A suspicious car near a Hall County park drew the attention of sheriff’s deputies earlier this week and as a result a registered sex offender living in Gainesville is once again in jail.
Sheriff’s office spokeswoman B.J. Williams said the case began unfolding about 9:00 Monday morning when deputies who were conducting routine park patrol noticed a vehicle at Tadmore Park on Gillsville Highway.
“The car belonged to Timothy Brad Bingham, who is on the sex offender registry,” Williams wrote in an email. “Deputies contacted the (sheriff’s office) Sex Offender Registration and Tracking (SORT) Unit and confirmed Bingham’s status and that he does not have privileges to be in a park.”
She said the officers then called Bingham, 33, who claimed he had dropped off a friend at the park. Deputies searched the park but did not locate anyone, Williams added. They subsequently obtained a warrant for Bingham’s arrest on a charge of a sex offender residing within 1,000 feet of a prohibited location.
“At approximately 7:45 a.m. Tuesday, deputies patrolling near Harmony Church Road and Truelove Road spotted Bingham’s vehicle traveling in the opposite direction. Deputies turned around and activated their patrol vehicle’s emergency lights and sirens. Bingham accelerated, and deputies followed him to Truelove Road and Silver Ridge Drive, where he stopped. Deputies arrested him without incident.”
In addition to the sex offender charge, deputies cited Bingham for driving too fast for conditions, alteration of tag cover and a taillight violation. He was being held without bond at last check for the sex offender charge and probation violation.