Bobby Hawkins, a.k.a. Tony Tolen
A Georgia sex offender is behind bars in Bradley County facing charges in both Tennessee and Georgia for violating registration requirements for those convicted of certain sex crimes.
Sheriff Eric Watson said the apprehension and arrest of 47-year-old Bobby Hawkins, aka Tony Tolen, was a joint effort of the sheriff’s office’s Criminal Investigations Division and the Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole.
A person using the name Tony Tolen was brought to the Bradley County jail on Feb. 25 and charged with public intoxication. Subsequent investigation by a probation officer for the Board of Pardons and Parole, who had been working to track down Hawkins for months on Georgia warrants for not registering as a sex offender, showed the pair shared some personal information. A forensic comparison of fingerprints confirmed they were the same person.
A patrol deputy took Hawkins into custody on Tuesday at a South Lee Highway business where he had lived the past eight months using the name Tolen. He has been charged here with forgery, criminal simulation and violating the sex offender registry.
Sheriff Watson praised those from both agencies that "took part in the investigation that took a sex offender off the street." Hawkins is being held without bond as a fugitive awaiting extradition to Georgia.