Local tip leads to capture of fugitive in Utah - News - MailTribune.com - Medford, OR

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Local tip leads to capture of fugitive in Utah Robert Scott Freier Wednesday Aug 30, 2017 at 6:29 PM Aug 30, 2017 at 6:33 PM Nick Morgan Mail Tribune @mtcrimebeat A convicted sex offender out of compliance with his registration requirements is behind bars in Utah, thanks to Medford police work and a tip through Crime Stoppers of Southern Oregon. Robert Scott Freier, 48, who has multiple warrants out of Jackson County Circuit Court, was arrested Monday in the St. George, Utah, area on a felony charge of failing to register as a sex offender, according to jail records in Washington County, Utah, and Medford police Lt. Justin Ivens. Freier has Jackson County warrants for failing to appear in court on pending felony counts of public indecency and failing to register as a sex offender. The Oregon Department of Corrections classified Freier as a Level 3 offender, according to an Aug. 2 Crime Stoppers of Southern Oregon release seeking Freier's capture. According to Ivens, Medford police Sgt. Brent Mak did the legwork tracking Freier down to an address in a St. George bedroom community. "In our computer databases we came up with an address in Ivins, Utah," Ivens said. Local tips through Crime Stoppers of Southern Oregon corroborated detectives' hunch. Crime Stoppers is a nonprofit organization that partners with local law enforcement agencies and is underwritten by Rogue Credit Union. About two weeks ago, Medford police contacted Santa Clara-Ivins police in Utah who said they had prior contact with Freier for minor incidents, but he hadn't been charged with a crime there before. Freier's criminal history includes a bizarre 2006 burglary case in which surveillance video showed him breaking into a private elementary school in Medford and committing lewd acts while using school equipment to watch a pornographic videotape. He was convicted of burglary and public indecency in the case. Multi-agency captures are common, according to Ivens, though they require initiative to see a case through. "This happens quite a bit," Ivens said. "In the big scheme of things, we all try to help each other." — Reach reporter Nick Morgan at 541-776-4471 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @MTCrimeBeat.