Savannah Police: sex offender still a threat

Man admits he distributed child pornography from inside a state prison transitional center

Savannah Police: sex offender still a threat

Man admits he distributed child pornography from inside a state prison transitional center

HERE'S A LIVE LOOK FR OM OUR SKYVIEW 22 CAMERA AT THE HOMEWOOD SUITES ON THE RIVER. - ***2-SHOT***)} THANKS FOR STARTING YR OU DAY WITH WJCL 22! GOOD MORNING, I'M CHR IS TATUM. AND I'M ASHLEY GARRETT. WJCL'S METEROLOGIST JONATHAN MYERS IS ALSO HERE... WITH YOUR CERTIFIED MOST ACCURATE FORECAST. NOW, HERE'S YOUR STORM TRACKER RADAR. .. TODAY SUNNY, WITH A HI GH NEAR 78. BREEZY, WITH A NORTHWEST WIND 8 TO 13 MPH INCREASING TO 17 TO 22 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON. WINDS COU LD GUST AS HIGH AS 32 MPH. TONIGHT CLEAR, WITH A W LO AROUND 50. NORTHWEST WIND 5 TO 9 MPH BECOMING LIGHT WEST AFTER MIDNIGHT. SATURD AY SUNNY, WITH A HIGH NEAR 80. WE ST WIND 3 TO 8 MPH. SATURDAY NIGHT MOSTLY CLEAR, WITH A LOW AROUND 5 8. SOUTH WIND 3 TO 5 MPH. SUNDAY SUNNY, WITH A HIGHEA NR 86 MOTHER'S DAY WEEKEND IS HERE AND MANY SHOPS ARE ALREADY FEELING THE HIGH DEMAND.. WJCL'S DANIEL ROBION NS JOINS US FROM- RIVER STREET WI- TH A LOOK AT SOME SWEET TREA... TS ASHLEY GOOD MORNING - IM HERE AT SAVANNAH CANDY KITCHEN - AND JUST TAKA E LOOK BEHIND -ME ORDERS FOR UTSOH CAROLINA IS ENDING ITS PAN- DEM-IC-- UN- ELOMPYMENT BENEFITS PROGRAM. IT'S ALL-- IN AN EFFORT --TO GET-- MORE FOLKS-- BACK TO WORK. SOUTH CAROLINA IS ONLY ON E OF TWO STATES TO DO THIS. GOVERNOR HENRY MCMASTER SAYS THE BENEFITS DISCOURAGE PEOPLE FROM TRYING TO FIND A JOB---- SINCE THEY CAN GET MORE MONEY RIGHT NOW BY TINAKG THE FEDERAL CHECKS. TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO GET THE FIRST DOSE OF A COVID-19 VACCINE AT THE BUCKWALTER RECREATION CENTER VACCINATION CLINIC. WALK-IN APPOINTMENTS ARE AVAILABLE FROM TWO P-M TO FIV E. HILTON HEAD REGIONAL HEALTHCARE SAYS TH AT BECAUSE ACCESS TO COVID VACCINES IS MUCH MORE AVAILABLE NOW----- IT IS WINDING DOWN S IT CLINIC'S SERVICES. STARTING NEXT WEEK---- BUCKWALTER WILL ONLY OFFER SECOND SHO. TS IT WILL COMPLETELY CLOSE MAY 28TH. IN SAVANNAH--- THERE'S ONLY TWO WEEKS LEFT TO GET A COVID SHOT AT THE GULFSTREAM MASS VACCINATION SITE. IT'S CLOSING ON MAY 21-ST. YOU'LL ONLY BE ABLE TO GET YOUR SECOND PFIZER SHOT OR THE JOHNSON AND JOHNSON VACCINE. DRIVE UPS WILL BE ACCEPTED. BRAND NEW THIS MORNING... A TENSE STAND- OFF FINALLY OVER... AFTER ONE LAST HOSTAGE MAKES A DARING ESCAPE. THAT HOSTAGE MADE A RUN FOR IT... THAT GAVE SAINT CLOUD MINNESOTA POLICE THE CHANCE THEY NEEDED TO RUSH INTO THAT BUILDING... AND TAKE DOWN THE MAN WHO'D HE LD THOSE HOSTAGES FOR MORE THAN 8 HOURS... IT HAPPENED YESTERDAY - - AT A WELLS FARGO BANK... ALL FIVE HOSTAGES WERE BANK WORKERS... THE FIVE HOSTAGES WERE ALL BANK EMPLOES. YE INVESTIGATORS SAY THE MAN THROUGH OUT THE DAY... THE MAN RELEASED SOME HOSTAGES... OTHERS ESCAPED... AGAIN... THAT ONE LAST HOSTAGE DEMA A RUN FOR IT... AS FOR THE MAN WHO TO OK THOSE HOSTAGES... HE'S NO STRANGER TO LAW ENFORCEMENT. "THE SUSPECT'S NAME IS R AY RECO MCNEARY. WE HAVHAD E NUMERUS CONTACTS WITH THIS INDIVIDUAL DATING BACK AT LEAST A DECADE, INCLUDING VIOLENT CRIME. RIGHT N OW HE'S BEING HELD ON CHARGES RERLATED TO BANK ROBBERY AND KIDNAPPING." AND LOOK AT THIS CHILLING VIDEO OF A MAN ATTACKINGN A ASIAN BUSINESS OWNER... INVESTIGATORS SAYHAT T MAN WANTED TO OPEN SOMETHING HE WAS LOOKING AT AND THSTE ORE OWNER SAID "N" O. THEY SAY THE MAN THEM MADE ANTI-ASIAN REMARKS... AND ATTACKED THE STORE OWNER. THAT STORE OWNER 'S INJURIES REQUID RE FOURTEEN STITCHES... WHAT ARE INVESTIGATORS SAYING ABOUT THIS CASE TOMORROW A PIECE OF A CHINESE ROCKET IS EXPECTED TO CRASH BACK DOWN ON EARTH. U-S OFFICIALS ARE TRYING TO TRACK ITS CURRENT PATH. CHINA'S SPACE AGENCY LAUNCHED THE ROCKET LAST WEEK. THE BOOSTERS WERE SUPPOSED TO FALL INTO THE OCEAN - BUT THEY FELL INTO EARTH'S ORBIT. NOTHING THIS HEAVY HAS FALLEN BACK TO EARTH IN MORE THAN 30 YEARS. THE U-S SECRETARY OF DEFENSE SAYS THE MILITARY HAS NO PLANS TO "SHOOT DOWN" THE ROCK. ET AN ARMY TRAINEE IS ARRESTED---- ACCUSED OF BOARDING A SCHOOL BUS WITH A *GUN AND HOLDING THE DRIVER AND ELEMENTARY STUDENTS - *HOSTAG E. THE RICHLAND COUNTY SHERIFF SAYS IT HAPPENED YESTERDAY MORNING NEAR FO JRTACKSON IN COLUMBIA. WE HAVE NEW VIDEO OF THE INCIDE. NT "NO, NO, YOU'RE ON THE WRONG BUS. YOU GOTTA GET OUT OF HERE." "DRIVE. DO IT RIGHT NOW. DRIVE!" IN THE VIDEO---- YOU CAN SEE THE SUSPECT--- JOV AN COLLAZO--- RUN ONTO THE BUS WITH AN ASSAULT RIFLE AND TELL THE DRIVER TO *DRIVE* THE SHERIFF SAYS THE SUSPECT RAN FROM HIS POST WITH THE RIFLE---- A ND WANTED TO BE TAKEN TO THE NEXT TOWN. EVERYONE IS OKA Y. THE SUSPECT LATER GOT OFF THE BUS AFTER HAVING TROUBLE DRIVING IT---- AND STARTED WANDERING AROUND NEIGHBORHOODS. DEPUTIES QUICKLY ARRESTED HIM. HAPPENING TODAY- -- SAVANNAH MAYOR VAN JOHNSON WILL INTRODUCE A NEW TASK FORCE TO ADDRESS RECENT GUN VIOLENCE IN THE CI. TY GUNS THEY WORK AGAINST US, SO IT MAKES IT VERY DIFFICULT FOR OUR LAW ENFORCEMT EN OFFICERS IN A VARIETY OF WAYS AND WE HAVE TO USE AN UNCONVENTIALON METHO DS AND MODELS TO BE ABLE TO STOP THIS FROM HAPPING.EN WHILE HE DIDN'T GIVE TOO MUCH AWAY--MAYOROHNS JON SAID THIS WILL NOT BECOME THE NEW NORMAL. OVER THE LAST WEEK POLI CE HAVE BEEN CALLED TO AT LEAST FIVE SHOOTINGS. IN ONE OF THOSE--- A ON SO TO BE MOTHER WAS KILLED WHILE RIDING IN A FRIENDS CAR. MAYOR JOHNSON HOP HES IS NEW CRIME FIGHTERS TASK FORCE WILL HELP ADDRESS THE RECENT SPIKE IN GUN CRIM. ES HIS ANNOUNCEMENT WILL TAKE PLACE THIS AFTERNOON AT 3-O CLOCK. THE TIME IS NOW _-_. COMING UP--- -- A NEW--- STATE- OF-THE-ART CANCER TREATMENT FACILITY IS IN THE WORKS IN COASTAL GEORGIA. IT'LL BRI LNGIFE- SAVING TREATMENT CLOSER TO MANY PEOPLE. COMING UP... I'LL HAVE A LOOK AT YOUR CERTIFIED MOST ACCURATE FORECAST. BUT FIRST... LET'S TAKE A LIVE LOOK OUTSIDE. HERE'S A LIVE LOOK FROM OUR SKYVIEW 22 CAMER--A LOOKING AT "HOTEL TYBEE". HERE ARE CONDITIONS RIGHT NOW FOR SAVANNAH. REMEMBER... YOU CAN TAKE

Savannah Police: sex offender still a threat

Man admits he distributed child pornography from inside a state prison transitional center

Above video: the latest headlinesA Savannah man has admitted he distributed child pornography from inside a state prison transitional center after serving a sentence for failing to register as a sex offender.Melton Andrew Padgett Jr., 47, of Savannah, pled guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of Distribution of Child Pornography, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. The plea subjects Padgett to a possible statutory sentence of up to 40 years in federal prison, along with substantial financial penalties, followed by a period of supervised release of five years to life. There is no parole in the federal system.“This defendant is a shocking example of a child predator who shared videos of child exploitation even as his sentence for a previous offense was nearing its end,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “With our law enforcement partners, we will continue to be vigilant in removing such criminals from our community.” As described in court documents and testimony, Georgia’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in March 2020 received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that led investigators to Padgett. In his guilty plea, Padgett admitted sharing videos of child exploitation through a social media messaging service. At the time Padgett shared these images of child pornography, Padgett was completing a state term of imprisonment and was being housed in the Coastal Transitional Center in Savannah. Padgett has prior convictions for child molestation and failing to register as a sex offender. “This predator has not gotten the message that he cannot continue to prey upon our children or share these disturbing images with others involved in this depravity,” said Special Agent in Charge Katrina W. Berger, who oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in Georgia and Alabama. “Cases like this strengthen the resolve and the commitment that HSI and its law enforcement partners have to protect our children and our communities.”The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Savannah Police Department, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer J. Kirkland and Project Safe Childhood Coordinator Tara M. Lyons.

Above video: the latest headlines

A Savannah man has admitted he distributed child pornography from inside a state prison transitional center after serving a sentence for failing to register as a sex offender.

Melton Andrew Padgett Jr., 47, of Savannah, pled guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of Distribution of Child Pornography, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. The plea subjects Padgett to a possible statutory sentence of up to 40 years in federal prison, along with substantial financial penalties, followed by a period of supervised release of five years to life.

There is no parole in the federal system.

“This defendant is a shocking example of a child predator who shared videos of child exploitation even as his sentence for a previous offense was nearing its end,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “With our law enforcement partners, we will continue to be vigilant in removing such criminals from our community.”

As described in court documents and testimony, Georgia’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in March 2020 received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that led investigators to Padgett. In his guilty plea, Padgett admitted sharing videos of child exploitation through a social media messaging service. At the time Padgett shared these images of child pornography, Padgett was completing a state term of imprisonment and was being housed in the Coastal Transitional Center in Savannah. Padgett has prior convictions for child molestation and failing to register as a sex offender.

“This predator has not gotten the message that he cannot continue to prey upon our children or share these disturbing images with others involved in this depravity,” said Special Agent in Charge Katrina W. Berger, who oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in Georgia and Alabama. “Cases like this strengthen the resolve and the commitment that HSI and its law enforcement partners have to protect our children and our communities.”

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Savannah Police Department, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer J. Kirkland and Project Safe Childhood Coordinator Tara M. Lyons.