Sex offender absconder from Michigan arrested in Marathon

A 59-year-old sex offender wanted for fleeing Michigan was caught by a deputy Thursday night.

Timothy Alma Colmenero was charged locally for failure to register as a sex offender, failure to register within 48 hours of arriving in Monroe County and failure to comply with the registration law while knowingly have absconded from Michigan. He was also charged for lying about his identity.

Deputy Caleb Rosario Pietri was on patrol at 7:30 p.m. when he spotted a blue Mazda traveling southbound on U.S. 1 with an unreadable tag. Deputy Rosario stopped the vehicle. The driver, later identified as Colmenero, provided his insurance and registration, but no driver’s license. He identified himself as James Sanders. He stated he had an active driver’s license in Michigan, but not Florida. 911 Communications staff could not locate any documents regarding the information Colmenero falsely provided. Deputy Rosario questioned Colmenero about his identity and asked for backup.

Deputy Corbin Hradecky arrived on scene. Colmenero gave Deputy Hradecky a social security number, which did not come back to anyone when checked by 911 Communications staff. Colmenero was detained at that time. Deputy Hradecky contacted Sgt. Paul Bean who ran the social security number by authorities in Michigan. A different man’s name came back.

Colmenero’s boss arrived on scene. The boss told Deputy Hradecky he knows the suspect as “Jim,” and that “Jim” has been working for him and living in Marathon for the past year and a half.

Colmenero was then taken to the U.S. Border Patrol station in Marathon where Colmenero’s finger prints were investigated. Colmenero’s true identity was then obtained and it was revealed he was a convicted sex offender from Michigan with a fully extraditable warrant out of that state for parole absconding.

Colmenero told Deputy Rosario that the ordeal was “good training,” for the deputies given how difficult he made things for them.

Colmenero was taken to jail.

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