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By Steve Huff in homicide, missing persons, unsolved
Monday, Dec. 8 2008 @ 4:22PM

An Associated Press video report about Michael Mele, a person of interest in the abduction of Laura Garza.

He's only 23, but Michael Mele, late of Walkill in Upstate New York, has graduated quickly from registered sex offender to suspected killer. Police in New York believe that Mele, the son of a former assistant deputy chief of police, had something to do with the disappearance of pretty 25-year-old Laura Garza, of Brooklyn.

Garza was last seen leaving a New York City nightclub with Mele and another man on the night of December 3. Garza, who had recently come to New York from McAllen, Texas, met Mele at the Marquee in Manhattan that Wednesday night. She probably had no idea as to what she was dealing with.

Michael Mele was sentenced early in 2008 on charges related to "forcible touching." He would approach women at the Palisades Center Mall in Clarkstown, NY. Mele would sometimes touch and masturbate on his victims. Police in Clarkstown nabbed Mele after they matched his DNA to semen found on the clothes of one of his victims.

Since he had no previous record, Mele was granted six years' probation after pleading guilty to the most serious charge against him. He was placed on the New York State sex offender registry at level 1. In most states, level 1 offenders are generally regarded as the least likely to re-offend. The police chief of Clarkstown, however, told ABC News that Mele was "a crazy sucker," and that Mele's behavior was "escalating." Chief Bernard Cummings also said, "In all my years, seeing this kind of behavior is a little off the radar here."

Michael Mele hasn't been charged with anything in connection with the disappearance of Laura Garza. He has allegedly violated the terms of his probation: drinking, not seeing his probation officer, and not attending any sex offender treatment program. When he turned himself in it was for an outstanding warrant connected to a traffic violation.

Police have been searching in and around Mele's condo in Walkill, NY and neighbors have reported seeing troubling items picked up by the investigators, such as weapons and a woman's clothing.

Worse yet, Mele may have cleaned his apartment with bleach, and potentially most telling of all -- he allegedly had bite and scratch marks on his body when he was jailed on Friday.

According to most reports, Laura Garza came to New York for the very same reasons so many young people flock to that city -- she had dreams of becoming a dancer. Neighbors in video reports have universally described her as friendly, open, and kind. In other words, the exact sort of victim sexually predatory animals tend to seek.

Michael Mele is due back in court on December 22 to answer for his probation violations. Mele was hit with more warrants late Monday afternoon -- this time for indecent exposure, in Paramus, NJ.

[LoHud.com, ABC News. Also -- Laura Garza's private MySpace. Hat-tip to Michelle in the comments for this post.]