SEBASTIAN COUNTY (KFSM) — Two people were arrested and eight more have arrest warrants pending after several law enforcement agencies conducted a verification sweep of every sex offender in Sebastian County.
Operation Undivided has been conducted over the last several days by the Sebastian County Sheriff’s Office and several other law enforcement agencies, said Capt. Philip Pevehouse of the sheriff’s office.
The sweep checked on more than 300 registered sex offenders in Sebastian County and verified just under 300 of them, resulting in a compliance rate of 77.8 percent.
The sweep led to eight pending warrants for failure to register or comply, Pevehouse said. It also led to two arrests.
Eric Chestine, 31, of Huntington, a Level 2 sex offender, was arrested for manufacturing marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and maintaining a premises for narcotic sales.
John Wesley Jones, 56, of Fort Smith was arrested for failure to appear and felony possession of drug paraphernalia.
Pevehouse said two children under the age of 5 were found to be with an offender and were taken by the Department of Human Services. Two electronic devices were seized and are pending forensic investigation, he said.
The sheriff’s office was assisted by the Arkansas Community Correction (Parole), Homeland Security Investigations, Bonanza Police and Fort Smith Police.
