A sex offender in Weirsdale was arrested for not updating his registry when a deputy learned his vehicle had a new tag.
Ronald Eugene Brown, 42, was convicted in Marion County of sexual battery (not likely to cause harm) on Dec. 14, 2005, according to an arrest report from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. Due to this, he is required to register as a sexual offender.
On Oct. 4, 2013, he initially registered as a sexual offender in Marion County. The most recent forms he completed were on June 30, 2025, where he acknowledged that updating any change in vehicles must be done within 24 hours, the report said.
However, on Monday, a deputy saw Brown parked at Circle K, located at 13873 SE Hwy. 42, Weirsdale. He was pumping gas next to a black Cadillac SUV, and when the deputy checked it, he learned its registered tag had been replaced with a new one. This new tag had not been reported on his sexual offender registration, the report said.
The deputy checked Brown’s reported information on Wednesday and saw he had a 2004 Cadillac Escalade on his registration. The DHSMV showed the former tag had been surrendered on June 2, when it was seized by the Belleview Police Department. IT was then replaced with the new tag on June 12, the report said.
A DHSMV manager advised that it was most likely seized before June 2, that was just when it got to the DHSMV. The tag could not have been on the vehicle. The new tag was assigned and issued to the vehicle on June 12. Brown had come into the office to get it, and his driver’s license was scanned, the report said.
Brown had reported to the MCSO Sexual Offender Unit on June 30 to register but did not update any of his information. Regardless of the license plate attached to his vehicle, he had a new tag assigned to it since June 12. He did not report this change on his sexual offender registration, the report said.
So, deputies responded to his registered address, 13601 SE 180th St., on Thursday morning. When asked why he did not report his vehicle update, Brown stated he had been very stressed and had a lot going on, so he forgot. He advised that he knew he should have, the report said.
Brown was subsequently arrested on charge of sex offender violation (fail to report change in vehicle owned). He was transported to Marion County Jail with bond set at $15,000.