Man Arrested Under ‘3 Strikes’ Law for Not Registering as Sex Offender
Using a new state law, sheriff’s investigators arrested a 44-year-old man this week for allegedly failing to register as a sex offender, his third “strike.”
If convicted, Edwin Lee Sommers of San Juan Capistrano could be sent to prison for 25 years to life under the state’s “three strikes” law, Sheriff’s Lt. Tom Garner Friday.
Sommers was in custody at Orange County Jail on an unrelated warrant Tuesday when investigators booked him on the registration charge, Garner said.
The case marks the first time sheriff’s investigators have arrested someone for a felony under the new statutes involving sex offender registration, Garner said.
Since the laws went into effect in January, investigators in Orange County have identified about 120 sex offenders suspected of failing to register locally, Garner said. About 71% of those cases have been cleared, he said, either with an arrest, getting the person to register, or finding that the person has moved out of the county.
Those suspected of violating the new laws are notified by mail and given 10 days to register.
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