Skip to main content

A Fugitive Sex Offender Is Caught Here

Mon, 05/06/2019 - 15:34

A man who reported a fire at an East Hampton house ended up being taken away in handcuffs on March 8 after police found him evasive in answering questions, according to Detective Sgt. Dan Toia. 

When the East Hampton Fire Department responded to 31 Cosdrew Lane just after 10 a.m. they not only saw an exterior fire, but “could tell something was up,” Detective Toia said. The man initially lied about his name and said he was a handyman working at the house. 

About 45 members, two engines, a tanker, a heavy rescue vehicle, and fire police units went to the scene and extinguished the blaze quickly, according to Chief Gerard Turza Jr. Tom Baker, an East Hampton Town fire marshal, said the fire was caused by a discarded cigarette.

By the time the Fire Department was wrapping up, at about 11 a.m., police had learned the caller’s name was Randy John Washburn and that he was a registered 57-year-old sex offender from Lancaster, S.C.. It was not clear how long Mr. Washburn had been staying at the house, Detective Toia said, and there was an active warrant for his arrest.

When Mr. Washburn learned he was being arrested, he tried to lock himself in a room at the house. Police officers “were able to talk him outside,” Detective Toia said. He was turned over to the Suffolk County fugitive squad for extradition; he was not charged locally. 

On Feb. 8, 2017, Mr. Washburn pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, a felony, according to the South Carolina Attorney General's office. Robert Kittle, a spokesman for that office, said Mr. Washburn was given a 10-year suspended sentence, upon completion of five years of probation. The Attorney General's office was not aware of Mr. Kittle's fugitive status. 

"We determined he had left a mental health facility last summer and failed to report to us," according to Peter O'Boyle, a spokesman from the South Carolina Probation Department. The Lancaster office issued an absconder warrant at that time.

The sex-offender registry listed him as a tier III sex offender and an “absconder.” 

According to The Herald, a newspaper in South Carolina, the South Carolina attorney general’s and Lancaster County sheriff’s offices had charged him with five counts of child pornography possession on Oct. 3, 2016. 

This article has been updated since it appeared in print on March 21, 2019.

On the Police Logs 03.21.24

A 37-year-old Montauk man attempted to make a fire in a barrel at the Montauk Skate Park to "grill some burgers while he and friends skated" on the afternoon of March 13. Someone called the police, who told the man it was against the rules. He apologized and put the fire out.

Mar 21, 2024

Policing East Hampton in 2023: A Look at the Statistics

In 2023, for 911 calls classified as "highest priority," the East Hampton Town Police Department's average response time was 5 minutes, 38 seconds. Officers made 163 drunken-driving arrests, assisted on 2,530 medical calls and nearly 1,800 fire-related emergencies, and logged 12 "use of force" incidents over the 12-month period. Those were just a few of the statistics presented by Chief Michael Sarlo to the East Hampton Town Board last week, capping off a year of protecting 70 square miles from Wainscott to Montauk.

Mar 21, 2024

Sexual Assault Investigation

A 29-year-old East Hampton woman went to police headquarters on March 4 to report being the victim of sexual assault, stemming from an incident on Feb. 23 at a house in town.

Mar 13, 2024

On the Police Logs 03.14.24

Police were called Friday afternoon to investigate a report that people were camping illegally in the Grace Estate Preserve. They came upon three men from Nassau County who’d put up a tent and built a campfire. Police told them to put out the fire, then issued a ticket for open burning and directed them to leave immediately.

Mar 14, 2024

Your support for The East Hampton Star helps us deliver the news, arts, and community information you need. Whether you are an online subscriber, get the paper in the mail, delivered to your door in Manhattan, or are just passing through, every reader counts. We value you for being part of The Star family.

Your subscription to The Star does more than get you great arts, news, sports, and outdoors stories. It makes everything we do possible.