A 67-year-old man required to register as a sex offender for life has been arrested after investigators said he was secretly living in Texas City while his registration listed a southeast Houston address. Alonzo Longoria was taken into custody by Harris County Precinct 1 constables and Texas City police and charged with failure to register as a sex offender, a third-degree felony.
Investigators said Longoria owned the home on Gilpin Street where his registration claimed he lived, and that relatives actually resided there. According to Click2Houston, authorities believe Longoria kept a bedroom at the Gilpin Street property specifically to make it look like he still lived there, even though he was actually living at a home in Texas City.
The case first surfaced when Precinct 1 detectives served an Internet Crimes Against Children search warrant at the home in the 500 block of Gilpin Street in July. During that search, according to the same outlet, investigators found a tightly wound bundle of fireworks that initially appeared to be an explosive device, prompting a response from the Harris County Sheriff's Office Bomb Squad, which safely secured the item.
A Child Pornography Investigation Tied to the Address
The Gilpin Street property was also connected to the arrest of Justin Hogue, who was charged with three counts of first-degree felony possession of child pornography, Click2Houston reports. That case remains pending, per the same account.
The exact volume of material recovered from the residence is disputed between outlets. Click2Houston reported that more than 550 images and videos were found at the residence, while ABC13 reported that authorities found more than 500 child-pornography images and videos on an electronic device inside the home. Separately, Fox 26 Houston reported that authorities at the home saw a suspicious device with a wick, which led to the evacuation and bomb squad call.
A 2000 Conviction Triggered the Lifetime Registration
Longoria's registration requirement traces back to 2000, when he pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a Houston woman. He was sentenced to eight years in prison for that conviction and is required to register as a sex offender for life as a result, the report notes. His address has since been corrected in the Texas Sex Offender Registry, which is maintained by the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Texas law sets firm requirements for people on the registry. Registered sex offenders are required to provide accurate registration and verification information to their local law enforcement authority and primary registration authority, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety, which also says offenders must periodically verify their information and notify authorities of any change in address, online identifiers, name, physical health, job status or educational status.
Failure to register as a sex offender in Texas carries a two to 10 year prison term and a fine of up to $10,000. It remains unclear how Longoria's case will proceed through the courts.
