Sister of Fugitive Clinic Operator Held in Tustin

Police hunting for the fugitive operator of a back-room medical clinic in Tustin arrested the woman’s sister Wednesday in hopes of learning the whereabouts of Laura Escalante, who is wanted on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter.

Tustin investigators arrested Rosa King, 37, at her home in Irvine about 10:30 a.m., said Sgt. Bill Fisher. King had been sought by authorities ever since she failed to pay a $4,500 court fine levied last year after her conviction for selling misbranded drugs in Santa Ana, said Santa Ana Police Sgt. Raul Luna. King was taken to Orange County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court Friday.

Police contend that Escalante, known to customers of the clinic as “Dr. Laura,” supervised an injection of drugs administered to 18-month-old Selene Segura Rios just hours before the toddler died. She has been on the run since the child’s death in February, police said.

Police and prosecutors allege that Escalante is responsible for the child’s death because she falsely told customers she was a qualified medical practitioner--which allegedly deterred Selene’s parents from seeking treatment elsewhere.

Investigators believe Escalante has fled to Mexico. They intend to interrogate King about her sister’s whereabouts, Fisher said.

“We’ve been trying to run down every lead on Laura,” he said.

Other members of King’s family are also the subject of legal scrutiny. According to officials, a federal grand jury in San Diego is probing allegations that Mexican pharmaceuticals may have been smuggled across the border from Tijuana by Escalante, King and other members of the family.

Santa Ana police are also investigating whether family members supplied drugs injected into a 13-month-old boy just before he died last year. Investigators, however, have no evidence that the King family was the source of the drugs, said Santa Ana Police Capt. Dan McCoy.