Police Say Convicted Sex Offender Was Illegally Staying in Burnsville

A convicted sex offender who told authorities that he was living in Shakopee was arrested after police found him living at a home in Burnsville.

Steven Roger Jones, 44, was charged last week with failing to register as a predatory offender, a felony with a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine, and a minimum sentence of two years in prison.   

Jones remains in the Dakota County Jail on an $80,000 bond. An omnibus hearing in his case is scheduled Aug. 7 in Dakota County District Court in Hastings.

According to the criminal complaint, Jones -- who was convicted of criminal sexual conduct in 1991, 1997 and 1999 -- is required to register as a level three sex offender.

Burnsville police were contacted July 6 by Shakopee police, who alerted them to Jones’ failure to keep his predatory offender registration current.

A Shakopee detective told Burnsville officers that Jones had completed a change of information form on July 3 when he moved from Savage to a Shakopee motel. On July 4, Shakopee police learned that Jones had been evicted from the motel early that morning, and Shakopee and Savage police began searching for him.

Police learned on July 6 that Jones was staying at a home in Burnsville. When police contacted the residents, they said Jones had told them that the police were looking for him and that he wasn’t complying with his registration requirements, since authorities didn’t know that he was in Burnsville on July 4 and 5.

Officers tracked down Jones, who admitted that he hadn’t registered since July 3 and that he had been drunk most of the time since then, according to the complaint. He also admitted that he received a voice mail from a detective who was looking for him, but that he hadn’t returned the call.

Jones was convicted in 2004 of failing to register as a predatory offender.