Regular compliance checks of local registered sex offenders conducted by the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office resulted in two more arrests Thursday.
Fontaine Jabar Sears, 39, registered his residency in Coffee County on Jan. 18, 2018 after being released from prison the day prior. At the time, he was registered as “homeless” and informed to keep the sheriff’s office updated regularly as to where he would be staying. The sheriff’s office had not heard from Sears since that time. All registered sex offenders are also required to inform the sheriff’s office of their place of employment.
Sheriff’s officials obtained information that Sears was living at a location in Broxton that was not in compliance with the guidelines of his sex offender status, being located within 1,000 feet of a church. Officials also learned that Sears had been employed with a local business since the end of January and had failed to provide proper notification to the sheriff’s office.
Warrants were obtained for Sears’ arrest for failure to register address change of a sex offender and failure to report employment of a sex offender. He was located in Broxton Thursday morning with the assistance of the Broxton Police Department and taken into custody.
Sears was convicted of sexual battery in 2010 and has served previous sentences for failing to register as a sex offender.
Jeffery Lamar Gissenter, 40, convicted of various sex crimes in Florida, registered an address in Coffee County in July 2017. Sheriff’s officials recently determined Gissenter had not resided at that address for several months, had failed to notify the sheriff’s office of moving, and had absconded from the area.
Authorities obtained further information that Gissenter was possibly residing in the area of Palm Beach County, Fla. Sheriff’s officials coordinated with Palm Beach County law enforcement, who were able to locate Gissenter Thursday morning at a residence in their jurisdiction. Gissenter was taken into custody and is currently at the Palm Beach County Detention Center awaiting extradition back to Georgia.