Offender

A convicted child sex offender who failed to show up at his residence and his place of employment has been found, police said Friday. Andre Kevin Richardson, 27, was picked up in the 100 block of East Washington Street around 2:15 p.m. on Friday by Hagerstown City Police, police said. Richardson was charged with one count of sex offense registration violation, according to the Washington County Sheriff's Department. Richardson had moved without notifying the Sheriff's Department, where he is registered as a sex offender for a September 1996 conviction in St. Louis, said Sgt. Doug Mullendore.

The Maryland Sex Offender Registry Unit operates on an honor system, trusting that convicted sex offenders will provide the registry with their current addresses. Even with safety nets, the system, designed to let authorities and community members know where sex offenders live, doesn't always work. See Sunday's Herald-Mail for the full story.

Police this morning were continuing to search for a convicted child sexual offender who was released from prison July 12 and gave prison officials a false address, the Washington County Sheriff's Department said in a news release. A warrant charged him with failing to register as a sex offender and knowingly giving false information. George Richard Dowler, 48, was convicted of a third-degree sex offense in Baltimore County in April 1999, deputies said in a news release. The offense involved an 11-year-old victim, deputies said.

The Washington County Sheriff's Department was looking for a registered child sex offender who failed to notify them of an address change. Anyone with information about Richard Joseph Evans Jr., 55, may contact the sheriff's department at 301-791-3020. Evans is white, with gray hair and hazel eyes. He is 6 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 180 pounds, according to the sheriff's department.

GREENCASTLE, Pa. - Greencastle police say a man who was arrested on a warrant earlier this month at a borough motel had failed to register as a sex offender. Michael L. Hovis, 29, of Greencastle, was charged with being a fugitive from justice and failure to register as a sex offender, according to a Greencastle Police Department news release. Police said they were called on the afternoon of Feb. 13 to respond to an unspecified complaint at the Castle Green Motel on East Baltimore Street.

The Washington County Sheriff's Department is seeking the public's help in finding a former Hagerstown man who is registered as a child sex offender and now wanted on a parole retake warrant, Sgt. Art Overcash said. David Howard Shapiro, 40, previously resided in Hagerstown, Overcash said. Shapiro cannot be found and is considered wanted through a parole retake warrant, which means he is wanted for violating a condition of his parole, Overcash said. Shapiro was convicted in Prince George's County, Md., in October 2002 of third-degree sex offense, Overcash said.

FREDERICK, Md. (AP) -- The lawyer for a registered child sex offender charged with visiting a Frederick County elementary school without permission says his client feels persecuted. The charges against 40-year-old Steve Yingling, of Frederick, allege he dropped off and picked up his son at Lewistown Elementary School in Thurmont, and toured the school before classes began. Defense attorney Scott Rolle said Monday that Yingling didn't know he needed written authorization from school administrators to be on the grounds.

A convicted sex offender's contact with a pre-teen Hagerstown boy was brought to the attention of police by the man's adult daughter, according to Assistant Washington County State's Attorney Duane Gigeous. "She saw them together and feared for the boy's safety," Gigeous told Washington County Circuit Judge Donald Beachley Thursday. After pleading guilty to one count of second-degree assault, Glen Edward Conrad Sr., 68, of 19960B National Pike, was sentenced to eight years in prison with all but two years suspended.

A registered sex offender was sentenced Wednesday to nine months in jail because he did not notify officers about a change of address, according to court documents. Michael William Cortez Jr., 32, of 826 Spruce St. in Hagerstown, originally was charged with fourth-degree sex offense, according to Washington County District Court documents. Cortez was on probation, which required him to alert Washington County Sheriff's deputies if he changed his address. Documents state that Cortez did not alert deputies when he changed his address in August.

HAGERSTOWN - A Hagerstown woman who served 18 months in jail after she pleaded guilty in 2005 to second-degree assault for forcing an 11-year-old boy to have sex with her in November 2004 will spend 3 1/2 years in prison for violating her probation, a judge ordered Thursday. Danielle Nicole Frye, 21, admitted Thursday morning in Washington County Circuit Court to violating her probation by leaving Maryland without permission. Frye went to the YWCA in Harrisburg, Pa., in May, but returned on her own, Public Defender Eric A. Reed said.

West Virginia State Police have arrested more than 170 sex offenders since the first of the year for providing false information to the state sex offender registry. State Police 1st Sgt. Michael Baylous said the agency and the U.S. Marshal Service has verified the information for more than 1,000 offenders on the registry during that time, after a weekend sweep by state police. Baylous said additional arrests are expected as individuals are located and investigations are completed.

GREENCASTLE, Pa. - Greencastle police say a man who was arrested on a warrant earlier this month at a borough motel had failed to register as a sex offender. Michael L. Hovis, 29, of Greencastle, was charged with being a fugitive from justice and failure to register as a sex offender, according to a Greencastle Police Department news release. Police said they were called on the afternoon of Feb. 13 to respond to an unspecified complaint at the Castle Green Motel on East Baltimore Street.

A Martinsburg man who was wanted on three felony warrants for failing to comply with West Virginia state sex offender registry laws was arrested Friday by members of the Mountain State Fugitive Task Force. Larry Gene Edwards, 55, was arrested Friday morning without incident on East John Street in Martinsburg, according to a U.S. Marshals Service news release. The Mountain State Fugitive Task Force is comprised of three offices and covers the northern portion of West Virginia. The Martinsburg Office of the task force is comprised of West Virginia State Police, Martinsburg Police Department, Shepherdstown (W.Va.)

Jonathan Frederick Bennett was found not guilty of felony murder last month in the March 2011 shooting death of a man at a Martinsburg-area hotel, but now faces a possible life sentence in prison as a repeat offender. Bennett, 41, of Charlottesville, Va., who was found guilty of unlawful assault in the March 6, 2011, death of Geronimo Garcia-Cruz, was scheduled to be sentenced next month, but will now be first tried as a recidivist. Under West Virginia's recidivist statute, sometimes called the “three strikes rule,” a person convicted of two felony offenses can see their sentence enhanced to a life sentence if they are convicted of a third or subsequent felony offense.

A U.S. District Court judge in Baltimore sentenced a Hagerstown man to serve 10 years in prison for possession of child pornography, the U.S. Department of Justice said. Upon his release, Otha Royal Palmer, 58, formerly of 157 S. Potomac St. Apt. 2, also will have to register as a sex offender in the place where he resides, works and/or attends school, according to a Department of Justice news release and U.S. District Court documents. U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced Palmer on Tuesday as part of a plea arrangement, the release said.

A Hagerstown man indicted in 1994 on 321 counts of sexual assault, pornography and related charges in Berkeley County has agreed to serve prison sentences totaling 13 to 55 years to resolve the charges, according to court records. Randall Ray Waugh, 53, could be sentenced Dec. 20 if 23rd Judicial Circuit Judge John C. Yoder agrees to be bound by a plea agreement that proposes Waugh enter guilty pleas to six of the felony counts and no contest pleas to three others, according to court documents.

The only Youth Aid Panel remaining in Franklin County, Pa., takes on cases every month to help first-time criminal offenders clean up their juvenile records. Waynesboro-area children accused of offenses like curfew violations, retail theft, tobacco on school property and disorderly conduct can avoid court costs and fines with successful completion of a three- to six-month program. Each participant has his or her case reviewed by the panel and is assigned a mentor. “They in essence write a contract and say, 'This is what you need to do.' It holds them accountable, and, hopefully, it's their first offense, and it doesn't happen again,” Magisterial District Judge Larry Pentz said.

A Hagerstown man pleaded guilty Tuesday to his fourth drug-trafficking offense in 15 years and was sentenced in Washington County Circuit Court to 10 years in prison without parole. Kelvin Shawn Baker, 33, of 321 S. Locust St. could have faced mandatory minimum sentences of 25 or 40 years as a repeat offender, but the prosecution agreed not to seek the enhanced sentences as a part of a plea agreement, Robert Veil, supervising attorney for the Washington County Narcotics Task Force, told Judge Donald E. Beachley.

West Virginia's first Juvenile Drug Court opened in Cabell County, W.Va., in 1999, and it's taken 13 years for the benefits of the program to reach out to youngsters heading for trouble in the Eastern Panhandle. Family Court Judge David Greenberg, who presides in Berkeley and Jefferson counties, is heading the local program. He said it's designed to keep offenders ages 10 to 17 who use drugs or are at high risk for substance abuse out of jail and on a path to a productive life free of drug use. The program is part of a national movement.

Already sentenced to serve a total of 200 years on previous convictions for child sexual abuse, Charles Selby III of Hagerstown will not be tried on the remaining criminal case against him, county prosecutors said Thursday. Washington County Assistant State's Attorney Brett Wilson told Washington County Circuit Judge Donald E. Beachley  that the prosecution wanted to withdraw the last case "based on the outcome of his recent trial .... and the desire not to put the victims through another trial.