TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL)--Law enforcement officers in Leon County arrest nearly 20 violent career and sex offenders.
They're accused of violating registration laws.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement rounded up them up Thursday along with the Leon County Sheriff's Office.
"The felons arrested during this operation represent the worst of the worst," said FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey. "My thanks to EIS for removing them from our streets."
The Florida Career Offender Registration Act began in 2002. The act requires career offenders to register their addresses with local sheriff's offices to be maintained in a registry accessible to law enforcement and the public at http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/coflyer/home.asp.
Florida's Sex Offender Registry began in 1997. Florida laws require sexual offenders to register their addresses with local sheriff's offices to be maintained on-line at http://offender.fdle.state.fl.us/offender/homepage.do.
The Tallahassee Police Department and the US Marshal's Task Force also made arrests based on warrants initiated by FDLE's Enforcement and Investigative Support Unit.
All suspects were booked into the Leon County Jail (unless otherwise noted) and will be prosecuted by the Office of State Attorney, 2nd Judicial Circuit.
Here's a list of the sexual offenders who FDLE says violated registration laws:
· Timothy Mears, 53, Darlington County South Carolina Jail, arrested June 18, 2014.
· Dale Robert Allen, 53, arrested July 10, 2014.
· Ben Pearson, 63, arrested July 14, 2014.
· Erick Moody, 35, arrested July 30, 2014.
· Berrion Davis, 61, arrested Aug. 7, 2014.
· Robert Williams, 32, arrested Aug. 11, 2014.
· Chris Vuoso, 43, arrested before Aug. 19, 2014.
· Fontavius Ling, 23, arrested Aug. 21, 2014.
· John Hearn, 44, arrested Sept. 3, 2014.
· Robert Rivers, 59, arrested Sept. 4, 2014.
· Keith Howard, 36, arrested Sept. 4, 2014.
· Ahmad Muhammad (A.K.A. Jerome Williams), 41, arrested Sept. 4, 2014.
· Marquis Rogers, 29, arrested Sept. 4, 2014.
Here's a list of who FDLE says are career offenders:
· Kenneth Hills, 48, arrested July 29, 2014.
· Derrick Holmes, 40, arrested Aug. 24, 2014.
· Robert Morrow, 52, arrested July 29, 2014.
· Harry Smith, 62, arrested Sept. 4, 2014.
· Dane Booth, 30, arrested Sept. 4, 2014.
· Robert Robinson, 50, arrested Sept. 4, 2014.
