Officers search for sex offenders in Tulsa
Detective Phillip Forbrich (left) and Cpl. Matt Hart escort Christopher Williamson, 26, to a car after arresting him at a Tulsa restaurant on Monday. Williamson, who was convicted of a sex offense in Kansas, was arrested on a charge of failing to register his residence after moving to Tulsa. MICHAEL WYKE/Tulsa World
Detective Phillip Forbrich (left) and Cpl. Matt Hart escort Christopher Williamson, 26, to a car after arresting him at a Tulsa restaurant on Monday. Williamson, who was convicted of a sex offense in Kansas, was arrested on a charge of failing to register his residence after moving to Tulsa. MICHAEL WYKE/Tulsa World
By NICOLE MARSHALL World Staff Writer
Published: 9/29/2010 2:22 AM
Last Modified: 9/29/2010 5:21 AM
Teams of law officers took to the streets in Tulsa on Monday and Tuesday in search of convicted sex offenders who are accused of failing to register.
Members of the Tulsa Police Department’s Exploitation Unit and the U.S. Marshals Service’s Northern Oklahoma Violent Crimes Task Force set out to find 25 convicted sex offenders who detectives say are in violation of sex-offender laws, Sgt. John Adams said.
They arrested 10 people who are accused of failing to register, but Adams said the search isn’t over.
“This isn’t just about picking up the 25 sex offenders we are looking for today. This is to put the rest of them on notice that now that we have a partnership with the task force, we are actively going to be looking for them,” Adams said.
“So those individuals we may not find today – we will look for them again tomorrow, and we will continue this until they either come to register or we locate them.”
Adams supervises the Exploitation Unit, which investigates missing-persons and runaway cases, coordinates Amber Alerts, and maintains sex- and violent-offender registrations. This summer the unit signed an agreement to work with the U.S. Marshals Service’s task force.
Oklahoma law requires convicted sex offenders to register their current addresses with their local law enforcement agencies after they leave Department of Corrections custody. Offenders who move to Oklahoma from other states are also required to register here.
The last time police participated
in an initiative like this, they saw sex-offender registrations jump by about 75 people in a two- to three-month period, Adams said.
Armed with folders full of information about the offenders, the teams of officers tried to reach their relatives, went to their workplaces and knocked on doors throughout the city to try to find them.
“Most of them were found at their residences. A couple were found at work,” Adams said. “Several of the people who we were looking for were registered out of state but were living here and avoiding the registration process.”
Looking for sex offenders who haven’t registered can be difficult since they often try to maintain low profiles, Adams said.
Soon after one man learned that officers were looking for him, his sister called the police to tell them he will register this week.
“We will get him registered, which is what we want,” Adams said.
About 340 sex offenders are registered in Tulsa, and police estimate that about 200 unregistered sex offenders may also live in the area.
Police had specific information that warranted charges or probable-cause arrests for the 25 people who were targeted in the sweep.
A law took effect in 2006 prohibiting sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of playgrounds, parks or child-care facilities. They were already prohibited from living within that distance of schools.
In Tulsa, that ruled out more than 90 percent of the city, and police say many sex offenders are no longer registering because they can’t find a place to live legally.
The agencies worked well together toward a common goal on the sweep, said Deputy U.S. Marshal Will Kinnebrew, the sex-offender registration coordinator for the Northern District of Oklahoma.
“We complement each other because our agencies basically have the same mission since the Adam Walsh Act,” Kinnebrew said.
The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act was enacted in July 2006 and established a national sex-offender registry. As a result of the law, most federal districts now have a designated a sex-offender registration coordinator, Kinnebrew said.
He said the efforts to ensure compliance with sex-offender laws will continue.
“By pooling resources, we double the effectiveness,” Kinnebrew said.
Sex offenders still being sought
Police are looking for the following sex offenders who are charged with failing to register:
Joseph Terry Chambers, 47
Michael Scott Cochran, 49
David D. Bell, 49
Jarrad Jerome Young, 27
Roshanda Morgan, 40
R.D. Waterdown, 25
Kirby Lee Choate, 63
Reginald Keith Boyd, 48
Anyone with information about the sex offenders can call Crime Stoppers at 596-COPS, send a text message to police or submit an online tip at tulsaworld.com/crimestoppers
The Crime Commission offers rewards for information leading to arrests, and tipsters can be anonymous.
Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/webextra/content/2010/crimesite/article.aspx?subjectid=450&articleid=20100929_11_A1_CUTLIN645585
