Authorities Arrest Sex Offender For Failing To Register For Five Years
A convicted sex offender who dropped off police radar for at least 9 months was located in Indio, this week.
The man is known by two names: Dereck Gardiner and Rick Mosamino. He has a criminal history that includes convictions in California for sexual assault, and other sex crime convictions in Las Vegas and Hawaii.
Gardiner had eluded authorities as recently as last November. Police tell News Channel 3 he was detained for shoplifting at the Westfield Shoppingtown in Palm Desert on November 28, and had a brief scuffle with security officers.
His arrest came after police served him with two felony theft warrants, and investigators connected the pieces of the investigation.
Gardiner is in the Riverside Jail. He will be arraigned at the courthouse in Indio on Monday.
