Man accused of church burglaries faces slew of new charges

Johnathan Calvin Hamilton
Johnathan Calvin Hamilton

LINDEN, Texas - The investigation into a number of church burglaries in and around the Cass County area has resulted in multiple indictments including ones for failing to comply with sex offender registration requirements, possession of child pornography and sexual performance of a child.

Johnathan Calvin Hamilton, 33, was taken into custody in Hughes Springs, Texas, following a traffic stop Jan. 14, according to a probable cause affidavit. The officer noticed that Hamilton's tattoos closely resembled those allegedly seen in video surveillance footage captured during a break-in at a Hughes Springs church.

Hamilton was initially arrested for possession of a controlled substance after the officer allegedly found a small amount of methamphetamine in Hamilton's pocket and hand-rolled marijuana cigarettes in the cup holder of the car.

A search of the car allegedly yielded a pry bar, a flashlight with a lanyard and a black and silver ball cap which were used by the suspect seen in the video surveillance of the Hughes Springs church burglary.

Hamilton is required to register as a sex offender and report any change in residence or employment to authorities because of a 2011 conviction for sexual assault of a child in Cass County. Hamilton allegedly reported to officials in Linden that he was living in that city at his mother's home. During the investigation, detectives determined Hamilton was spending many nights at the home of his girlfriend and had allegedly failed to report those overnight stays to sex offender registration officials in violation of the law.

The investigation into the church burglaries led officers to acquire search warrants for a cellphone seized from Hamilton at the time of his arrest. Hughes Springs Police Chief Randy Kennedy was allegedly able to convince Hamilton to provide the access code for the phone during an interview at the Cass County jail Jan. 22. Hamilton allegedly confessed to committing the burglaries in December and January with a juvenile teen and allegedly claimed he sold items from the burglaries so he could buy methamphetamine.

During the interview with Kennedy, Hamilton allegedly warned the police chief that he would find nude photos on the device of a 16-year-old girl Hamilton is related to by marriage.

A few days later, investigators conducted a forensic analysis of Hamilton's phone. That investigation allegedly revealed sexually oriented text messages and SnapChat messages between Hamilton and the teen girl. That allegation is connected to the indictment charging Hamilton with sexual performance of a child.

Investigators believe Hamilton violated his sex offender registration requirements by failing to notify authorities that he was staying nights at his girlfriend's house and by failing to notify them of social media accounts he held.

Hamilton faces six months to two years on each of seven counts of commercial burglary, if convicted. If found guilty of failing to comply with sex offender registration requirements or of possessing child pornography, Hamilton faces two to 10 years in prison on each charge. If found guilty of sexual performance of a child, Hamilton faces two to 20 years in prison.

He is being held in the Cass County jail.

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