FINCASTLE — A Troutville man who was arrested last month in Mexico has been extradited back to Botetourt County, local law enforcement officials report.
Michael Dennis Hightower Jr., 41, is facing four counts of aggravated sexual battery of a minor.
said Friday that deputies went to Texas on Thursday to take Hightower into his department’s custody.
“This individual thought he could go to Mexico and avoid arrest, but I can assure you, right now, today, he’s right here to the left of me, locked up awaiting trial to stand justice for these charges,” Ward said during a news conference outside the Botetourt-Craig Regional Jail.
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The incidents associated with each of Hightower’s four charges occurred in October 2021, January 2022, July 2022 and January 2023, according to the search warrant affidavit.
Ward said that on Sept. 7, his office was notified that a minor had been sexually battered, and detectives immediately began investigating the alleged offenses.
Christie Bolton with the served as the lead detective on the case. Ward commended her for “her courageousness and her tenacity” in gathering the facts necessary to prosecute Hightower.
“This is not something that you take lightly, that people want to sit and read,” Ward said.
On Oct. 3, Ward said, detectives presented the gathered evidence to a grand jury, which issued four aggravated sexual battery indictments against Hightower.
Ward said his office is a part of the , a unit. The task force, plus other federal partners like and , was involved in apprehending Hightower.
In November, the task force received word that Hightower had crossed into Mexico on Sept. 24 and 25, according to the previously mentioned affidavit.
Investigators found that Hightower “had stolen a Chevy dump truck style vehicle from a location in 166su County” and drove it to Laredo, Texas, the affidavit continues. Hightower drove the stolen vehicle across the border into Juarez, Mexico, crossed back into the United States as a pedestrian, then returned to Mexico as a pedestrian.
said Hightower had connections across the border.
“Most fugitives that commit a crime, they don’t necessarily have a plan in place, or they’re acting out of desperation,” Schermer said Friday. But Hightower “was receiving material support.”
In January, investigators obtained messaging records from Meta and Google that led them to believe certain relatives were still in contact with him and were “possibly sending him money for support,” the affidavit reads.