Long Beach, PC 290.012(a), Client in Idaho, Case Dismissed

Our client, age 47, was a registered sex offender for a conviction he suffered in Long Beach Superior Court more than twenty years ago.  He lived in San Pedro for many years and had a family with three children under age ten.

He regularly registered, with no failures, within five days of his birthday at the Los Angeles Police Department, Harbor Division. 

He and his wife were unhappy with the education their children were receiving and the rampant crime in their neighborhood.  They therefore decided to move to Idaho to put their kids in better schools and, as my client and his wife discovered, for a much lower crime rate and better jobs.

So, after much planning, they found a house they wanted to buy in Boise and drove to Idaho.  They first stayed in a hotel for a few days.  When our client reached Boise, he immediately registered with the local sheriff, giving the hotel address as his location.  This obligation arises under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”), a national sex offender registration law.

The date of his registering coincidentally was three days before his birthday, so his registering in Boise satisfied not only his annual registration obligation, but his obligation to register within five days of leaving one’s permanent address (which used to be in San Pedro).

Meanwhile, at the Los Angeles Police Department Harbor Station, our client did not appear to register within five days.  The detective assigned to registration of sex offenders noticed this failure about a month after our client’s birthday and filed a police report with the Long Beach District Attorney’s Office.

The Long Beach District Attorney’s Office then filed a complaint against our client, alleging a single count of failing to register under Penal Code § 290.012(a).  Neither the Los Angeles Police Department, nor the Long Beach District Attorney’s Office, apparently checked with the SORNA website to see if our client had registered as required, but was living elsewhere.

The court then held an arraignment on the complaint and our client, not knowing the case had been filed, did not appear.  The judge issued an arrest warrant for our client.

Meanwhile, up in Idaho, our client and his wife were enjoying well-paying, steady jobs and their children were in good school, thriving.

Then one day, our client’s employer notified him of an arrest warrant out of Los Angeles County Superior Court for him.

The client then called Greg Hill and discussed the situation.  Greg understood that it appeared as if the Los Angeles Police Department, Harbor Division, expected our client to tell them he was relocating to Idaho before he did so.  

However, under the Penal Code, no such obligation exists.  Put another way, there is no obligation to give the police a “good-bye” kiss before one leaves.

Greg asked the client to provide documentation of his registration in Idaho and anything else he wanted to provide.  The client did so, sending Greg perhaps 50 pages of registration documentation, photographs of the family in Idaho, as well as pay stub for his work there and the mortgage contract for the house the family bought in Boise.

Greg then went to the Long Beach Courthouse and spoke with a prosecutor who listened to Greg and understood the law on this type of case.  He took the paperwork, which Greg highlighted with a florescent yellow marker in important areas, and showed it to the sex crimes filing deputy district attorney in the Long Beach Courthouse.  Greg then returned to his office, hoping the filing deputy would not find a reason to keep the complaint filed.

That afternoon, about 4:00 p.m., the district attorney Greg presented the paperwork to, sent Greg a text.  It said that he called the case and asked the judge to dismiss the complaint.  The judge did so and recalled the arrest warrant.

Our client was extremely happy with this, as he did not have to miss any work to come down to Long Beach Superior Court and the case was dismissed.

For more information about failing to register as a sex offender, please click on the following articles: