Suspect in Northridge Abduction Met With Law Enforcement Before Alleged Kidnapping

The parolee wanted for allegedly abducting a 10-year-old Northridge girl from her bed met with his probation officers hours before the home invasion kidnapping for which he is now sought, law enforcement said Tuesday.

Tobias Dustin Summers, 30, has kept in contact with his probation officer since his release from prison last summer, authorities said.

Summers’ last contact with his probation officer came hours before he allegedly took a girl from her bedroom between 1 and 3:30 a.m. on March 27. The meeting happened in the San Gabriel Valley.

Probation Assistant Chief Margarita Perez said that meeting occurred in the San Gabriel Valley.

"In following up with the deputy officer, it appears that there was nothing unusual about that interaction," she said.

Perez said Summers – who was on probation under California’s prison realignment to ease inmate overcrowding – was "assessed at a medium risk to re-offend."

Summers, believed to a transient, repeatedly re-offended for crimes ranging from assault to theft, according to LA County court records. Among his list of priors are charges for grand theft, assault and battery, driving without a license and receiving stolen property.

Prison realignment did not get Summers out of custody early, but it did mean that instead of his post-release being supervised by state parole, he was assigned to LA County Probation.

A special LAPD unit also monitored him, according to LA Police Chief Charlie Beck.

"We will discover more about Mr. Summers and what could have been done better after we capture him," Beck said.

LAPD arrested Summers in January for a violation authorities have declined to reveal.
Summers was held for nine days under so-called flash incarceration.

Perez said it was "sufficient enough that we felt we needed to get his attention by flashing him the maximum period of time."

After Summers’ January arrest, probation did not seek to revoke his release, and no new criminal charge was filed.

Summers resumed checking in with his probation officer and passing drug tests until March 27.

"We have information that we've been sharing with law enforcement that we are hopeful will assist them in developing some leads in an effort to apprehend or capture this individual," Perez said.

LAPD Cmdr. Andrew Smith said on Monday that Summers may be hiding in the San Diego area, and may have shaved his head to alter his appearance.

The 10-year-old victim was taken from her bedroom in the middle of night and driven around the San Fernando Valley by two men, police said. Some 12 hours later, her abductors dropped her off at a Kaiser hospital in Woodland Hills.

After walking about a mile, she was found barefoot and wounded at a Starbucks by a passerby who recognized the girl from media reports and alerted police.

A second man suspected in the girl’s abduction has been arrested.

Daniel Martinez, 29, of West Hills, was booked into jail in connection with the case, the Los Angeles Police Department said during a press conference on Monday.

Also an ex-convict, Martinez (pictured at right) served time in state prison but was not assigned to probation.