Jellico man arrested for being Ohio fugitive

Jason Johnson is being held in the Whitley County Detention Center pending extradition back to Ohio.

A Jellico, Tennessee man, who was arrested last week for allegedly being an Ohio fugitive in connection with a sex offender registration violation, is fighting extradition back to the buckeye state to answer charges.

Jason Johnson, 31, declined to waive extradition during his arraignment Tuesday morning in Whitley District Court.

Judge Fred White scheduled an Oct. 24 hearing in his case, and ordered that Johnson continue to be held without bond.

About 5 p.m. on Oct. 10, Whitley County Sheriff’s Deputy Jonas Saunders was patrolling in Southern Whitley County when he received a report of suspicious activity near the Fast Trax gas station near the Kentucky-Tennessee line.

Saunders stopped to speak with a man, who was identified as Johnson, and determined that he was wanted for arrest on a Whitley County warrant for failure to appear in a 2008 traffic case, according to a sheriff’s department release and jail records.

Upon further investigation, Whitley County E911 Dispatchers discovered that Johnson was entered in the National Crime Information Center as being wanted for arrest by Ohio authorities, according to the release.

Johnson was wanted by Shelby County Sheriff’s Department for a sex offender registration violation, and was lodged in the Whitley County Detention Center, according to the release.

According to court records, Johnson was indicted in Ohio for failure to provide a change of address, and a warrant was issued for his arrest on Aug. 11, 2016.