Hickory's Most Wanted

The Hickory Police Department has announced a list of its most wanted fugitives. The crimes committed by the suspects date from 1996 to this year.
Reward money is available to anyone providing information leading to the arrest of the suspects listed, said Hickory police Capt. Thurman Whisnant.

1. Quindell Glen Mercer, 32,
6 feet 2 inches tall, about 200 pounds
Last known address: Hickory

On the morning of Oct. 23, 2007, a call came in to the Hickory Police Department reporting that a man had been beaten and was facedown in the street in front of a home on First Street, SW.

Four men had attacked the victim. Three were arrested and police are still searching for the last suspect — Mercer.

Mercer was indicted for assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, unauthorized use of a vehicle and resist, delay, obstruct a public officer.

2. Unknown, mid-30s
5 feet 6 inches tall, small to medium build

First Citizens Bank in front of Valley Hills Mall was robbed at about noon on Halloween 2007. The man police are looking for walked into the bank and demanded money. He didn't use a note or a gun and he didn't claim to have a weapon. The teller cooperated and the bank robber escaped with an undisclosed amount of cash.

He left on foot and was seen headed in the direction of Red Lobster.

Police have clear, high-quality surveillance footage of the robbery and the suspect's face. What they don't have are any leads or the robber's name.

3. Rene Zavala, 39,
(Also known as: Miguel Lopez Garcia, Miguel Lopez, Mike Lopez Garcia, Mike Garcia and Lucky)
5 feet 10 inches tall, 175 pounds
Last known address: Claremont

Zavala is wanted on drug charges by multiple agencies from North Carolina to California.

He's accused of distributed large amounts of marijuana in the Hickory area. He's wanted on a warrant for conspiracy to traffic in marijuana taken out Jan. 5, 2004.

He's also wanted for negligent manslaughter by motor vehicle by the State Highway Patrol for an accident in Catawba County. The warrant was taken out March 22, 2000.

4. David Luna, 37,
5 feet 7 inches tall, 175 pounds
Last known address: Newton

Luna, also known as Rodrigo Alvarez, is wanted for a January 1996 murder in Hickory.

Steven Massanet, 16, was shot and killed near the intersection of Fifth Street, SE, and Second Avenue, SE.

Witnesses said Massanet was walking with two friends when Luna drove up and the two exchanged words and gang signs.

Then Luna shot and killed Massanet, according to police.

Luna is a member of the 18th Street Gang of Los Angeles County. He has "XV3" tattooed on his throat and "18th St." tattooed on the back of his neck. His earlobes are adorned, too. His right lobe is marked with a 1. His left is marked with an 8.

Investigators believe Luna may have returned to Los Angeles after the murder.

5. Unknown,
5 feet 8 inches to 6 feet tall, thin build

A Bears Lair employee was kidnapped on the Lenoir-Rhyne University campus Nov. 4.

When she left work at the snack bar at about midnight and got in her car, she found a man hiding inside. He pulled a handgun and ordered her to drive him to Cherryville. A man in a red pickup truck met them there and the kidnapper drove away with him, leaving the victim in her car. She called 911 and reported the crime.

Hickory police worked with the victim to develop a composite sketch. The victim said the sketch is an eight out of 10 as to accuracy.

6. Havier Uresti Jr., 38,
5 feet 11 inches tall, 180 pounds

A warrant for second-degree murder was issued for Uresti for a DWI accident that killed a woman and her two children on the night of Feb. 17, 1997.

The family was crossing Tate Boulevard on Ninth Street Lane, SE, in a Geo Metro when they were hit broadside by a 1995 Chevrolet pickup.

Uresti was driving and his wife was in the truck.
He was taken to Frye Regional Medical Center. Blood samples were taken, but Uresti fled the country before the results or the subsequent grand jury handed down its indictment.

He's considered dangerous and may have fled to his hometown of San Louis Palama, Mexico.

The Hickory Police Department is working with the FBI to locate the suspect and return him to the United States to stand trial.

7. Unknown, 40 to 50 years old
5 feet 10 inches tall, slender build.

The North Center Street Bank of America was robbed on the afternoon of Oct. 3, 2007. Investigators are still looking for the man who did it.

They've got surveillance photos of the bank robber and witnesses said he has a distinctive scar on the left side of his neck below his ear. He also had a long dark ponytail jutting out from under the hat he wore, but witnesses told police it looked like a wig.

He walked in, handed the teller an envelope and a note that said, "Give me your money. I have a gun." The teller cooperated and the suspect escaped on foot with an undisclosed amount of money.

Most wanted list narrows

Since beginning work to compile the list of Hickory's most wanted, two of the men on the list have been arrested.

On Christmas Eve, Mocksville police arrested the man believed to be the Bearcat Bandit after an attempted bank robbery there. Police believe Michael J. Dolphin, 47, of Cincinnati, Ohio, is behind at least 10 bank robberies in North and South Carolina since October.

Dolphin is suspected of robbing the First Citizens Bank in Hickory on Dec. 15.

Catawba deputies arrested a man accused of slamming into a minivan on U.S. 70 while drunk. The crash was on Feb. 24, 2009, and happened in front of the Panda Express restaurant. A 5-year-old girl was seriously injured in the collision.

Catawba County deputies charged Dewayne Kalaini Thompson, 20, of Lincolnton, with nonsupport. Hickory police charged him with aggravated felony serious injury by motor vehicle, driving while intoxicated and driving while license revoked.