Campground bathroom sting nets registered sex offender
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE — A registered sex offender was arrested at a South Lake Tahoe campground Sunday after sheriff’s deputies caught him entering a women’s restroom and peering through a crack in a shower stall.
According to Lt. Les Lovell, commander of the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office’s Lake Tahoe operations, Kraig Smith was placed under surveillance after a campground employee reported suspicious behavior on the part of the 54-year-old Sunnyvale man. Specifically, the employee said Smith was striking up conversations with underage females at the campground.
After authorities learned Smith was a registered sex offender, they began observing his activities. Using a member of the public, law enforcement set up the sting that resulted in Smith’s arrest for disorderly conduct.
El Dorado County investigators suspect Smith may have visited other public campgrounds and activity spots in the South Lake Tahoe area. At the time of his arrest, Smith was driving a white Toyota Tundra pickup truck with a camper shell and had a small Chihuahua that he used as a conversation piece with underage girls.
Anyone who may have witnessed or experienced similar situations involving Smith is asked to either contact sheriff’s Det. Matt Harwood at (530) 573-3015 or the anonymous Secret Witness line at (530) 544-6767.
