When a sex offender violates his or her parole, all of the peace officers in the state are notified, according to the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office.
LSO reported that two new sex offenders are registered in Lubbock each month.
Robert Lee Herron, 40, a registered sex offender, was released from the West Texas Intermediate Sanction Facility in Brownsville on Monday. He was last seen at the Greyhound bus station in downtown Lubbock, where he was supposed to take a bus to a halfway house in El Paso.
LSO Lieutant Bryan Taylor said that he has had many cases where people have tried to flee, attempting to remove themselves from the juristiction.
“A lot of them have the desire to fly unfer the radar, keeping the attention off them,” said Taylor. “Those are the ones we watch closely.”
Rather than catching these sexual offenders in active crimes, Taylor said LSO makes arrests through their compliance checks, where officials see if the offenders have made any violations.
“We go through and verify that they’re living where they are, their vehicles, current photos, any drastic changes in their appearance,” said Taylor. “We document them, and put it in their file.”
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, there are currently 610 registered sex offenders throughout the county, and 193 within the city alone. When the offender is released from jail, that person has a seven day period to check in with the Sheriff’s Office. If he or she fails to do so, a seperate criminal charge is placed.
