Supervisor Don Knabe announced today that District Attorney Investigators assigned to the Child Support Arrest Warrant Project recently apprehended Los Angeles County Most Wanted Delinquent Parent, Sautele Jones. Jones was added to the Most Wanted list in May of 2008, and has long been a target of investigators. He was arrested on a bench warrant issued in 2000.
In June, 1999, Jones pleaded no contest to a charge of failing to pay court ordered support for his then 7 year old daughter. He was placed on probation, but was later found in violation of the terms of probation. The court issued a warrant for his arrest when he failed to appear at a hearing on May 24, 2000. Jones owes more than $119,000 in unpaid support and interest.
Investigators had believed that Jones was living at an apartment building on Vinton Avenue in Los Angeles. During the course of a recent visit to the apartment, one of the investigators observed a male matching Jones’ description in the parking lot of the building. Shortly thereafter, the investigator and his partner detained the male. At first, the suspect provided the investigators with a false name. After further questioning, however, he admitted that he was Sautele Jones. He was immediately taken into custody and was later booked at the downtown County Jail.
The Los Angeles County Child Support Services Department maintains the Most Wanted Delinquent Parent List. It was developed as a result of an appropriation by the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors on the initiative of Supervisor Don Knabe.