Fugitive Sex Offender Captured in Panama City: First to be Prosecuted Locally Under Adam Walsh Act

PANAMA CITY, FL - The U.S. Marshals in the Northern District of Florida arrested John Guadalupe Gonzales at 8:30 this morning during a felony car stop in Panama City, FL. Deputy Marshals from the Tallahassee and Panama City Offices, along with task force members from the U.S. Marshals North Florida Violent Fugitive Task Force and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) apprehended Gonzales after conducting a brief surveillance in a local park. Gonzales was arrested without incident after the Task Force stopped his car on West Collegiate Drive in the city. The 55 year old Gonzales will be the first sexual predator to be prosecuted federally under the Adam Walsh Act in the Northern District of Florida. The act which was signed into law July 27, 2006, on the 25th anniversary of Adam Walsh’s abduction and murder; requires a convicted sex offender to register as such, notify authorities when and if they move and to re-register in the town that they move to. The act is also designed to create federal standards for the registration of sex offenders requiring more stringent supervision of registered sex offenders. Additionally, sexual predators like Gonzales would be charged with a federal felony if they fail to register.

"We have been working with our state and local partners for some time to go after sexual predators, but now with this legislation implemented, unregistered sex offenders will be considered federal fugitives, and they will be a priority for Deputy U.S. Marshals across this country, “ said John Clark, Director of the Marshals Service.

The U.S. Marshals Service was designated by the Act as the agency to lead the national effort to track down and arrest these fugitive felons.

“There has been a running theme nationwide to hunt and apprehend these types of criminals”, said U.S. Marshal Dennis Williamson. “These are serious crimes and we take them very seriously making them priority cases”, said Williamson.

In April of 1993, Gonzales was arrested in Claremore, Oklahoma for the offenses of Forcible Sodomy, Indecent Exposure, and Lewd Molestation of a Child. Gonzales plead guilty to Forcible Sodomy and Indecent Exposure and entered a Nolo Contendere plea to Lewd Molestation in May of 1993. Gonzales was sentenced to 5 years on each count to run concurrent on all three counts. Gonzales was released in June of 1995 and moved to Denver, Colorado. Gonzales did register as a sex offender in Denver in September of 2006, but allegedly failed to notify the Denver Police Department that he moved to Florida two months later. U.S. Marshals Service investigation determined since living in Panama City, Gonzalez had never registered with the State of Florida as a sex offender as well. Gonzales was taken to Bay County Jail where he will be held in federal custody pending a detention hearing on Friday in the Federal District Court in Panama City.