A Los Altos Hills family – including two cats – escaped injury Thursday (May 21) morning when their home caught fire.
Days after the fatal shooting of construction worker Roberto Rivera in a Los Altos backyard, his suspected killer attended a party where he allegedly confessed the crime to a friend, according to court documents released this week.
Los Altos Police detectives have arrested a Redwood City man in connection with last week’s murder of Roberto Rivera, a mason who was shot to death while working at a south Los Altos home.
Although Mountain View police reported they acted on a cyber-crime tip received in January to aid in the arrest of an alleged child molester last week, resident Steven Callister blew the whistle on the suspect in 2017, according to emails he forwarded to the Town Crier.
“Do you know if the Mountain View detective made any headway in the case or if they’re still looking at it?” he asked police spokeswoman Katie Nelson in one email from 2018.
Nelson responded to Callister at the time, confirming the investigation was ongoing and thanking him for his help.
So when a press release the department issued last week said the investigation into 27-year-old Victor Miller – who offered his services as babysitter on the Care.com website – began at the beginning of this year, Callister was upset.
Nelson explained the discrepancy, noting that investigation was “arduous” and only completed when Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office deputies recently took Miller into custody on an unrelated weapons charge.
“Contacting a suspected predator prior to the ability to arrest them is rarely done in investigations due to this simple fact: If we make them aware that they are in any way under investigation, they destroy the evidence and we could no longer have a case,” Nelson told the Town Crier. “Suddenly, everything goes out the window.”
Callister initially alerted Nelson of his suspicions about Miller two and a half years ago after a Care.com representative allegedly called Callister and his wife and told them not to speak with Miller, whom they had hired as a babysitter vetted through the service, or allow him in their house. Miller, who used the name “Allen M.” on Care.com at that time, had been banned from advertising on the site.
But Miller repeatedly showed up on the site using a series of aliases after multiple account suspensions, despite Callister’s pleas to Care.com representatives to investigate him.
As the Mountain View police investigation continued, detectives learned in 2018 that Miller had moved out of Mountain View. His Care.com profiles placed him in Santa Clara and Sunnyvale, but his exact whereabouts were unknown.
While it is not illegal to create multiple accounts under different names on a website, it would be illegal to enter Miller’s home and search his electronics and account history, according to Nelson.
Detectives worked on the Miller investigation for two years to build their case. The District Attorney’s Office, neighboring cities and county partners were aware of the department’s monitoring at the time.
Callister reached out to the Mountain View police and the Town Crier simultaneously in the days following Miller’s arrest. An officer walked him through the timeline Monday (May 4).
“It was very clear that they had filed warrants and actively worked to try and get Miller even before the (January tip),” he told the Town Crier in an email. “That being said, I do think Care.com dropped the ball here and could’ve done much more instead of playing ‘whack-a-mole’ with Miller’s accounts.”
Care.com did not respond to requests for comment prior to the Town Crier’s deadline.
Miller remains in custody after a judge denied his bail request Saturday. He is charged with two counts of attempted lewd and lascivious acts involving children, contact or communication with knowledge and intent to commit specified offenses, two counts of possession of child pornography, distribution of child pornography and arrangement of a meeting with a minor for purposes of engaging in certain lewd and lascivious behavior.
Police urge anyone with knowledge of the case or other potential victims to email detective Angelica Espitia at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
For the Town Crier's original coverage of Miller's arrest, click here.
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Mothers Against Murder, in collaboration with the Los Altos Police Department, is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for killing Roberto Rivera, the 48-year-old Union City resident shot to death Monday (May 4) in a Los Altos backyard.
A Mountain View man is in custody after a police investigation uncovered allegations of child molestation of at least three children and possession of child pornography.
Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Victor Miller, 27, on an unrelated weapons charge Tuesday (April 28). Following a cyber-crime tip received in January, Miller was already the subject of a Mountain View Police Department investigation. Upon his arrest, police interviewed Miller and searched his home, leading to additional evidence.
Police discovered Miller was allegedly the owner of an online account that contained child pornography, including nearly 100 photographs and videos of children as young as toddler age. Detectives believe Miller distributed the images to at least one other person.
Miller also allegedly molested and had sexually graphic conversations with minors. According to Mountain View police, he created accounts on Care.com and Liveme.com – a caretaking website he used to post his availability as a babysitter and an app typically used by kids but “frequented by child predators,” respectively – and was an “avid user” of both.
Miller is charged with two counts of attempted lewd and lascivious acts involving children, contact or communication with knowledge and intent to commit specified offenses, two counts of possession of child pornography, distribution of child pornography and arrangement of a meeting with a minor for purposes of engaging in certain lewd and lascivious behavior. He is currently being held without bail in the Santa Clara County Main Jail, according to the court system’s inmate locator portal. Police spokeswoman Katie Nelson said Miller was arrested on a no-bail warrant. He appeared in court Wednesday and was denied bail.
Police department officials said they are “extremely concerned” there may be additional victims in the area.
Victims or those who know a victim are urged to email Detective Angelica Espitia at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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List: Los Altos restaurants operating during shutdown
List: Mountain View restaurants operating during shutdown
List: Los Altos retail shops operating during shutdown
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