CEDAR CITY — A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Wednesday in the case of a Cedar City man who was arrested Dec. 7 for failure to register as a sex offender for nearly 30 years. The man was previously listed as registered in both Washington state and Florida.
The whole thing came out into the light when 65-year-old Ray McCranie sought medical assistance at Valley View Medical Center. According to a probable cause statement filed in support of his arrest, McCranie gave a hospital employee two differing names and dates of birth to identify himself.
Cedar City Police arrived at the hospital to investigate potential insurance fraud according to the statement, but when they were finally able to get the man’s accurate information, a criminal background check revealed McCranie to be a registered sex offender in two other states, but he had not registered in Iron County.
It is unknown how long McCranie has been residing in Cedar City unregistered, Cedar City Police Lt. Darin Adams said, but the only reason it was even discovered is because McCranie was dishonest about his personal information.
“If he had given his real name and date-of-birth in the first place, we would probably have never known about him,” Adams said.
Once McCranie’s history was uncovered, the probable cause statement stated, Iron County Adult Probation and Parole was contacted to pull a photo for verification. The identification was positive and McCranie was taken into custody at 8:15 a.m., Dec. 7 and booked on a third-degree felony, failure to register as a sex offender.
On Dec. 7, the Iron County Attorney’s Office followed up by filing an information against McCranie, charging him with sex and kidnapping registry violation, a third-degree felony
McCranie was able to avoid detection for so long by using a variety of aliases along the way, according to the probable cause statement.
As of 10 a.m. Tuesday, McCranie was still in the custody of the Iron County Jail. Bail is set at $10,000, bondable.
McCranie’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Wednesday in the District Court Building, 40 N. 100 East, Cedar City, before 5th District Judge John J. Walton.
Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
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Sure hope the Iron County taxpayers don’t have to pick up this guy’s medical bill!