GOLDENDALE — Klickitat County Sheriff Bob Songer appeared at the Klickitat County Commissioners meeting on Feb. 21, where, as part of his report, he discussed the case of Tanner Carrico, a transient sex offender who was arrested Jan. 31 for failing to register as a sex offender.
Carrico, who was already registered as a Level 3 sex offender in Oregon, had crossed the border into Washington without notifying Oregon, Songer said.
According to a press release on the Klickitat County Sheriff’s Office (KSCO) official Facebook page, the county had received numerous reports and complaints about Carrico over the two months prior to his arrest. These reports came from near the communities of Trout Lake, BZ Corner and Bingen, where Carrico was allegedly living in his red Toyota Sienna minivan.
Under Washington law, sex offenders who move to Washington must register within three business days of establishing residence, and Carrico had reportedly been living there in his van for months. Because he had failed to register as a sex offender, he was brought to Klickitat County Jail.
On Feb. 1, the Klickitat County Jail received a memo from the Klickitat County Prosecutor’s Office instructing them to release Carrico without conditions, the press release said. Though they did release Carrico, they first escorted him to the sheriff’s office where he registered as a transient sex offender.
“I made him register because the prosecutor wants to cut him loose without any conditions,” Songer said. “And the prosecutor has a legal right to do what he did, but I have a legal right to make sure our citizens are safe, and I feel he could be a threat to our citizens. They need to be aware that he’s out and about our county.”
According to Klickitat County Prosecutor David Quesnel, the reason for release was a legal one, as they didn’t have the grounds to continue to hold Carrico or the evidence to charge him. He also expressed disappointment that the KSCO, rather than communicating with the prosecutor’s office about their concerns, posted the press release.
The release gathered more than 100 comments on Facebook. Some of these comments referenced vigilantism, which Songer spoke out against, both in the county meeting and to Columbia Gorge News.
“He’s a dangerous individual, but we will not tolerate vigilantism or anything like that against Mr. Carrico,” Songer said.
Songer said that Carrico has been released and, as a transient Level 3 sex offender, is required to check in every week and report his whereabouts. If he were to fail to do so, he could once again be arrested, Songer said.
Since the arrest, Carrico has called every week per the requirements, Songer said.
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