'Wanted Wednesday' Yields Arrest Of Sex Offender Who Cut Off Electronic Monitoring Bracelet
CHICAGO (CBS)--A wanted sex offender from north suburban Zion who has been on the run since August after cutting off his electronic monitoring device has been captured, thanks to the Lake County Sheriff's Office's 'Wanted Wednesday' program.
The sheriff's office said Keanu C. Gibson, 23, was sentenced to a 10-month work release program that allowed him to leave jail to go to work, but he was required to report back to the Community Based Corrections Center each night after his shift.
About two months into his work release sentence, on Oct. 19, Gibson cut off his electronic monitoring device and disappeared, the sheriff's office said.
An arrest warrant was issued for his escape, for failure to appear on a charge of criminal sexual abuse, violating the sex offender registry and burglary, the sheriff's office said.
Police were unsure of his whereabouts until this month.
The sheriff's office posted a "wanted" poster for part of its "Wanted Wednesday" campaign featuring Gibson's photo on Dec. 5, and a tip came in that led to his arrest in Ohio on Thursday, Dec. 20.
Gibson's "Wanted Wednesday" post was a hit on social media. It was shared more than 1,000 times on Facebook and was viewed by more than 50,000 people.
Gibson had fled to Dayton, Ohio, the sheriff's office said.
The Lake County Sheriff's Warrants Team collaborated with the U.S. Marshals Service-Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team to arrest him where he was hiding in an upstairs bedroom of a house.
Gibson is being held in a jail in Montgomery County, Ohio awaiting extradition hearings.