A sharp reduction in his bond proved to be a rather short-lived “get out of jail free” card for one registered sex offender who was arrested last week for photographing or video recording children at Burlington’s Willowbrook Park.
Jimmy Lawrence Shue was ultimately back behind bars within hours of his release on Monday afternoon — thanks to two additional charges that Burlington’s police department has filed against the 69 year-old white male.
A registered sex offender with prior convictions for indecent liberties, second-degree kidnapping, and misdemeanor assault, Shue embarked on his latest jaunt through the courts system on Tuesday, September 12 when he was allegedly caught taking pictures of kids near the playground within Willowbrook Park’s arboretum. According to the city’s police department, a number of concerned parents witnessed his suspicious behavior and provided critical details that allowed police officers to track him down at his home at 201 Caswell Street later that day.
Shue was subsequently booked at Alamance County’s jail on a single-felony charge of being on the premises of a children’s play area in violation of his status as a registered sex offender. Meanwhile, a magistrate placed Shue under a secured bond of $250,000 despite his professed indigence and his reliance on a court-appointed attorney.
The magistrate justified this relatively high sum based on the danger that the defendant apparently posed to public safety. According to court documents that accompanied his arrest warrant, Shue is “a registered lifetime sex offender” subject to ankle monitoring who had “just completed [a] 5-year sex offender reporting [period] with [his] probation.” These documents also observe that Shue “has a long history of violent sexual crimes against a child” and “of kidnapping a child for the purpose of completing a sex act.” These facts are then juxtaposed with the new allegation that Shue “was observed in the area of a playground” and “appeared to be video recording the children.”
“The fact [that] the defendant just completed his required probation and his extensive criminal history involving kidnapping and child sex crimes,” the court records go on to assert, “[suggest] that a high secured bond is required for public safety.”
Despite his apparent threat to the public, Shue’s bond came back up for consideration when he was brought before a district court judge on September 14. Court records indicate that an identical account of the defendant’s unsavory history was presented during that hearing to Alamance County’s chief district court Judge Bradley Reid Allen, Sr. Also rehashed during the hearing was Shue’s status as an indigent defendant who was presumably “unable to satisfy any secured bond” set by the judge,
Allen ultimately agreed to reduce the amount of Shue’s bond from $250,000 to $20,000. According to Alamance County’s jail, Shue was released shortly before 1:40 p.m. on Monday – apparently having met the seemingly unattainable bond.
Later that day, Burlington’s police department issued another arrest warrant for Shue that alluded to two alleged violations unrelated to his suspicious behavior at Willowbrook Park. According to court records, these charges, which reportedly date back to May 7, 2023, include a second count of illegal presence on prohibited premises as well as a failure to properly register as a convicted sex offender.
Shue has received an additional bond of $100,000 since his latest arrest.
