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City police catch Wisconsin sex offender
Juan Martinez w sm
MARTINEZ
An unregistered Wisconsin sex offender was arrested by Smithville police last week after an investigation which began following a routine traffic stop on Braswell Lane.Juan Martinez, 22, was charged with violation of the sex offender registry law and with being a fugitive from justice after an investigation by city police concluded that he had not only been in Tennessee for more than two weeks without reporting in as an offender, but that he is also facing new sex abuse charges in at least one other state.According to Smithville Police Chief Randy Caplinger, Martinez is expected to be extradited to Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he is not only a convicted sex offender, but is facing a new charge of exploitation of a minor.Martinez was reportedly involved in a traffic mishap in Smithville on Jan. 11.The officer investigating the accident discovered that Martinez was a convicted sex offender.The department contacted Wisconsin authorities, who confirmed that Martinez was a registered offender, and was also wanted there on the new charges.Martinez told local police that he had been living here for about two weeks, but he had not registered as a convicted sex offender, which he is required by law to do within 48 hours of arriving in Tennessee.Martinez’s bond was set at $125,000 and he will be in court Feb. 9.Meanwhile, city police say Patsy Lynn McCoy, 39, and 30-year-old Travis Malone are both charged with two counts of theft of property after Malone sold a ring that McCoy allegedly stole.McCoy is charged with stealing the ring from a Bell Street residence, and Malone is accused of selling it to a local jewelry store while McCoy waited outside.Malone reportedly told authorities that McCoy asked him to sell the ring for her because she didn't have any ID. McCoy is under a $9,000 bond and she will be in court Feb. 2. Malone’s bond is $2,500, and he will also be in court on Feb. 2.McCoy is also charged with theft and simple possession of a Schedule II controlled substance after allegedly stealing a bottle of Ibuprofen from Kwik and Ezy on the same day.After she was arrested, officers reportedly found her to be in possession of pills believed to be hydrocodone.