Third internet predator captured

Members of the Jackson County Sheriff's Office Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force from the Tuckerman Police Department and the Sheriff's Office made their third arrest Saturday, Dec. 8.

Sheriff David Lucas, Tuckerman Police Chief Don Black and Tuckerman Officers Chris McClellan and Shannon Webb staked out a residence on Dowell Ave. after just a week of undercover Internet investigation, lasting from Dec. 2 to Dec. 8.

During this investigation, Brit John Olen Yates, 29, of Jonesboro is alleged to have participated in online Internet chats with three undercover investigators from the Sheriff's Office Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force who were posing as 13 and 14-year-old females.

At approximately 7:30 p.m., Yates drove to Dowell Ave. from Jonesboro, allegedly to engage in sexual intercourse with what he believed to be a 13-year-old female. As Yates arrived at the prearranged location, he was taken into custody.

Yates was then transported to the Jackson County Detention Center where he was charged with three counts of Internet Stalking of a Child, a Class B felony, and three counts of Sexual Indecency with a Child, a Class D felony.

"This type of cooperation between the Sheriff's Office and the Tuckerman Police Department is just an example of how the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force can and will work," Sheriff Lucas stated. "It is an excellent demonstration of how all of the law enforcement agencies in Jackson County can work together to protect the children of our communities. I would like to commend Chief Black for allowing his officers to be a part of this Task Force and also for the work his department does for the protection of the Tuckerman citizens."