Convicted sex offender arrested again for not registering
A sex offender convicted last year for failing to register and given probation was arrested Tuesday for allegedly failing to register again and is reportedly homeless.
Jason Dean Odom, 45, who lists “city streets” as his residence, was taken into custody shortly before 1 p.m. in the 200 block of East Grand Avenue and charged with failure to comply with the sex offender registration and reporting requirements, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Odom was being held on a $3,500 bond and was set to appear Wednesday in Garland
County District
Court. According to court records, Odom pleaded guilty to the same charge in Garland County Circuit Court on Oct. 7, 2021, and was sentenced to 10 years in prison, with all of it suspended, fined $1,500 and ordered to pay $500 in court costs. As part of the plea agreement, a felony count of theft by receiving involving a stolen car was withdrawn.
According to the probable cause affidavit on the new charge, on Aug. 11, Hot Springs police Detective Shawn Woodall was notified that Odom, a Level 2 sex offender convicted of second-degree sexual assault in 2010, was no longer staying at his listed address on Little John Trail.
Odom had provided that address as his current residence during his last sex offender verification session on March 7. Woodall spoke to the owner of the residence on Little John and confirmed Odom had not been living there for over a month.
According to the registration requirements, Odom must notify law enforcement of any change in his residence within five days of moving. As of Aug. 11, Odom had not made any notification of moving to a new address.
Woodall noted he attempted to contact Odom using cellphone numbers he had listed on his last verification form, but they were all nonworking numbers. A warrant was later issued for his arrest.