Sex offender arrested

McKinley County Sheriff's officers John Trevor-Smith and Ron Saavedra take convicted sex offender Adrian Chee into custody on Thursday afternoon — © 2008 Gallup Independent / Brian Leddy

Copyright © 2008
Gallup Independent
By Phil Stake
Staff writer

GALLUP — McKinley County Sheriff’s deputies surprised Adrian Chee, a convicted rapist, Thursday, by arresting him for failing to comply with the terms of his sex offender registration.

Registered sex offenders are required to alert authorities of any major life change, including a change of address, change of employer or change of phone number.

Additionally, they are required to check in with authorities once a year. Chee neglected these responsibilities, which led to a felony warrant for his arrest, according to investigator Ron Saavedra.

Saavedra said Chee failed to report for his annual check-in in February, that he had moved without informing authorities, that his phone number had changed, and that he had begun working for a different employer, whom Chee had also failed to inform that he was in fact a convicted sex offender — yet another neglected term of his registration. For all intents and purposes, Chee had disappeared from the radar, sending deputies to his listed address twice in March and on constant lookout thereafter.

Upon finding his new place of employment at 1907 W. Highway 66, Saavedra and four other deputies surrounded the building in which Chee was working, placing a man at each exit, then surprised a slew of midmorning shoppers by walking in with an arrest warrant and with ready handcuffs.

“We’re getting sick and tired of these guys playing silly games,” Saavedra said. “If you don’t comply, you’re going to jail.”

And Chee did.

He’s being held on $10,000 cash bail at McKinley County Adult Detention Facility, awaiting arraignment Monday on one fourth-degree felony charge for non-compliance.