender, it is why we called."
"As soon as we found out the nature of him being a sex offender and there's a little girl and a concern nationwide about the girl," said the younger Carlin, "we said well we could send him on his way but her blood would be on our hands."
Kevin Carlin said Potter apologized for causing a problem at the ranch.
"Robbi looked at us and he said, sorry guys," said Carlin. "Sorry it had to be this way."
Seemingly unaffected by the events, Caldwell said Haylee was doing well when she saw her.
"What I saw was a happy, giggly 4-year-old girl running around the Sheriff's substation," Caldwell said.
With a broad smile she added, "This is just the first phase of the investigation, the completion of the first phase and thankfully it is a very happy completion. Because we have the recovery of a little girl safely and it just doesn't get any better than that."
"They said let's go," said Jeremiah Carlin, a resident of The Morning Star Ranch. "We walked right in and I showed them where to go and it was just like that, it was just quick."
Carlin described what happened when Sheriff's Deputies and members of the U.S. Marshals office went into the house where the three were staying.
"Candace was the first one they saw when they got to the top of the stairs and Robbi was right behind her," he said. "They were done; there was no place to go. The police were armed and there was no way out. There were two stairways and police were at both of them."
Kevin Carlin, Jeremiah's father and spokesman for The Morning Star Ranch described the scene this way.
"She was the first one to come around the corner and face the guns," he said. I think he had a little warning about what was coming because he saw her hit the floor."
It was a tip from an observant member of the Twelve Tribes, the owners of The Morning Star Ranch that brought about the arrest of the pair. According to the Carlins, a member of their group, who had been doing work in Valley Center for several weeks was returning to his home in the east, when he saw a billboard with pictures of Potter, Watson and Haylee. The billboard also had a picture of the truck they were last seen in and a license plate number.
"We received a phone call from the brother travelling through Las Vegas and he gave us the license plate number he saw on the billboard," said the elder Carlin.
"They recognized Haylee's face and they recognized the truck that they had seen at this retreat," said Jan Caldwell a spokesman with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. "They called a caretaker at this retreat in Valley Center and said hey, you might want to check out this license plate."
Once members of the ranch verified the truck was the one on the billboard, they called the Sheriff's department. According to the Carlins, deputies came out to check out the truck, and then waited for reinforcements.
"During that time the suspense kind of grew," said the younger Carlin. "That first hour Robbi was in his room and I was watching to see if he would come out. Then he came out and I was kind of having to follow him around the property."
Prior to the arrest, the senior Carlin said they moved most of the residents out of the way.
"We moved our children and our women and basically most of the men as far away from the house as we could," he said. And that even started to make Robbi suspicious because it was too quiet around the house."
The Carlins explain why they called law enforcement officers. It all had to do with a defenseless, innocent little girl.
"Not that we would have taken it lightly," said the elder Carlin. "But the fact that there was a 4-year-old who was in the care of a violent sexual offender, it is why we called."
"As soon as we found out the nature of him being a sex offender and there's a little girl and a concern nationwide about the girl," said the younger Carlin, "we said well we could send him on his way but her blood would be on our hands."
Kevin Carlin said Potter apologized for causing a problem at the ranch.
"Robbi looked at us and he said, sorry guys," said Carlin. "Sorry it had to be this way."
Seemingly unaffected by the events, Caldwell said Haylee was doing well when she saw her.
"What I saw was a happy, giggly 4-year-old girl running around the Sheriff's substation," Caldwell said.
With a broad smile she added, "This is just the first phase of the investigation, the completion of the first phase and thankfully it is a very happy completion. Because we have the recovery of a little girl safely and it just doesn't get any better than that."
