CLEARLAKE – A parolee who allegedly cut off a GPS tracking bracelet and fled the county earlier this month has been arrested.
Stoney Martin Prior, 31, was arrested Saturday in Humboldt County, Nev., according to officials.
Prior, a high-risk sex offender, had gone missing March 12 after he allegedly took off the bracelet in Lower Lake. Last week officials reported that they believed he was in the area of the Fort McDermitt Indian Reservation in northern Nevada, as Lake County News has reported.
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokesman Gordon Hinkle said Prior was paroled on March 10.
Hinkle said Prior had been committed to state prison in January of 2005 for assault with the intent to commit a specific sexual offense. As a result Prior was placed on the state's Megan's Law Web site, which tracks convicted sex offenders.
Prior had reported to the Ukiah parole unit at noon on March 12 to be fitted with the GPS bracelet, said Hinkle. The investigation revealed that at about 5:30 p.m. the same day, Prior allegedly removed the device. The device's removal was noticed by a parole officer the next morning.
A officer drove to Lower Lake, Prior's last known location, and attempted to find him by showing his picture at several local businesses, said Hinkle.
An attempt also was made to make telephone contact with Prior's grandparents, who had transported him from San Quentin State Prison to the Ukiah parole unit, but Hinkle said that also was unsuccessful.
Officials used GPS data to determine that 30 minutes before Prior allegedly removed the bracelet he entered a local gas station, said Hinkle. His parole officer contacted the gas station manager to request permission to see the surveillance tapes, which showed Prior getting into a minivan driven by his grandparents.
On the tape, the parole agent was able to get the vehicle's license plate, which was traced to an address in Winnemucca, Nev., said Hinkle. Information on other members of Prior's family also was collected during the investigation.
The Humboldt County, Nev. Sheriff's Office, which finally arrested Prior, got involved when parole officials contacted the agency for help in contacting Prior's grandparents, Hinkle said.
Last week, officials had reported that the van Prior left California in was reportedly found on the Fort McDermitt Indian Reservation, home to the Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe.
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