Three convicted sex offenders and a wanted man were arrested during a daylong law enforcement sweep in Perris to verify that they were abiding by the terms of their parole, authorities reported today.
Members of the Riverside County Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement (SAFE) task force, along with personnel from other agencies, conducted parole compliance checks at 103 residences on Wednesday, according to District Attorney’s Office spokesman John Hall.
He said the random visits resulted in the arrests of Timothy Hernandez, 40, Steven Nila, 50, Donald Scott, 58, and Alberto Vargas, 27. The latter was taken into custody at one of the parolees’ homes after investigators learned he had an outstanding felony drug possession warrant out of Los Angeles County.
The other three suspects, all of whom have prior convictions for sex offenses, were arrested for alleged parole violations because they were in possession of pornography, according to Hall.
Under California Penal Code section 295, anyone convicted of a felony sex crime must register with local law enforcement and notify agencies annually of where they’re living, or whenever they relocate.
“The primary objective of this operation was to determine the accuracy of the residence address information provided by each (registrant),” Hall said. “This operation was also to impress upon the registrants the necessity of keeping their registration records current, and to reinforce that law enforcement officials are actively monitoring their compliance.”
Riverside County has one of the highest rates of compliance in the state — 97 percent. Before the SAFE team was activated in 2006, the rate was below 80 percent.
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These teams are packed with Marshals… how much of our tax dollars are going to pay for Feds to do something our local police and parole agents are perfectly capable of doing? Are local police incompetent and need to be coddled by overpaid federal officers….. having a federal police force take over local enforcement sets a bad precedent… but then most of us are too young to remember 1938 Germany. Let the locals do this and get the Marshals back to tracking interstate fugitives and other FEDERAL issues.
I dont care if the police or the feds do this sweep. I am just GLAD they do it! and that they have a high success rate. I have 2 daughters and it is very scary knowing that just right around each corner in my neighborhood is a convicted, registered sex offender. And I live in Menifee!. Great job guys keep up the good work!