Texas sex offender cuts off GPS tracking device, arrested in Lehigh
A registered sex offender from Texas was arrested in Lehigh Acres Friday after cutting off the GPS tracking device he was ordered to wear and failing to report his whereabouts, authorities said Saturday.
Lee County deputies located Pablo Lopez, 51, at 35 Alabama Road and arrested him shortly before 2:30 p.m. Lopez was convicted of a sex crime in Jefferson County, Texas in 1980 and declared a sexual offender, officials said. He had since been released from the sanction imposed by the conviction, but terms of his probation included wearing a GPS tracking device and registering a new address each time he moved.
An investigation reveals that Lopez moved to Florida and stopped doing both, officials with the Lee County Sheriff’s office said. According to a state probation officer, Lopez cut off his GPS tracking device in December 2008 while he was living in Immokalee. He then moved to Lehigh Acres, where he had been renting a room since mid-June.
Lopez is facing fugitive from justice charges from Texas. Since he never reported his change of address when he moved to Lehigh Acres, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office Sexual Predator/Offender Unit is also charging him with failure to register as a sex offender.
Source: Lee County Sheriff’s Office