Justin Wayne Morgan
Tuskeegee – In one of the more bizarre apprehensions in recent memory, a concerned resident’s tip to authorities led to the arrests of a registered sex offender from Georgia and an Arkansas resident who initially did not reveal her identity.
Reports were received by the Graham County Sheriff’s Office in the area of Lower Sawyers Creek over the weekend, regarding a suspicious vehicle. Patrolling officers soon located the vehicle and determined that 45-year-old Clayton, Ga., resident Justin Wayne Morgan was likely camping in the area.
A registered sex offender in Georgia, Morgan had outstanding warrants for his arrest.
Officers stopped the vehicle Saturday and took Morgan into custody without incident. A female passenger was also arrested, but would not identify herself and was later booked into the Graham County Detention Center as “Jane Kate Doe.”
A 12-gauge shotgun was found inside the vehicle, which led Morgan to be charged with possession of firearm by a felon, as well as extradition of a fugitive to another state.
He later posted a bond of $65,000.
Monday, local officials finally identified the Jane Doe as 46-year-old Joletta Mary Nelson of Ash Flat, Ark. Her bond was set at $5,000; as of Tuesday afternoon, she was still in custody.
According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Sex Offender Registry, Morgan has a listed residence of 185 Stekoa Falls Road in Clayton, which was just verified Oct. 28.
He was convicted of statutory rape on Jan. 25, 1999 – a felony – and registered as a sex offender April 15, 1999.