A Jay man was arrested when he failed to register as a sex offender when he moved to Santa Rosa County from Escambia County, Fla.
Matthew Lee Hopkins, 20, 14572 Highway 89 North, was arrested May 20 for violating the Florida statute that requires him to register when he changes addresses.
According to information released by the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office, Sheriff's Officer Joseph William Spirakis made contact with Hopkins in April in reference to a complaint filed by the Offender Registration Unit.
The report said during an interview Hopkins told the officer he left Pensacola in February, 2020, and went to Louisiana but the house he was going to move into was not available and he moved back to Florida and moved into his grandmother's residence at 14572 Highway 89, Jay. He said he stayed at the residence for about a month and then moved to Brewton. He told the officer he stayed in Brewton about one week but was unable to register there so he moved back to his grandmother's residence to live.
While talking to the officer, Hopkins said he knew he messed up and knew he would be in trouble. When asked why he didn't register when he first left Pensacola and moved to Santa Rosa County, Hopkins said that he did not know he had to. The officer asked him whose responsibility it was to know the conditions of his status and Hopkins said it was his.
Officer Spirakis reported he received a copy of an offense report from Inv. Bruce Shue with the Escambia County (Ala.) Sheriff's Office that stated Hopkins attempted to register with the sheriff's office in Alabama but was not allowed to register due to the address he was attempting to register was a protected address. Shue stated the address given by Hopkins was too close to a day care center.
