Sheriff's Department steps up enforcement of sex offender laws

Carson City Sheriff's investigators are increasing their contact with sex offenders by conducting weekly visits to their homes.

"If you are a sex offender in Carson City and your address is not current, you need to come in and register, or we'll find you and arrest you for a felony," said Lt. Bob White.

Sheriff's department records indicate there are 270 sex offenders who are registered in Carson City.

According to the Nevada Sex Offender Registry Web site, at least eight of those Carson City registrants are not in compliance with the law because they have not returned a yearly postcard to the state Criminal History Repository.

"Part of the problem is the transient nature of offenders," said Kim Evans, spokeswoman for the Nevada Department of Public Safety. "There's a misperception that's been around for a long time that we've lost track of these offenders. We're asking the offender to be on the honor system, to do what is required by law to return the annual letter that is required. If they don't, they are not in compliance."

Carson City offenders who are not in compliance according to the Web site are: Mark Steven Ellington, 51, last registered in April 2003; William Jason Turner, 33, last registered in September 2005; Toby J. Russell, 30, last registered April 2005; Robert A. Butcher, 56, last registered May 2005; Ricky E. Patenaude, 49, last registered in August 2002; James Kelly Vanvliet, 45, last registered in December 2004; Gary Lee Spangler, 47, who is in the Carson City Jail on a theft charge; and only one Tier 3 offender, Jerry D. McIntyre, 56, who has never registered with the Carson City Sheriff's Department, according to their records.

"The detective division is aware of the number and extent of the sex offenders who are listed as non-compliant. We will be out verifying addresses, which means knocking on doors, and talking to people. When it says non-compliant, the (offenders) could still live at the address where they registered and they just never sent their card in, or they could have moved out of the state. That's the thing we will be trying to determine," said Lt. White.

Under a new sex-offender law that took effect July 1, the state can now release the actual work and home addresses of the state's 1,994 Tier 2 and 3 offenders. That information, along with the offenders' pictures, age, sex, weight and date of conviction are now available on nvsexoffenders.gov. The site allows the public to search for an offender by name, zip code, license plate, street address or Social Security number.

The new law also changed the classification of 41 offenders to Tier 3, making them subject to community notification. Of these 41, there were three who had previously been assessed at a Tier 1 and 38 had been previously assessed as Tier 2 offenders, said Evans.

The reclassification changed the designation for one of Lyon County's 149 registered offenders, of which three are non-compliant. Sean Coots, 49, went from a Tier 2 to a Tier 3.

Evans said Storey County has 13 registered offenders, of which two are non-compliant.

• Contact reporter F.T. Norton at ftnorton@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1213.

Sex Offender Classifications

The designations are as follows:

• Tier 3 (highest risk) - A convicted sex offender who is assessed as posing a substantial risk of recidivism and threat to public safety. Requires notification to law enforcement, organizations in the community, including schools, religious and youth organizations, prosecutors and courts and general community notification. There are 108 offenders at this level.

• Tier 2 (moderate risk) - A convicted sex offender who is assessed as posing a probable risk of recidivism and threat to public safety. Requires notification to law enforcement and organizations in the community, including schools, religious and youth organizations, as well as prosecutors and courts. There are 1,886 offenders at this level.

• Tier 1 (low risk) - A convicted sex offender who is assessed as posing a possible risk of recidivism and threat to public safety. Notification shall be provided only to persons authorized to receive criminal history record information. Typically, this includes law enforcement, prosecutors and courts. Assessment information is not intended for the general public. There are 1,812 offenders at this level.

• Tier 0 (no assessment required) - Convicted sex offenders who are required to register; however, they are convicted of a misdemeanor, gross misdemeanor, or crime against a child, and are not subject to community notification. These offenders are not subject to a risk assessment. Requirements are to renew their driver's licenses, and mandates they renew those licenses every year. There are 1,509 offenders at this level.

On the Web:

http://www.nvsexoffenders.gov/