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| An awful lt of resources went into this coffee shop "investigation". Apparently donuts were somehow involved as well. |
My official stance on this issue is this – the First Amendment guarantees that a person has freedom of anonymous speech, and that right is absolute except in cases where there is imminent harm, such as shouting fire in a crowded building. This rights extends to Internet speech, such as going to a coffee shop in using a social networking site to speak anonymously. This is an illegal arrest, and the police should be held liable for malicious prosecution.
Normally I would block the individual's name here to prevent further shame, but unfortunately, his name is part of the accusation used against him. His first name is Chris, but online he was going by the name Israel, though the last name was the same. He obviously was not hiding too well, and chances are he was using the networking tools to do the same thing the rest of us do, to keep in touch with loved ones and possibly to find a job, which we all know is damn near impossible to do in the state of Alabama once you're on the registry.
Convicted sex offender caught using fake name and free coffee shop wi-fi, Jefferson County authorities say
By Carol Robinson | crobinson@al.com
on March 20, 2013 at 11:45 AM, updated March 20, 2013 at 11:59 AM Print
Tye Christopher Moore
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Jefferson County sheriff's investigators have arrested a 42-year-old convicted sex offender who they say was going to a neighborhood coffee shop to use their free wireless service to access internet and social media sites.
Deputies on Tuesday arrested Tye Christopher Moore of Birmingham. Moore was convicted in 2008 in Washington for molesting a 12-year-old girl.
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| Jefferson Co Sheriff Deputy Randy Christian |
Chief Deputy Randy Christian provided this account of what led to Moore's arrest this week: In January sheriff's Computer Forensics and Sex Offender Units received an anonymous tip that a sex offender was visiting a local coffee house and using their free wi-fi to access the internet and social media sites. Authorities didn't disclose the name of the coffee shop.
Months of investigation showed the man was using the name Israel Moore, and that his true name is Tye Christopher Moore. He was using the alias to avoid being identified as a sex offender. Moore had registered with the Sex Offender Unit under his true name, but had failed to provide information about his assumed name and his social media activities at the time he registered.
Deputies obtained search warrants for Moore's vehicle and his home in the 7200 block of Rome Avenue. Deputies carried out these search warrants on Tuesday. His vehicle was located at a coffee shop. Investigators found evidence of his activities and attempts to conceal his true identity. Computer forensic investigators are continuing to study the electronic evidence seized for other criminal activity.
Moore is charged with failing to provide required information when registering and failing to notify of name change. Both are felonies under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. He is currently in the Jefferson County Jail with bond set at $30,000.
"Like most of these types, he wanted to fly undetected below the radar. I'm so proud of our guys for seeing this through,'' Christian said. "It takes a lot of want-to and patience to bring a case like this to fruition. If it saves just one child from becoming a victim then we have been incredibly successful."
