A truck driver who’s made it his life mission to protect children from child predators aided ithe arrest of a 30-year-old man on Sunday after the man allegedly came to the truck stop to meet up with a 13-year-old girl.
Trucker Against Predators is an organization started by truck driver Anthony Greene aimed at uncovering potential child predators through the use of online “decoys,” and bringing them to justice through the legal system.
On Sunday, November 18th, at the Love’s Travel Stop at 2931 E. Gila Ridge Road, in Yuma, Arizona, Greene and his organization did just that when they intercepted 30-year-old Matthew Sanchez, who showed up to the truck stop for what he thought was going to be a night with a 13-year-old girl.
Greene also streamed the encounter live on Facebook.
Prior to his arrest, Sanchez had been exchanging messages with a decoy posing as a young girl, describing the things he wanted to do, as well as sending her inappropriate photos. The two then made plans to meet up, and when Sanchez arrived at the truck stop in his friend and roommate’s taxi cab, Greene was waiting there to meet him, letting him know that he had been caught and that the police had been called.
“You wanna have a conversation with me?” Greene starts in his Facebook Live video, taking Sanchez by surprise as he walks along the outside of the truck stop.
“Look, everything is going to go a whole lot smoother for you if you just…” Greene continues.
“If I just leave?” Sanchez says, cutting Greene off, and the conversation only deteriorates from there.
Greene then confronts Sanchez about his intentions and warns he is going to call the police, advising Sanchez to stick around until the police arrive and to be honest with them once they get there. Sanchez disregards the advice and leaves the scene with his roommate, who was initially unaware of the age of the girl he had driven his friend to see.
Once home, Sanchez called 911 to turn himself in.
“Matthew Sanchez was arrested and booked into the Yuma County Detention Center ib a slew of felony charges, according to the Yuma Police Department on Facebook.
Sanchez appeared in court on Monday, November 19th and was scheduled to appear again on Wednesday, November 21st.
As of 6:04 p.m. on Wednesday, he is currently out on $100,000 secured bond, but has been ordered to stay off of social media.
The Yuma Police Department urges anyone with any information about this case to please call the Yuma Police Department at (928) 373-4700.