A Twentynine Palms registered sex offender was arrested Wednesday (June 23) accused of making sexual comments to a child. According to Sheriff’s reports, a deputy responded to the intersection of Adobe Road and Samarkand Drive around 1 p.m. for a suspicious persons report. The arriving deputy located a female juvenile who said a man, later identified as Derek Latimer, 67, approached her while she was getting off of a school bus and made statements to her that would constitute a violation of annoying and molesting a minor. The juvenile was able to safely leave the area and notify law enforcement. Deputies conducted an extensive area check for the subject, but were unable to locate him.
Around 3:30 p.m. the same day, the deputy conducted an unrelated traffic stop at the intersection of Twentynine Palms Highway and Oasis Avenue for a vehicle code violation. The driver matched Latimer’s description given by the female victim and after further investigation, evidence was located that determined Latimer was the suspect who had contacted the juvenile earlier in the day. The deputy also determined that Latimer was a convicted sex offender currently out on bail. Derek Latimer was arrested for investigation of annoying and molesting a child, with prior convictions, and was taken to the Morongo Basin Jail. Deputies secured a probation violation hold for Latimer and booked him into the West Valley Detention Center with his bail se at $50,000.
