A 62-year-old Houston, Texas, man has been charged with a felony for allegedly hanging out at Arnold City Park, despite being a registered sex offender who is prohibited from being in public places where children congregate.
Arnold Police got a call at 10:43 a.m. Sunday (June 1) about a suspicious vehicle in the park, and an officer reportedly found Wendell Alexander there next to a playground where children were playing, the probable-cause statement said.
Alexander had allegedly parked his vehicle there and had several items spread out on it like he was setting up for a flea market, Arnold Police Capt. Robert Ruckman said.
The officer ran a check on Alexander and learned he was a registered sex offender and was not supposed to loiter within 500 feet of a public park with a playground or public swimming pool, the report said.
Alexander had pleaded guilty in 1996 to indecency and sexual contact with a child in Houston, according to the report.
The Arnold Police officer arrested him, and on Monday (June 2), the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged the man with a class D felony punishable by up to four years in prison and/or a $5,000 fine.
He was being held today (June 4) at the Jefferson County Jail on a $20,000 cash-only bond.