EDWARDSVILLE - Jeremiah D. Theiss, 44, of the first block of Matterhorn Drive, Glen Carbon, was charged Monday with two counts of being a child sex offender in a school zone, two counts of public indecency, and a count of unlawful possession of a controlled substance.
Theiss, a child sex offender, allegedly exposed himself near the Edwardsville Head Start and near Edwardsville High School on Friday. Bail was set at $50,000.
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Police were called at 7:13 a.m. and spotted the suspect exposing himself along the bike trail at the rear of the high school.
Police called out to the suspect, but he took off running through a section of high weeds and brush before crossing Governor’s Parkway and into a patch of woods. He ran through several residential yards before an officer with the SIUE Police Department caught him.
Police said he possessed less than 15 grams of suspected cocaine.
Police said Theiss resembles a man seen on a security video near Head Start. A woman spotted the act and called the police. An Edwardsville police news release said Theiss has posted $50,000 cash toward the $500,000 bail and has been released.
“The Edwardsville Police Department would like to thank the Southern Illinois University Police Department for their assistance in this case,” a spokesman said.
Detective Mark Lask said anyone with additional information or who has had an encounter with Theiss should contact Lask of 656-2131.
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