Sex Offender Protest Arrest: Lake Elsinore Woman Released

LAKE ELSINORE, CA — A woman who was jailed Sunday, after allegedly throwing an object and injuring a deputy during a Lake Elsinore protest over the release of a convicted sex offender, has been released from custody.

Isabel Veloz, 45, was arrested in the 31000 block of Casino Drive around 1 p.m. on suspicion of obstructing/resisting an officer, according to jail records. She was booked into Southwest Detention Center and is scheduled in court Sept. 8.

Veloz was at the scene of a protest over the release of Cary Jay Smith from a state psychiatric hospital. Smith is a convicted sex offender who Monday was reported living in a motel in north San Diego County after pressure from protesters caused him to relocate from Lake Elsinore.

About 4 p.m. Sunday, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department revealed on Twitter Smith was in that jurisdiction.

"@SDSheriff is monitoring a sex offender released by Coalinga State Hospital two weeks ago to ensure the safety of our communities. 59-year-old Cary Jay Smith is staying at a motel in the North County."

"Cary decided to leave the Lake Elsinore area. Thank you to everyone who engaged with us upon learning he was in our community," the Riverside County Sheriff's Lake Elsinore station posted Sunday on Facebook.

A protest against Smith staying in the Lake Elsinore area was planned but called off following the announcement that he had left Lake Elsinore. Protesters did go about 12:30 p.m. to the 31000 block of Casino Drive, said Riverside County sheriff's Sgt. Sarah Mack.

The protest was relatively peaceful, she said, adding that at one point, a protester — later identified as Veloz — threw an object at deputies, causing a minor injury.

Smith was released from Coalinga State Hospital on Tuesday after spending 21 years there for openly fantasizing about raping and killing children. He stayed in Los Angeles for one night before making his way to Orange, where he checked into a halfway home on Thursday, said Sgt. Phil McMullin of the Orange Police Department.

On Saturday morning, Corona police said Smith had relocated to a motel in that Riverside County city, where he was being surveilled by law enforcement.

"Mr. Smith is not on any form of supervised release or required to register as a sex offender. Smith can move around without restrictions," Corona police said in a Twitter message.

At 9:05 p.m. Saturday, Corona police tweeted: "A short time ago Cary decided to leave the City of Corona. Thank you to everyone who engaged with us upon learning he was in our community."

A few hours later, the Riverside County Sheriff's Lake Elsinore station issued a community alert. "Convicted Sex Offender Cary Smith is CURRENTLY in the city of Lake Elsinore," it read. "...Deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department are currently watching Smith while he is staying at a local hotel to ensure the safety of our community. Smith is not on any form of supervised release nor is he required to register as a sex offender. Smith is allowed to move around without restrictions.

"We will update the community when he leaves the city."

Last week, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer and Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Michelle Steel issued a news release about Smith and sent a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom asking for help researching why Smith was no longer required to register as a sex offender despite a conviction and requirement to do so in 1985.

Newsom's office referred questions to the Department of State Hospitals. Ken August of the Department of State Hospitals said state and federal privacy laws prohibited the department from commenting.

Smith pleaded guilty in 1985 to a misdemeanor sex offense against a child, requiring him to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life, Spitzer said.

However, in 2005, that requirement was lifted for an unknown reason, Spitzer said.

"We need to look into this and know why he is no longer a lifetime 290," Spitzer said, referring to the code in the law that requires sex offenders to register with authorities so they can be tracked.

"We believe he is a lifetime registrant," Spitzer said.

Smith was committed to Patton State Hospital in San Bernardino in 1999 on a psychological hold when his wife gave a psychiatrist a letter her husband wrote that described sex acts he fantasized about on a 7-year-old boy in his neighborhood in Costa Mesa, according to prosecutors.

The state kept him locked up in a state hospital under a civil commitment that concluded he was a danger to children, according to prosecutors. Under that law, he had the opportunity to seek release in a trial every six months.

But during the hearings he testified that he continues to fantasize about sexually assaulting and killing young boys, prosecutors said.

"He calls himself Mr. RTK," which stands for Rape, Torture, Kill, Spitzer said. "That's what I think has kept him in. He says, `If you don't cut off my penis and hands I will molest again."

—City News Service contributed to this report.