Caledonia Argus

Sex offenders arrested in county

Posted: 12/23/03

Two sex offenders who had been spending time in Caledonia were arrested in separate incidents recently.

James Ellis Warbington, 32, was taken into custody in La Crescent on December 15 for allegedly violating terms of his parole. He also had an expired drivers license.

Randy Lee Whitney, 21, of La Crosse appeared in Houston County district court Monday, December 22, for failing to register as a predatory offender, a felony.

The work of some employees at Merchants Bank in Caledonia and Winona led to the arrest of Warbington, who lives in Winona, last week.

He was first taken to the Houston County Jail in Caledonia, where he appeared in court on December 17 on the matter of his expired drivers license. He was then transferred to the Winona County jail in Winona on December 19.

A revocation hearing to see if he has violated his conditions of release is scheduled for Tuesday, December 30 at 11 a.m. in the courthouse there.

Warbington went to Merchants Bank in Caledonia to open an account on December 12. Assistant cashier Nancy Schroeder couldnít open the account for him because he didnít have proper identification.

The way he acted raised Schroederís suspicions. ìSomething just didnít seem right,î she said on December 16. ìI had a gut feeling.î

Warbington had told her that he had an account with the bank in Winona, so after he left, she called the branch office there. The person she talked to recognized his name and the fact that he was a sex offender from a poster she had seen at an exercise place.

Schroeder went to the Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC) web site and saw that Warbington was a level three sexual offender, which is the most serious level of offense. She called the Caledonia Police Department.

Police officers found out that Warbington had been living with a woman in an apartment building in Caledonia for about eight days.

The manager of the apartments had the locks on the apartment changed under the supervision of the police.

The police department called the Minnesota Department of Corrections in Winona and talked to Warbingtonís parole officer. She determined that Warbington had violated the conditions of his release, so she had a warrant issued for his arrest. La Crescent police officer James Michalke picked him up at 12:24 p.m. on Monday, December 15, while he was driving his silver Ford Taurus with a green door.

DOC information officer Shari Burt said on December 17 that the warrant was issued because of failure to report as directed and failure to follow his agentís directive.

Burt said that his parole officer was aware of his general vicinity.

Wanted to move to Caledonia

Warbington had requested permission to move to the Caledonia area, Burt said, and the DOC was reviewing that request.

ìHe did have permission to be in Caledonia,î she said.

Before a person is given permission to move, a public meeting involving local law enforcement officers must be held. At this meeting, people are informed of the manís identity and address, and are given general safety tips such as the importance of locking doors or not walking alone, Burt said.

Caledonia Police Chief Duane St. Mary said that Caledonia has never had a level three sex offender living in the city.

Warbington will be represented by counsel at the revocation hearing. A hearing officer will decide if he has violated any conditions of his release. If that is the case, the hearing officer will decide what happens next, such as restructured conditions, or a return to prison.

Burt said that Warbington had a technical violation of his rules of release as opposed to new criminal charges. She also said it was important to note that he was back in custody within hours of the arrest warrant being issued.

According to the DOC, Warbington has a history of forced sexual contact with adult females, including rape. He used deception and physical force to gain compliance, and was known to his victims.

Second offender charged

In the case of the other sex offender, Randy Lee Whitney had been living in Caledonia for the past few weeks when he was arrested Friday, December 19. The Caledonia Police Department was investigating him on a complaint from a La Crosse taxi cab company which claimed that he did not pay for a ride from La Crosse to Caledonia. After conducting a background check, it was discovered that he had failed to register as a sex offender.

He had been living in an apartment on South Ramsey Street.

Before coming to Caledonia, Caledonia Police Chief Duane St. Mary said Whitney had been living on the streets.

Whitney was convicted as a juvenile in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin for first degree criminal sexual conduct with a child, which is the most severe conviction. He began registering as a predatory offender in 2000. Since Wisconsin does not classify its sexual offenders as Minnesota does, he has not been assigned a level. However, he is required to receive a classification if he moves to Minnesota. ìThat happens if heís done prison time,î Houston County Attorney Rick Jackson added.

Whitneyís conditional bail was set at $6,000, with unconditional bail set at $10,000.

Release conditions include: not leaving the state of Minnesota, signing a waiver of extradition, no contact with anyone under the age of 18, and no assaultive behavior.

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