Warrant Issued For Missing Howard County Sex Offender

COLUMBIA, Md. (WJZ) -- Howard County Police have issued a warrant for Arthur Edward Spicer Jr., 37.

Spicer is in violation of the county's sex offender registry reporting requirements.

Spicer is wanted for the registry violation and for failure to pay child support.

Howard County detectives conduct regular visits to verify sex offenders' residences and places of employment. They also follow up on complaints from the community about offenders who may not be living at their registered locations.

"We wanted to do this sweep before Halloween to make sure we know where our sex offenders are living," said Police Chief William McMahon. "We recommend that parents check the sex offender registry before taking their children trick-or-treating."

A link to the Maryland Sex Offender Registry can be found here.

Officers located all of the 104 sex offenders registered in Howard County, except for Spicer.

In Howard County, every registered sex offender is verified multiple times a year. Offenders are required to re-register regularly with the police department, based on their sentencing requirements set by the court. A detective team conducts verification operations on an ongoing basis throughout the year.