A 29-year-old El Salvadoran man was arrested in Aspen this week allegedly for stalking two local teenage girls.

The man, Fermin Membreno, is in the Pitkin County Jail and unable to post bond until federal authorities determine his immigration status.

The girls, 15 and 17, are both students at Aspen High School. They reported to their school resource officer on Tuesday that the man had been following them and making lewd gestures since last Thursday. He often rode the same afternoon downvalley bus as they did, the girls reported, and would bite and lick his lips in their direction, fondle himself and take pictures of them with his cell phone camera. He was arrested Tuesday afternoon.

Police say that on Monday he followed the teenagers around at a soccer game.

“This wasn’t just a guy looking at some pretty girls,” said Aspen Police Officer Terry Leitch, who led the operation that captured Membreno.

School resource officer Brad Onsgard relayed the girls’ complaints to Leitch on Tuesday, and that afternoon they planned to contact Membreno at the Rubey Park bus station.

But a call came to police at 3:45 p.m. from the girls, saying the man was there already, passing in a car and pointing at them. Nearby police stopped Membreno’s car and placed him under arrest once the girls identified him.

“The point is that these girls were scared,” Officer Leitch said. “He was following them around and making them feel unsafe and uncomfortable. It can be hard for teenagers to come forward with this kind of thing. But we are glad they did, and glad we caught him.”

Membreno is expected to face felony harassment and stalking charges. He is scheduled to be advised by a district court judge this morning.

andrew@aspendailynews.com